Preparing your Lawn and Landscaping for Winter
Fall is moving rapidly through Southwestern PA, and winter will be here in no time. Although summer is now over, it doesn’t mean that lawn care can stop.
There are a variety of ways that you need to maintain and care for your lawn during the fall to ensure it remains strong and healthy through the cold Pittsburgh winter.
Expert Tips for Pre-Winter Lawn Care and Preparation
Avoid Too Much Foot Traffic
As your lawn begins to frost or becomes dormant for the
winter season, you want to avoid too much lawn traffic. Even if your grass is strong, it can become weakened if the same path is walked over too many times. So as the weather cools down, be sure to keep off your lawn as much as possible to reduce your risk of weakening your grass.
winter season, you want to avoid too much lawn traffic. Even if your grass is strong, it can become weakened if the same path is walked over too many times. So as the weather cools down, be sure to keep off your lawn as much as possible to reduce your risk of weakening your grass.
Keep Your Lawn Clean
As the beautiful fall leaves hit your lawn, be sure to clean them up. These leaves will not insulate your lawn from the cold weather; they will, however, block out the sunlight your lawn needs for survival. If your lawn is deprived of sunlight, you can expect a weak or brown lawn come springtime. To clean up these leaves, you can mulch them into smaller pieces to let the sunlight through, or you can rake them into piles and dispose of them.
Clean Up Your Plant Beds
To prepare for winter, be sure to clean out leaves and other plant debris from borders and plant beds. This will help to prevent mold and mildew from accumulating. You should also make sure to pull any weeds in your garden and remove any of your dead or dying annuals. After the first hard freeze of the winter, we recommend applying a 2-3” deep mulch around your plants to insulate and protect their roots from the cold.
Fertilize Your Lawn
Feeding your lawn is crucial when preparing for the winter season. Fall is the perfect time to fertilize your lawn because the plants are starting to respond to triggers like day length and temperature change. These triggers slow down their growth and make them shift their food reserves from the leaves to the roots.
Even as the temperature gets colder, your grass roots remain active in the soil. This means when you feed your lawn in the fall, you are feeding active grass roots, which will help them store more nutrients for the winter season. This will help your lawn get back to a lush green faster in the spring season.
Don’t Skip the Mowing
Even as the weather cools down, you will have to continue mowing the lawn as needed until it stops growing for the season. When you continue to mow your lawn, you are helping your grass more efficiently receive the water and sunlight needed to grow strong and healthy. Toward the end of the season, be sure to cut your lawn on your mower’s lowest setting for the last two mowing before winter.
Also, by mowing your grass short, it leaves fewer leaves on the grass to turn brown during the winter. When mowing, make sure to avoid trimming off more than one-third of the grass blade per cutting. Trimming the lawn too low can stunt its growth, making it more likely to suffer from diseases and weeds.
Superior Lawn Care’s Fall Special Offer
At Superior Lawn Care, our Fall Special Offer can get your lawn ready for the winter months so you can enjoy a healthy green lawn this spring! Our Fall Special Offer includes Lime Application, Aeration, and Overseeding.
Contact us today to learn about how our lawn care services can prepare your lawn for winter. We proudly serve southwestern PA, including Belle Vernon, Indiana, Upper St. Clair, Greensburg, Uniontown, Wexford, and throughout the Pittsburgh area.