The lawn is an integral part of millions of American homes and it brings great beauty to the landscape, especially in front yards. However, every homeowner with a lawn knows that a lawn takes a considerable amount of watering and seasonal maintenance to keep it healthy. While not much lawn work is performed in the colder seasons, there are some essential tasks to help make sure your lawn survives the winter. Here are five ways a lawn service near me preps for winter weather in Trenton and New Boston, MI.
Related: DON'T NEGLECT YOUR LAWN CARE THIS WINTER IN FLAT ROCK AND WOODHAVEN, MI
Fertilization
Throughout the winter, the roots will be conserving their energy and growing as deep as possible so that when spring arrives, growing can start as soon as possible. To help support the grass through the winter, lawn service professionals will apply a slow-releasing fertilizer to the lawn in late fall. The concentration is composed of nutrients and naturally-occurring chemicals that the roots need to thrive.
Repair Bare Spots
Fall is a great time to overseed any bare spots; while the spots will remain bare during the winter, the seeds will work themselves into the ground with each rain, and will germinate quickly as the spring thaw softens the soil. If you prefer to replace a barren area with sod, this is a task best left for spring since the roots won’t have any luck getting established in frozen soil.
Weed Killer
Thankfully, weeds tend not to grow very quickly during the cold weather. But their roots - like the roots of your turf grasses - are absorbing nutrients in preparation for the spring growth spurt. Late fall is the perfect time to address the weed problem with weed killer. Lawn service professionals will apply weed killer to help prevent the growth cycles of the spring. Weeds usually spread their seeds during late summer and these seeds sprout in the spring. It’s hugely important to stop the sprouts in their tracks before they ever make it through the canopy of your lawn. Once they’ve reached sunlight, it’s off to the races; and like with most lawn care problems, prevention is more effective than the cure. Make sure weed killer is a part of your winter lawn service plan.
Leaf Removal
One of the reasons for damaged lawns throughout the year is the accumulation of leaf debris during fall. While leaves are light and dry as they fall to the ground, they quickly become heavy and soaked and sticky during the first rain. This sodden blanket of leaves will deprive the grass underneath from the water, oxygen, and sunlight it needs to survive through the winter. Make sure that leaf removal is an integral part of your lawn service plan so your lawn isn’t damaged before winter even begins.
Snow Removal
Another direct threat to your lawn comes not from the snow itself, but from improper snow removal. Snow management is necessary for safety and appearances of a home during winter. However, the snow must be removed from the landscape rather than just pushed onto the lawn. Naturally fallen snow won’t harm grass in normal circumstances. Yet, when snow is shoveled onto the lawn, it packs down, removes oxygen, and suffocates the grass just like soggy leaves. Not only that, careless snowplowing can dig deep ruts into the lawn and completely uproot the grass. Make sure that proper snow removal is another integral part of your winter lawn service plan.
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