Letting Snow Pile Up On Shrubs? Knock It Off!

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What do you do when snow's piling up on shrubs, should you leave it there or try to remove it? Shovels can be sharp, frozen branches can snap, and you can do more harm than good. But, if you're careful and you get to it before it's frozen solid, you can help your shrubs survive the snow.

Stay ahead of it if you can - go out during a storm and gently brush snow off with a broom. For heavier snows, poke a hole in thick layers and a lot of it will just drop off – a broom handle works, or keep an 8-foot cheap plastic pipe handy, it's lightweight and it helps you reach to gently nudge the snow piles off.

And when we really get dumped on, shovel off the worst of the snow stacked on top – after a big storm you can sometimes remove a foot without hitting branches. That's fine. You'll have lightened your plant's load, then let the sun and eventually rising temperatures do the rest.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio