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Some ornamental grasses, like these, are sturdy and will stand up to winter weather until nearly spring. Others are more fragile and may lose their good looks after just a few snow storms.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver

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These arborvitae trees are ready for winter. The burlap strips will protect the branches from being weighed down or bent by snow.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver

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Light colored tree wrap or diluted latex paint will protect tree bark from winter sun damage.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver

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Use tree wrap on any young trees or trees with smooth or dark colored bark. Start at the bottom of the trunk and wrap your way up to the lower branches.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver

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We’ve had several questions lately about various little tasks that are usually done before winter set in, so let’s take a look at some of the things you might need to do.

Did your roses grow more than four or five feet tall this season? The canes on tall roses may bend and break if we have a snowy winter. Shorten any tall canes to about four feet in length. You don’t want to do any real pruning like you would do in the early spring, you just want the canes to be short enough to prevent bending and breaking under a snow load.

Cut back grasses that won’t stand up to winter.

Do you have any trees that have been in your landscape less than five years, or trees with very smooth or dark colored bark? The trunks of these trees should be protected with a light-colored tree wrap.

Now is the time to put it on. Start at the base of the trunk and wind the tree wrap up the trunk until you reach the lowest branches. Tuck the end of the wrap under the last few loops and it should stay secure until March when it’s time to remove the wrap.

If appearances aren’t important, you can also protect the trunks of trees with a fifty-fifty mix of white latex paint and water. Don’t use an oil-based paint.

Do you have any Arborvitae or other loose-growing evergreen shrubs or trees? These trees and shrubs will keep their good looks better if they get a quick wrap with strips of burlap or something similar to prevent snow from bending or breaking the branches.

This is especially important the tree or shrub is by the eaves of your house.

Take a look at any ornamental grasses in your yard. Many ornamental grasses are stury enough to stand up to our winter winds and snow, but if you have grasses with a softer growth habit, it will be easier to cut them back to within an inch or two of the soil now, instead of trying to clean them up next spring when they start growing again.

Question: Voles chewed on my fruit trees last winter. What can I do to protect my trees this winter?

Answer: Voles are small, sturdy-looking rodents. Larger than mice, their tails are shorter, and their ears are smaller. It’s more common to see vole damage than to see the voles; they don’t like to be out in the open and spend most of their time in burrows or other sheltered locations.

They’re active year-round and during the winter they will take advantage of snow cover to get around in the landscape without being seen by predators.

Hungry voles, mice and rabbits can do a lot of damage to fruit trees in the winter by chewing on the bark at the soil line. Heavy damage and girdle the tree but there are some things you can do to change the habitat near your trees to discourage voles and similar pests.

Pull back any bark nuggets or other mulch that you’ve used around the trees so that there is at least several inches of exposed soil at the base of your trees. You want to make the area less inviting for voles and mice by making it easier for predators to see them.

Protect the base of the tree trunks with a collar of one-fourth by one-fourth inch mesh hardware cloth. Try to extend the bottom edge down into the soil a few inches or secure the collar with several anchor pins.

If rabbits have been a problem, make the collar is tall enough to extend above the reach of a rabbit standing on its hind legs.

Don’t let snow pile up around your trees. Keep the snow cleared away as best you can to make it easier for predators and less inviting for the pests.

Make sure the area around your trees is free of firwood piles, clutter, debris and any other source of potential vole, mouse and rabbit shelter.