Keep your landscape healthy throughout the fall and winter with these seasonal maintenance dos and don’ts. We’re talking everything from watering schedules and fertilizing, to deadheading flowers and mulching. Ensure your garden is ready for the new seasons ahead.
Do…
- Keep Up with Watering
Lawns and plants need water anytime it’s dry, so continue watering them on schedule as weather dictates. As we move into the fall weather pattern, remember your plants will require less watering.
- Clean Up Garden Beds
Get rid of perennial weeds and remove dead plants to make space for annuals to flourish. Also deadhead flowers to promote new plant growth and restore current growth.
- Take the Fall
Remove all fallen leaves before they smother your grass. You can rake them and turn them into compost to provide nutrients to the soil.
- Mulch as You Need
Add mulch to new beds and refresh it on old ones to lock in moisture, protect plant roots and prevent wandering weeds.
Don’t…
- Go in Heavy-Handed
Heavy pruning will promote new growth that is susceptible to freeze damage. Let certain plants, like roses and azaleas, alone in the winter months since pruning them removes buds necessary to produce flowers in the spring. Remember this tip: February is the optimal time to prune most plants and shrubs (except spring bloomers such as azaleas).
- Fertilize Your Lawn
As fall continues and winter months approach, your lawn will begin to go dormant. Since your grass has stopped growing, fertilizer will not be utilized, and its presence will promote fungus growth and disease.
- Overwork Your Lawn
In the fall and winter months, your yard’s growth is slowing down, and in some cases going dormant. Low mower decks, strong trimmers and aggressive raking will scalp your lawn. If you continue working at that rate, bare areas will be exposed, leaving your yard susceptible to weeds and delayed recovery in the spring.
For these and more seasonal maintenance tips, contact your Prewett, Read & Associates team at 713.468.4313.