Snow can be pretty without being especially helpful

  
      Even people who don't like winter will usually admit that a fresh covering of snow can be pretty.  Now, here comes the "but.....".

     Please remember that the moisture from our storm this week does not count as "winter watering!"  In general, the amount of snow that fell along Colorado's Front Range wasn't deep enough or wet enough to offer a decent "drink" for plants' roots.  Our lawns might benefit a little.  Something is better than nothing, right?? 

     But roots of perennials are down several inches.  Roots of mature trees can and should be down more eighteen inches or more.  The modest moisture contained in this storm won't even begin to soak in that far.

     So I will continue to urge you to drag out a hose on a warm winter morning and give the trees, shrubs and perennials in your yard a good, deep drink....  something that will percolate down to the base of the root system.  The friendly folks at Tagawa's are always ready to help explain how much water the plants throughout your landscape are likely to need during cold, often windy and dry winter months.

     I know it sounds like a chore, but trust me on this:  when we haven't had a good  
soaking snow for four to six weeks, winter watering can make all the difference on whether the plants in your landscape survive and thrive.