Our forum friends from Canada should be able to help you out with this problem. Where do you live in Canada?

Youre forgetting the Minnesotans MrsG lol

Up here we receive "reliable" snow falls of 3 feet. The record snowfall in a day is 6 feet.

I havnt noticed any major damage due to snow. The only places I have problems are where the eves dont have an end, or where there are none at all (basically heavy falling rain and ice). To be fair, a good portion of my plants and trees are new.

It would be good if you update your page with zone and where you live.

I think heaving snow is better then none,..even with some of the drawbacks.

100 shrubs is not that many to knock the snow off,.. take a broom. I have much worse damage from moose.

I've found the heaving snow causes plenty of damage, I've had many small fruit trees damaged. Even this year the snow was deeper than I had expected and lost small branches just over 3' from the ground.

Yes coming home from work in the dark to shovel around the 100+ bushes by flashlight to be serious stuff and hoped there was a trick. Looking forward for taller growth and may end up staking each and tying up for winter in coming years.

Consider electric fencing for your moose... ground + positive real close together.

Are you heaving leaves on your plants? This would make it worse. I don't think you need to shovel, just shaking and staking when small.

>>rips off any lower branches on young fruit trees Are you talking about apple trees?

I don't want to fence, love the wildlife,..my motto, grow more for nature and me.