Preparing Your Landscape for Winter

With summer coming to an end, it’s almost time to start preparing your lawn for winter. The coldest months can wreak havoc on even the best cared for landscapes, and if you want your lawn to make it through January unscathed, it’s best to give it a little TLC before the snowfalls hit. Here are a few tips for keeping your lawn healthy, regardless of the harsh wintertime weather.

Get Rid of Leaves

Kids may enjoy jumping in piles of leaves come autumn, but every homeowner understands how much of a hassle they can be to get rid of. If you want a healthy lawn come spring, however, it’s important that you don’t let dead leaves remain.

When debris like dead leaves or grass sits on top of the soil for too long, it’s known as thatch. This can be very damaging to the lawn, because:

1. Thatch can become a haven for fungal diseases, which hinders the growth of healthy grass.
2. It can encourage the growth of moss, which negatively impacts grass health.
3. It can impede drainage, which affects soil quality.

To make sure your landscape isn’t negatively impacted by thatch, clear out any dead leaves before winter comes. For best results, use your rake or leaf blower when the leaves are dry rather than wet, as they’re easier to manage.

Care for Perennials

If you’ve invested a lot of time, money, and effort into your landscape, it would be a shame to see it go to waste because of cold temperatures and some snow. There are a few ways to protect your perennials before the cold weather hits.

1. Autumn is a great time to prune and cut back perennials. Use a solid pair of pruners on your plants, as a dull pair of shears can do more damage than good. Try not to prune too early in your plant’s growth’s cycle, as they need to store as much energy as possible before the temperatures drop.
2. Autumn is also a good time to get rid of the weeds that crop up around perennials. They’re also storing up energy for wintertime, so hitting them now can help minimize your weed problem for months to come. Apply a weed-killing compound to your weeds, and that should help you control your growing weed population.

Get Rid of Seasonal Plants

Before the wintry weather descends, clear any seasonal plants from your lawn or garden. You can even add them to the compost pile, and mix them with some manure or lime. This will provide effective nutrition for your soil during the colder months, leaving you with the perfect place to plant come springtime.

Protect Weather-Sensitive Plants

There are plenty of plants that are negatively affected by cold, wintry weather. Survey your lawn and find all the plants in need of a little extra care. Then surround them with a ring of leaves or straw for the duration of winter. This layer of insulation will help keep them safe all season long.