As the prime growing season of summer morphs into fall and winter, there are still things you can do for your landscape that will make life easier the following spring. Doing some prep work now will help make next year fruitful and beautiful. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of five tips to prepare your landscape for winter.
Tend To Your Lawn
Since summer is finished you may think your lawn care duties are also done. Not so fast! Tending to your lawn before winter arrives will ensure a fuller, greener patch of grass next year. Cut the lawn down to the minimum height and remove any excess thatch – ie built-up organic material. Fall is the best time to aerate, fertilize and reseed your lawn, so if you see any bald patches, now is the time to take care of them.
Trim The Trees
Overgrown tree branches can become dangerous if they’re overloaded with snow. Trimming them back before the snow falls will prevent tree limbs from breaking off underneath the weight of a wet snow and potentially damaging your house or other structures. Lopping off damaged, diseased or overgrown branches will not only lead to a stronger tree, it’ll reduce the danger of uncontrolled breakage.
Add More Mulch
Mulch works to regulate soil temperature, prevent the evaporation of moisture and provide tree and plant roots with an extra dose of nutrients. Topping up your mulch in the fall will help your plants survive the winter and thrive the following spring.
Get Rid Of Weeds
Unfortunately, weeding is a never ending task. Just because winter is approaching doesn’t mean that you’ll finally get out of weeding. Now is the best time to do a thorough weed removal because it will help ensure your desirable plants have easier access to the limited amount of moisture and nutrients that are available in the winter.
Protect Hardscaping
If your landscape has water features, delicate ornamentation or hardscaping that’s prone to rusting, doing what you can to protect them from the winter elements should be a task that’s taken on now. Pump water out of ponds, birdbaths and plumbing and cover up or store anything that can’t withstand cold weather. Taking care of your hardscaping now will ensure it lasts to see another season.
