Landscaping Fall and Winter Cleanup
Getting ready to put the beds to bed for the season
Fall has officially arrived with its seasonal festivities and beautiful foliage taking center stage. While there’s plenty to enjoy about this time of year, one thing that may not be top of mind is autumn landscaping maintenance.
Fortunately, partnering with a landscape company that offers garden maintenance services ensures you’ll have time to make the most of the season while the experts prep your garden and grounds for the winter ahead.
Consider the following services, which should be performed each year in the fall.
Remove Leaves
Too many fallen leaves can interfere with the ability of sunlight, water and air to reach grass, making your lawn weaker and more susceptible to disease and pest infestations. Leaf cover also makes it difficult for moisture to evaporate, which can lead to lawn fungus.
The solution, of course, is regular raking or leaf blowing — which can be a hassle to keep up with, given the length of the season and different rates at which tree varieties drop their leaves. A professional landscape company can ensure everything gets done in a timely manner.
Prune Trees and Shrubs
Lifeless branches can succumb to winter snow and winds, endangering you and your home. Professionals will cut cracked, loose and diseased limbs close to the trunk, leaving the wounds exposed to heal. They will avoid leaving behind stubs, which will decay and eventually die, in the process becoming a more hospitable environment for insects and disease to thrive.
In flower beds, fall is the time to remove annuals — as well as the snails and slugs that feed on them — and trim spent perennial foliage down to the ground, which sends energy to the roots for next season. Every few years, it’s time to divide crowded tuberous plants, like irises and daylilies.
Planting new shrubs in early fall gives the plants a head start at establishing roots in the season’s cool, moist soil.
Prepare Your Lawn
Fall is the best time to aerate compressed soil to ensure that water and nutrients can reach grass roots. Similarly, because grass roots keep growing until the ground reaches a temperature of about 40 degrees, fall is an ideal time to fertilize the lawn. Applying a high-phosphorus mix to lawns during fall means turf will green up earlier in the spring.
For the final mow, grass should be cut down short — about 1¼ inches — to inhibit fungal diseases.
Winterize Water Systems
Ahead of freezing temperatures, fall is the time to have your landscaper blow out your irrigation system. Using an air compressor to get all of the water out of irrigation pipes prevents damage to the pipes and the moving parts of the system.
Prepare for Winter
Autumn’s mild days might not have you thinking about snow removal services, but inclement weather is just around the corner. Now is the time to enroll in a snow and ice management program that includes clearing parking lots, driveways, walkways and other paved surfaces. Pre-treatment service also is available prior to inclement weather.
Looking for help with fall cleanup and winterizing your garden and grounds? We’d love to help you protect your landscaping investment year-round. Learn more about our maintenance services here or contact us for a consultation.
