Autumn Lawn Care
Fall lawn care is of utmost importance to transition the lawn from active growth in the fall to healthy dormancy during the winter. The goal of fall lawn care is to help prepare your lawn for winter and for a great spring transition. Here are some tips for fall lawn care.
- Scale back on the fertilizer. You will still want to fertilize, but you will want to select a fertilizer that is specifically for “winterizing.” These fertilizers will have less Nitrogen in relation to Phosphorous and Potassium. Nitrogen promotes top growth, which is why you use more of it during the summer. Phosphorous promotes root growth, which is what you want for your lawn to stay healthy throughout the winter and make a swift comeback in the spring.
- Mow less frequently, but at a shorter height. For our area, most lawns will stay healthy in the fall if cut to a height of about 2 to 2 1/2 inches, as opposed to 3-4 inches during the summer.
- Apply a broadleaf pre-emergent treatment. You can get “weed and feed” products that will help control winter and spring weeds, and give your lawn fall fertilizer.
- Overseed and water bare patches to spruce up your lawn. Areas overseeded in the fall will look good as new in the spring. Mow the overseeded areas once they are at least three inches tall. Keep these areas trimmed so that the grass does not succumb to a fungal problem during the winter.
- If your lawn gets a lot of foot traffic (particularly if you have kids!), contract with a landscaping professional to aerate the lawn and top-dress it with compost. This will cut down on thatch problems and compaction, which will keep your lawn healthier and more resilient to insect, pest and disease damage.
- Spot weed control is important in the fall. Before the ground freezes, dig up larger weeds with taproots (dandelions, in particular) before they have a chance to establish further and burst into bloom in the spring.
- Fall is a good time to aerate and top-dress with compost. Aeration encourages root growth, water and air penetration.
Landscape Maintenance for the Fall
In addition to lawn care tasks during the fall, it is important to give your landscape the best fall care. Here are some tips for putting the landscape to bed for the winter.
- Mulch around trees and in flowerbeds to stabilize temperatures, and prevent weeds from sprouting during the winter.
- Remove any broken or dead branches from trees that could be susceptible to breakage during ices storms and heavy snows.
- Mark the edges of your driveway so that snowplows don’t leave an immovable pile for you.
- Empty and bring terracotta and ceramic containers inside where they won’t fill with water, freeze and crack.
- Drain hoses and remove from outdoor spigots.
A few preventative measures in the fall will ensure a healthy start in the spring.
