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Protecting Your Plants and Shrubs During The Winter

If you are anything like me, you just passed Christmas and said, “Whoa! Where did the time go?”

Judging by my last blog post (July…) you can see that time has flown past me. The other day I saw one of my friends lugging around some “A-Frame” plant protectors. I couldn’t help but ask him, “What are you doing?” He told me that he was protecting his plants from snow sliding off of his roof. Long story short, he is installing some Sno Shield snow guards to protect his plants and won’t be hauling those things in and out every winter and spring.

This got me to thinking that I need to share with the web some ideas about gardening. Gardening is something I really enjoy, but this time of year, not many people who live in cold climates are thinking about gardening considering the amount of white stuff covering the ground. If you are a true gardening enthusiast though, you are always thinking about what you can do to make your trees and shrubs look the best. Snow itself will typically not cause much damage to your plants and shrubs. In fact, snow can act as an insulator the same way mulch does and is one of the best protectors of plants during the winter. There are a few things you may want to consider when snow comes your way and you want to protect your plants and shrubs.

When heavy snow falls happen, branches that normally have some bend can and will break in the winter if they are frozen and get too much of a snow load. Sometimes it is best not to remove this snow as you may cause further damage by breaking more branches than the snow itself. If you are expecting a large snow storm, proclaim yourself a snow guard and periodically shake the snow off of the branches during the storm before snow loads build up and become too heavy.

Another way snow may damage your plants and shrubs is when snow slides off of your roof and lands on your plants below. This “avalanche” can crush your plants; you as well if you are not careful. The snow and ice that comes off of a roof is so heavy that it can actually kill someone if it falls on them. When plants are covered by deep, natural snow, (snow blown onto plants does not count as it can actually damage your plants as well) sometimes the plants will be cushioned from the falling snow and ice. However, when they aren’t, this is where Sno Shield comes in to the seen.

You really have two options to protect your plants from snow and ice falling from your roof. The first is to build an A-Frame over the plants. These “teepees” are basically a wooden shelter that keeps the snow from hitting the plant. The problem with teepees is that they are burdensome to put out every year, hard to store during the summer, and not very attractive as my friend puts it. The alternative to these teepees is to use snow guards. Snow guards are devices that attach to your roof and keep the snow from sliding off your home on to the plants.

One more thing to keep in mind when protecting your plants during the winter is to make sure that you do not use chemicals that can damage your soil and hurt the roots of your plants to remove snow and ice on your walkways. Avoid putting piles of snow with salt near your plants and your lawn. If you cannot avoid doing so, make sure to use a salt that does not hurt your plants.

Even though there isn’t much green to see outside when snow is around, remember that under all of that white stuff there is a lot of green just waiting to appear and the more you do now to protect it now, the better it will look this coming spring.

New snow retention products coming

I can’t believe that the 4th has already come and gone.  I hope everyone had an enjoyable celebration of our nation’s independence.

Sno Shield is currently updating our web site to include the four new snow retention products we have been developing this past year, please check back frequently to catch a glimpse of our new snow guards and snow rail / fence.

It’s hard to imagine snow guards and snow retention in these hot summer months, but the mad rush is almost upon us. 

Enjoy your summer and stay safe! 

New Snow Guards

After a long hard winter Sno Shield is happy to announce the first of three new products to be released immediately this month.  After listening to our customers and wholesalers we have developed a smaller version of the Panel Guard.  We call it the SS Mini, and it has all the engineering strength of The Panel Guard, except it was designed for smaller projects with lighter snow loads or odd panel/tile shapes.  We also added the peel and stick installation capability to this product.

As with all of our Polycarbonate products we can color inject any standard color into the material making it near invisible to the observer.  The SS Mini was made to ease the burden of those who experience snow and ice once or twice a year, but really don’t need a fully designed snow retention system for their roof.  We understand just how frustrating it can be to keep climbing a ladder to replace or repair expensive rain gutters.  The SS Mini can even be placed on rain gutter leaf systems that allow ice build up to protrude past the drip zone, and onto you.  We hope you like the light weight design and find multiple applications for the SS Mini.

Spring is Coming

Spring is coming!  Spring is a good time to buy snow guards.  Doing so will allow you to take time to plan and install your Sno Shield snow guards.  Planning early for the installation of your snow guards can save you money.  When you purchase early, our distributors often offer specials.  If you wait till Fall, everyone is in a rush to get their snow guards installed.  Installers will charge a higher fee because of the rush that happens every Fall.  If you purchase them now, you might even be brave enough to just install them yourself saving you lots of money.  Think of how cool it will be at the next block party when you can call yourself a Do It Yourself Snow Guard Guru.

New, All Metal Snow Guards

If you don’t already have snow where you live, chances are it’s on its way! Each year, business and property owners lose money to damage caused by large sheets of snow sliding off their roof and onto vehicles, landscaping, gutters, or—worst of all—pedestrians. Roof snow guards will allow all that snow and ice to melt gradually and prevent uncontrolled slides, and Sno Shield offers the most superior snow guards in the industry.

Sno Shield might be based out of the small town of Ammon, Idaho but their product can be found on roofs from California to Maine. Founded by roofers with 20 years’ experience, Sno Shield is the only manufacturer to offer polycarbonate-metal hybrid roof snow guards. In contrast to other guards that will rust, stain, fade, or become brittle in cold weather, Sno Shield guards can be combined with Color Armor™, allowing them to blend in inconspicuously and match the life of any metal roof. No rust. No staining. No fading. And all for about a third of the cost of traditional, unsightly metal snow fences.

And now Sno Shield is proud to offer their new, all metal snow guards, the Metal Mini. These will allow customers with shingle, slate, and shake roofs to enjoy all the benefits of a roof snow guard system.

Sno Shield is available through roofers and gutter installers, metal manufacturers, supply warehouses, and smaller lumber stores. You can find a local dealer here. It’s not too late to get your Sno Shield guards up and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing your roof and property are cared for this winter, and many, many more to come.

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