No one wants to come to a dull or neglected property this winter. Employees don’t enjoy walking past dead plants to get into the office, customers can feel threatened by feeble, snow-laden branches ready to snap and you don’t want to lose business.

Add some life and safety to your commercial business this cold-weather season with these winter landscape ideas.

Add Colorful Winter Shrubs

Consider your idea of a typical commercial property. You probably envision a building smartly outlined with perfectly manicured shrubs! Businesses typically include shrubs as landscaping staples because they are usually hardier than flowers and add a lush pop of green— plus, they can be easily shaped to look orderly and professional.

This winter, consider adding some shrubs that not only will withstand the cold weather but will also add some color to your property. Many temperature-hardy shrubs produce berries or flowers in vibrant colors beyond the usual green.

Camellia, for example, blooms flowers throughout the wintertime, in a variety of colors like white, pink, yellow and red. A species called beautyberry produces striking purple berries throughout the cold season too.

To get in the holiday spirit, plant a variety called nandina, which produces flame-colored foliage for a touch of merry red— or, add holly or cranberry bushes. Not only will the bright colors enliven an otherwise dull landscape, but the berry bushes will attract birds for some pleasant birdwatching from your office windows.

Landscaping tip: Don’t forget to winterize your shrubs and entire landscape!

Plant Cool-Weather Blooms

You might not think winter is a good time to plant flowers in Pennsylvania, but for some cold-resistant plants, this time of the year is actually ideal. In fact, some flowers— like the stunning yellow and purple viola— wait until the winter to bloom.

Dogwoods are an excellent tree for commercial properties, producing soft white or pink flowers in the spring and withstanding the snowy season boldly. These trees actually produce small clusters of red fruit during the winter too for a change of scenery.

Don’t forget about the iconic poinsettia. These Christmas flowers look great in commercial planters mixed with some pine branches or winter foliage. Or, line them along your outdoor stairwell and let your employees take a pot home with them their last day before the holiday break.

Daffodils and tulips can be found in perennial varieties, and are tall flowers which peak up through the soil as winter winds to an end. Although they won’t bloom through the wintertime, they’re an excellent addition to your commercial property to ensure your business is bright and beautiful come spring.

Landscaping tip: Here are some more winter blooming flowers to add to your commercial landscape.

Take on Tree Pruning or Removal

Contrary to popular belief, the best time to trim your trees and shrubs isn’t during the fall. It’s actually during the wintertime when your plants aren’t using up their energy reserves to recover from the shock of some harsh cuts. These stored nutrients are needed to make it through the cold ice and snow, and trimming your plants too early could snap up it up and decrease their chances of surviving the winter.

Winter is the season for shaping and cleaning up any overgrowth or dead limbs. It’s called dormant pruning, or trimming your plants when they’re in a state almost like hibernation.

If you have a Japanese maple or another tree that’s on its last leg and ready to be removed completely, early winter is a good time to do it. When snow and ice piles on these dead branches, the extra weight could cause them to break off or cause the entire tree to fall, threatening the safety of your business.

Maybe your tree isn’t dying, but you just want it out— or at least cut back significantly. During this time of the year, any remaining leaves or foliage will likely have fallen off, so your landscaper can see which parts of the tree need to go.

You might worry that the ground will be frozen during the winter, making it hard to remove your tree’s root system. But, in fact, the frozen ground actually makes it easier to ensure neighboring vegetation isn’t disturbed in the process, staying put while the dead tree is extracted.

Don’t Forget to Consider Your Drainage, Too

If you invest in these winter landscaping tips, you’ll want to make sure all the work wasn’t for nothing. One of the quickest ways to ruin a winter landscape is to let it flood with standing water or dirty slush, as temperatures rise and snow and ice melts.

In fact, not removing snow at your commercial business can be quite costly beyond only landscape damage. Not only could it deter customers, but it could also threaten the safety of your employees and more.

That’s why here at C. Caramanico & Sons, Inc. we offer both Landscape Maintenance and Snow & Ice Management services— as your one-stop-shop for commercial property care. Give us a call at 610.499.1640 today to ensure your business prospers this winter.