Sussex Tree

As we enter the month of February, we are still experiencing some brutal cold weather. This kind of weather calls for dry air, low precipitation and little soil moisture. When you walk into a Home Depot, a Lowes or any home improvement store, you might notice a winter plant protector known as an anti-transpirant displayed in the aisles. We are here to tell you this is not something you may want to reconsider buying.

Winter weather protectant sprays are usually useful during transplanting, and they also known as the term anti-transparent or anti-desiccants. They are sold under brand names such as Wilt-Stop, Wilt-Pruf or No Wilt Plant Shield. These wax and oil based resin anti-transpirants were created to keep broadleaf evergreen leaves from browning over the winter and keep the roots strong.

Here at Sussex Tree Inc. we want to provide quality advice on how to care for your trees, plants and greens that surround your home. That being said–these are NOT the products to be using as your first line of defense to reduce the need to water. These sprays will not block the pores long enough to actually become effective; therefore, the application is not likely to improve cold hardiness or relieve damage caused by colder weather and this inability also makes these products ineffective at cutting down water loss over the cold winter months.
We highly recommend watering your plants even in the winter months if proper precipitation is not occurring naturally. A good reference of how often you should water your plants during the winter is about once a month; just make sure the temperatures are about 40 degrees F with no snow cover! Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean your plants should be neglected!

For more information about these winter protectant sprays the staff at Sussex Tree would be more than happy to assist you with any questions!