What is Winter Burn and what to do about it?

Our harsh winter caused a lot of winter burn. Thank you to member, Margarita Egan, for this extra April tip of the month.   Below are excepts from the Wisconsin Horticulture Division of Extension.  Follow the link for the full article. 

What is winter burn? 
Winter burn is a common problem of evergreens including those with broad leaves (e.g., boxwood, holly, rhododendron), needles (e.g., fir, hemlock, pine, spruce, yew) and scale-like leaves (e.g., arborvitae, false cypress, juniper) grown in open, unprotected locations and exposed to severe winter conditions.  Read more in the link below.

What does winter burn look like? 
Winter burn symptoms often become apparent as the snow melts and spring temperatures rise.  Foliage starts to brown at the tips of branches with browning progressing inward toward the center of the plant. Read more in the link below

What causes winter burn? 
There are many factors that can contribute to winter burn.  In general, plants with shallow or poorly-developed root systems that do not efficiently take up water (e.g., recent transplants) are more prone to winter burn.  Warm fall temperatures that delay the onset of plant dormancy can also contribute to winter burn. Read more in the link below. 

How do I save a plant with winter burn? 
For evergreens such as arborvitaes, boxwoods, junipers and yews, prune out dead, brown, damaged or dying tissue in mid-spring after new foliage is produced.  If new foliage has not yet emerged by spring, scratch the bark on affected branches and look for green tissue underneath.  Also gently peel back the bud scales to look for inner green bud tissue.  If the stem or bud tissue is green, buds on the branch may still break to form new foliage.  If the tissue is brown, the branch is most likely dead and you should prune the branch back to a live, lateral bud or branch.  Such buds and branches may be far back inside the canopy and pruning may remove a substantial amount of the plant.  Pines, spruces and firs typically produce new growth at branch tips in spring that will replace winter burn-damaged needles, and thus pruning may not be required on these evergreens.  After a couple of growing seasons, new foliage will fill in the areas that were damaged.  If an entire evergreen is brown, recovery is unlikely and the plant should be replaced with something (e.g., a deciduous shrub or tree) that is better-suited to the site.

How do I avoid problems with winter burn in the future? 
​Follow the link below for more information 
hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/winter-burn/