Be sure to make a conscious effort to enjoy the autumn yard to the fullest before digging in to those fall landscaping chores to prepare your yard for winter! Below are some helpful ideas for you to follow to put your yard and landscape to rest for the cold snowy season.
Fertilize:
Fall is the most important time to fertilize your lawn, soil temperatures are still warm and grass plants are taking in nutrients to store as energy for next spring’s new roots and shoots. Fall fertilizing helps keep lawns vigorous and healthy. It will also help maintain color throughout the fall and winter, promote earlier spring green up, and increase root growth.
Mowing:
Continue mowing every week until the grass has stopped growing. Make sure to mow your grass shorter toward the end of the season, set your mower deck around 1.25”. Also, rake the leaves as you do not want to have a heavy thatch layer on your lawn come spring.
Dethatch or Aerate:
Dethatching involves pulling vertically oriented tines through the turf. Aerating involves extracting small cores of soil. Both reduce thatch and layers of dead grass stems and roots that build up faster than they can decompose resulting in reduced water penetration to the roots.
Landscape Beds:
You spend so much time to make your landscape beautiful all summer long and now it’s time to put your beds to rest. To start, make sure you have your bulbs planted for the spring. Next, trim all shrubs and cut back perennials. Clean out all leaves and debris and add mulch to your beds to insulate your plants for the winter. Make sure your evergreens are well watered to prevent winter burn. It might also be necessary to cover your evergreens with burlap if they are in a windy spot.
In no time your yard work will be finished and your landscape will be ready for the long winter nap. Pahl’s is always available to help with your landscaping needs!
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