Prepping Your Lawn For The Wintertime

The winter season is often regarded as one of the jolliest and heartfelt seasons of the year with all the holidays, festivities, parties, presents, cozy fireplaces, and family traditions. Although it may be a joyous time of the year for most, it’s certainly not a good time of the year for your lawn and landscaping.

It takes a lot of time to prepare for the holiday craze—shopping for presents, decorating, cooking, etc., and as most people will tell you, you shouldn’t wait till the last minute to start. The same rule applies when preparing your lawn and landscape for winter and shouldn’t be treated last minute if you’d like to keep it in top health for spring.

Nevertheless, here are three ways to help prepare your lawn for a harsh winter:

3 Tips to Prep Your Lawn for the Winter

One Final Haircut Before the Frost

We all want to look nice for holiday celebrations, right? Well, your lawn does too. So before the winter settles in, it’s recommended that you give it one last trimming. This helps to minimize the damage caused by stepping on grass when it’s frosted and assists with regrowth in the spring. Aerating your lawn before the ground freezes is also a huge help for healthy springtime growth. Be sure to aerate before you spread any fertilizer.

And remember to look up! Make sure that those overhanging branches are securely trimmed so that in the case of heavy snowfall or ice storms your branches are fortified and not subject to breaking off and causing damage to your house or even you.

Ways to Protect Your Lawn

There are a few additional measures you can also take to protect your lawn over the winter, but do consult your landscaping professionals before making drastic changes. Shut the water off your hose to prevent it from freezing and potentially bursting, causing damage to your lawn.

Additionally, make sure all leaves have been raked and composted. This compost can be tremendously helpful come spring; just be sure not to compost any leaves or needles that are too acidic. Moreover, make sure your compost is dry, crumbly, and cool to the touch. If it’s too warm and smells, it likely harbors too many pathogens and could actually do more damage than good. Contact your professional residential landscaper to find out which leaves are best for our soil.

Winter beauties

Despite winter being coined as a “dead” season, there are actually some flowers and foliage that thrive during the winter months and provide some much-needed color to the overwhelmingly dead garden. Some colorful plant species that thrive in the winter include calendula, Japanese andromeda, Helleborus niger (Christmas rose), primroses, and violas. Just add some mulch to the flowerbeds and they’ll be ready to thrive!

Adding evergreens to landscaping also adds a statement to landscaping and a touch of subtle color. Be cautious, however — some evergreens, if not properly maintained, can drop harmfully acidic needles, raising the PH of the soil and killing any nearby flowers.

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Contact Your Landscapers for all your landscaping needs for both residential and commercial properties. Got snow? We also offer a professional snow removal service! Call us! 570-338-2120