Winterizing your lawn & landscape

There are a number of fall lawn care and related tasks to complete to winterize the yard and prepare for the next growing season. Here are some common things to put on your check list.

Fall Lawn Care

Fertilize - Your lawns root system continues to grow during the fall season looking for nutrients to store for the winter. This is the perfect time to apply a winterizing fertilizer. Make sure to use a fertilizer with a lower rate of nitrogen (for top growth) and a higher rate of potassium (for root growth).

Watering - The lawn will require less water in the fall but dont cut the water to soon. Continue to water until the average daily tempuraters are below 60 degrees. When its time to shut the water off make sure to drain and blow out any water in lines exposed to cold weather.

Mowing - After doing your final fall clean up you will want to give the lawn a good mowing. You dont want to scalp the lawn but its good to mow a little lower around 2-2.5 inches. Keeping the lawn too long over winter can result in matted areas which can lead to snow mold and thin areas in spring.

Seeding - If you ever want to overseed your lawn with a good grass seed this would be the perfect time.

Winterizing Trees & Shrubs

Fertilize - Most trees and shrubs will benefit from a good balanced fertilizer in the fall. Something similar to a 16-16-16 would work great for winter nutrients and give everything a boost in the spring.

Water - Proper watering in the fall is also very important. Over winter as the ground freezes plants can have a hard time getting water. Give them a good late fall watering to last them overwinter. Water under the entire canopy area and beyond.

Clean up - Cleaning up leaves and debris in fall will help everything go smooth in the spring. Its much easier to clean dry leaves in the fall rather than dealing with wet cold matted leaves in the spring. This is extra important for leaves on the lawn. Keeping leaves on the lawn over winter can lead to fungus problems and matted thin areas.

Winterize Landscape Equipment

Adding a fuel stabilizer to your gas for your mower and other equipment will help your old fuel from seperating and causing problems for your small engines. Make sure after adding treated gas to your equipment that you run the engine to circulate it throughout the engine. This is also a good time to change the oil, sharpen mower blades and complete any other standard maintenance.

Never hesitate to call Lush Spray Service whenever you have a question about your lawn and landscape.