Late Fall/Winter Lawn Care Tips
It should be cut down to 2”. This will reduce the chance of matting down under the snow and having dead spots next spring. It also makes leaf removal easier. Be sure not to cut it too short, though so there’s a little left of the grass blades to protect the growing points through the winter..
Leaf litter should be at a minimum. A thick layer of leaves can create dead spots next spring. You can either mulch them into the lawn or remove them. It doesn’t need to be completely free of leaves. Just be sure there aren’t piles or a coating of leaves that completely cover the lawn.
Keep concentrated foot traffic off of “showcase” areas of the lawn during the winter months. This applies whether under a snow pack or not. Compacted snow and ice can create quite a bit of damage come spring. Bare grass can also be damaged by foot traffic. New grass from late season seeding is especially susceptible to damage.
If at all possible, avoid piling snow on the lawn. Not only can it lead to damage by compaction, but ice melt, salts, and sand are not good for the lawn. This often results in spots that are very slow to green up in the spring, or may require repair.
Late Fall/Winter Tree & Shrub care tips
Clean leaf litter out from under trees and shrubs. Insect, diseases, and ticks can overwinter in the leaf layer. This is especially relevant if you’ve had a history of any of those problems.
There is seldom a reason to wrap, or otherwise shelter, evergreen shrubs during the winter. An exception would be those that are directly under a roof drip edge. Falling snow and ice can do damage, so it’s sometimes a good idea to either tie the branches together or somehow shelter the plant. Even then, this is only practical with shrubs that have an upright and compact growth habit such as boxwood, yew, or certain types of arborvitae. Otherwise, most native shrubs are conditioned to withstand winter. Wrapping them can sometimes shelter insect/disease pests and cause more severe infestations in the following season. If winter drying of leaves, and/or deer browsing is a problem on some of your evergreens, then our anti-desiccant and deer repellant are very effective.
Examine the bare trees and shrubs for any broken branches. This is an excellent time to prune out broken limbs and for pruning in general. Snow load will only worsen the breaks and it’s best to take care of before that happens. WE CAN HELP WITH THIS.
Avoid snow blowing, or otherwise piling snow, on trees and shrubs. This is just as bad on ornamental trees and shrubs as it is on lawns.