November 8, 2019 If this is your first winter maintaining grass, then understanding what to do before and during your lawn’s dormant period will be crucial until spring stops by again. If you take the right steps to care for your lawn during winter, you will have a happy, healthy lawn come springtime. What Happens to Your Grass During the Winter? Always keep in mind – brown grass doesn’t mean it’s dead grass. Your grass will go dormant during the winter and turn brown in order the protect the crown. The crown is the section where the roots and grass blades conjoin so keeping that intact will keep the grass alive. Preventative measures will ensure that your grass makes it through cold winters so take all the steps necessary to care for your lawn during winter or the re-seeding process can turn out costly. How Should You Care for Your Lawn? Aerate – Now is probably the best time to aerate your lawn before the fall time ends. Aerating will perforate tiny holes into the soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots of your grass. You can even take the extra step of fertilizing your lawn. Overseeding – If you start seeing patchy areas on your lawn, you can overseed these areas after aerating to keep it from spreading. It takes about 1-2 weeks for the seeds to germinate, but it can take longer depending on the type of grass that you have. Get rid of weeds – Even though your lawn has gone dormant for the winter, weeds still continue to grow. Keep doing your regular weed maintenance to avoid building up work for spring. Raking – This might sound like a simple task but raking up dead leaves will help avoid critters like mice, from burrowing and leaving feces around. Their urine can also cause serious and unrecoverable damage to your lawn so it’s best to keep it clean. Other Lawn Care Tips Lower the cut length of your mower for those last times that you mow. Excessively long grass can cause disease and damage during the winter. However, avoid cutting your grass too low to the point where you expose the crown of the plant. Avoid an excessive amount of traffic on your dormant grass since this is a weaker time period for your lawn. Don’t worry as it will still grow back during spring but it can take a longer time compared to untouched areas. Salt is known to help plow through snow in the winter but try to avoid getting any salt around your grass. This can ruin all the care and preparation that you’ve amounted to by doing this. Avoid watering your lawn too much during the winter if there’s ample rain. Overwatering can encourage mildew to grow in the soil so a general rule of thumb is to lightly water your grass every two weeks, just enough to get the crown and roots. Winters can be very unpredictable so getting advice from a professional can be the best step to ensure that your grass makes it through. Front Range Arborists has specialized professionals that provide quality turf care in a safe professional manner. Our company focuses on upholding the highest ethical standards of the green industry. Call Front Range Arborists at (719) 635-7459 or use our online form for a free estimate today!
