It’s not really something most people think about when the cold weather strikes; although caring for your lawn in preparation for spring is still important. Even though the lawnmower has been put into storage, lawn maintenance is still possible during winter. Here are some of our best lawn care tips to keep your lawn healthy year-round.
Fertilizing Your Lawn
Take the time to fertilize your lawn either in late fall or the beginning of winter. Most lawns are made up of cool-season grasses, consisting of types such as Bermuda and bluegrass. If your grasses are a cool-season blend, these lawn care tips for fertilizing are applicable.
Before the first frost hits, provide your lawn with additional nutrients to feed the grass throughout winter. Fertilizing the lawn is a great way to keep the grass and soil healthy during the colder months when there is no other source of nutrition. You will see the benefits in spring when your grass looks well-fed and strong, compared to your neighbors’ lawns.
Lawn Mowing
Lawn mowing in preparation for winter is an art form. A slow and gradual cutting strategy is the best way to prepare your grass for winter. You can achieve this by lowering the cutting base of your mower a little each time you cut the grass towards the end of summer. When grass is shortened in increments in this way, it is less likely to suffer from shock and will cope better with winter weather.
The trick is to not leave your grass too tall during the winter. This helps to protect the lawn from invasive pests, such as field mice. These little critters like to find warm grass and they can destroy a lawn when they make their nests. Dead spots will appear around your lawn where mice have made a home. Cutting the grass before the frost is a deterrent that works.
Lawn Cleaning
You do not want to leave any unnecessary items on your lawn over winter. Everything from kids’ toys to lawn equipment will leave dead spots that will impact on the appearance of the lawn when spring finally arrives. This can become a nightmare as far as maintaining and repairing the lawn. Keeping these objects of the lawn is a must during the winter.
Every few days, conduct an inspection of your lawn to ensure no new objects have been abandoned. If you have a dog, look out for toys. Both kids and adults are also guilty of forgetting the rules, so remain vigilant and protect your lawn from foreign objects.
Limit Lawn Traffic
When there is no real distinction between a lawn and a pathway, it is easy to forget there is grass under all that snow. The grass is already doing all that it can to deal with the winter cold. You or anyone else walking over it will not help. Keep off the grass to help your lawn stay healthy throughout the winter.
If possible, cordon off your lawn so family members and visitors are not tempted to use it as a shortcut to the front door. Anything you can do to limit the amount of traffic on your lawn is a good thing. You can even put up a sign to informs visitors the lawn is a no-go area. It is good practice to keep your walkways clear. People are more likely to follow the conventional path when they can clearly see the boundaries.
Are you planning on using your lawn as additional parking space during the winter? Don’t. Your grass is strong and resilient but it will not survive the weight of a vehicle. The soil provides much-needed life support to your grass and is also susceptible to damage from improperly parked vehicles. These vehicles will not only kill your grass and leave dead spots, but they will also clear a path for invasive weeds to take route in your lawn.
Fall Preparations
One of the best tips we can give for lawn care in the winter is to start in the fall. You will have an easy time of lawn care in preparation for the winter months but that doesn’t mean the jobs you do aren’t important. Preparing your lawn to face the cold is an essential part of maintenance. Before the first frost or the temperature dips below zero, aerating, fertilizing, and mowing the lawn are your main concerns.
Make sure to also rake any dead leaves and remove broken branches from the lawn and any other parts of your garden. These materials can help to promote wet spots which may result in moss or mold forming. Even though your lawn will remain dormant in winter, it still deserves respect from family and visitors. Let everyone know you want the lawn left alone during winter, which includes no traffic and no abandoning objects to create dead spots.
If you have additional winter lawn needs, Front Range Arborists can provide excellence in services. Contact us today to speak to one of our expert arborists.
Find out more about how Front Range Arborists can help provide services to residential, commercial, and municipal institutions with all of our Tree Services:
- Tree Pruning
- Stump and Tree Removal
- Shrub Pruning
- Fire Mitigation
- Fertilization
- Winter Watering
- Pest Control
- Tree Preservation
