A Seasonal Guide: Prepare Your Lawn and Garden for Winter
Landscaping in winter is a practice that comes with its own set of guidelines, just like landscaping any other season. To be able to play your part in providing a beautiful Pennsylvania landscape, there are a few best practices to follow before the winter season so your yard bounces right back in spring. In this article, we are going to explore winter land and landscape care.
Turn Off Your Sprinkler System and Winterize it
Watering is great during those warmer months because it promotes growth. However, as the temperatures drop, it can do more harm than good. When it gets cold, you will want to deactivate the sprinkler schedule and winterize the system so it doesn’t freeze and flood your yard.
Use Mulch in Your Garden
Mulch is a wonderful protective layer for winter that can help to keep roots warm on those colder days. You can rely on mulch to provide a barrier and maintain moisture levels for plants. Spread the mulch around your plants, bushes, and the bases of trees.
Cut, Aerate, and Fertilize Your Grass
During the winter season, your grass will not grow like it normally does—but that doesn’t mean that you can just leave it alone. Just before that first big freeze, cut the grass under 2.5 inches, aerate your lawn, and apply fertilizer to support growth in the new season.
Prune Your Trees for Snow
Snowfall can be highly damaging for trees. This means that you want to take preventative measures to ensure that your trees survive during the winter. An important consideration here is identifying and removing weak branches that are likely to break. Cutting these branches can save the other branches around them and help your tree to take on minimal damage during snowy days.
Clean Up Your Yard
Winter brings plenty of unique challenges to your yard, which means that you want to give it the best chance that you can. Remove any debris, rot, or extra materials from your yard during this season—especially in your garden. Leaves are a big consideration during cleanup as well. You will either want to rake up the leaves in your yard or run over them with the lawnmower to create a natural mulch.
Protect Your Vegetables
Having a vegetable garden brings delicious fruits and veggies directly into your home, but one bad winter can ruin it all. To ensure that your vegetables are ready to sleep through winter and wake up revitalized in the spring, you will need to offer them additional protection.
Even the most resilient vegetables will benefit from an added physical layer of protection. Create your own covering or structure to keep the veggies protected from frost. Be sure to consider the weight of snow during your design.
Get Your Winter Landscaping Started
Whether you are landscaping for commercial properties or residential properties, the right practices make all the difference. Give your yard the best chance to survive the winter and come back ready to grow in spring by making sure that every detail is accounted for. If you want a beautiful yard with none of the hassle, contact your favorite PA landscapers today!