Also referred to as “second spring,” fall is the perfect time to prepare your lawn for the next spring and summer. Keeping up with basic maintenance throughout this season strengthens root development and ensures the overall health of your grass and plants. Review the following fall landscaping checklist to make sure your yard is prepared for the upcoming change of seasons.
- Aerate or dethatch your lawn. When at least another month remains before the expected arrival of the first frost, it is time to aerate or dethatch. This process reduces the accumulation of dead grass, which hinders the proper absorption of water and nutrients in the soil and plant root systems. Aerating involves perforating compressed soil with a garden fork or powered aerator, while dethatching is the process of carving vertical lines with a hand dethatcher, power rake, or vertical mower.
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- Fertilize your grass. Fall fertilizing with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer keeps your grass healthy and allows it to leave its dormant, brown stage earlier in the spring. It is best to fertilize twice during this season, once around the beginning of September and again when you mow for the last time of the year.
- Thoroughly water your lawn. If your lawn is stressed from drought when winter begins, it is at a higher risk of damage during the cold weather and will likely emerge weaker when it grows back in the spring.
- Continue to mow every week until your grass no longer grows, then test your soil. If the results indicate that you require fresh topsoil or limestone, Lammon Brothers offers bulk soil and landscape stone delivery at competitive rates.
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- Remove broadleaf weeds. Fall is the time of year that these weeds, including dandelions and ground ivy, are the most vulnerable to herbicides. Most lawns benefit from selective herbicides, but if your lawn includes warm-season grasses, you should use a nonselective herbicide.
- Collect leaves and trim dead tree limbs. Raking leaves onto a tarp and aerating the pile weekly will provide you with a nutrient-rich mixture to spread on your lawn and flower beds next spring.
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- Cut back and divide perennials. Removal of dead leaves and stems will increase available space and encourage new growth.
- Plant new trees, shrubs, and vines and maintain them by keeping the soil moist and pruning damaged limbs.
- Plant spring-flowering bulbs, including daffodils, tulips, and crocus, by late October.
- Mulch new beds before the ground freezes to keep new plants warm and reduce erosion. Lammon Brothers offers bulk delivery of various types of mulch, including triple processed and double processed varieties, and we can install it however you would like.
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- Shut off drip-irrigation systems. Standing water will freeze and cause cracks in the tubing.
Take advantage of fall’s cooler temperatures and still-warm soil to prepare your lawn and plants for a healthy, bountiful spring. Call 419.825.5956 or click to contact Lammon Brothers today to discuss how we can help you cross off items on your fall landscaping checklist!