Winter Lawn Care: How to Prepare Your Landscape for the Winter Months
OK, this is it folks: your last chance to prep your yard for the harsh reality of winter. In no time, the frigid temps and snow will be here and you had better have prepared your landscape to take the hit. If not, you’ll have a lot more work to do when things thaw out in spring. Be prepared to prune, plant and mulch before you get frozen out by Mother Nature.
Do Some Mulching
While this may seem like strictly a spring task, mulching in fall is actually very protective for your landscape. In fact, fall mulching is even better for your plants than spring mulching, acting as a protective layer from the frost and trapping in moisture during the dry months of winter, says House Logic. All you need is a couple of inches of fresh mulch, placed around your shrubbery and trees. Get clean, shredded mulch from your local home and garden center, though — nothing taken from sketchy sources such as free municipal piles. Why? They often contain disease spores such as leaf spot and pine bark borers. Keep it clean people!
Remove Dead Landscaping and Debris
It’s time to neaten up your landscaping before winter conditions set in. Get rid of dead annuals, cutting back grasses and perennials. Don’t get too aggressive, just prune back dead branches and remove dried blossoms but leave the stalks (even though they look dead), as these will create new buds in spring.
Wrap Shrubs
Pick up some burlap from the home improvement store and use it to gently wrap your shrubs. Without this added protection, heavy snow, ice and winds can dry out your shrubs and cause them to crack. The result in spring is a permanently misshapen and unhealthy shrub, and nobody wants that. If you have small plants, hide them under overturned pots or buckets, and place shredded leaves around baby trees or those that are vulnerable to the cold.
Aerate and Seed
If you want your lawn to bounce back easily next spring, it’s time to aerate it before it dies and gets brown. You still have time. When you aerate, you break up the dry, compact soil so water and nutrients can get in there. Spread seed over your lawn and in bare spots especially to combat the risk of disease. You may also want to fertilize to control weeds like dandelions and thistles, which is even more effective now than in summer.
Cut Back Flowers
Got perennials? Has the temp plunged below freezing yet? If so, cut them back to within a couple of inches of the ground. Later, add hay, pine needles or mulch to further protect those perennials from the ravages of winter.
Clean up the Yard
Lastly, rake the yard of leaves, pick up sticks and pine cones, and repair or take in garden ornaments and accessories.
T&B Landscape and Irrigation is here to help you with the above winter lawn care and preparation services. Just give us a call to book your appointment, but don’t wait much longer — winter will be here in two short weeks!