As temperatures drop, it’s time to start thinking about performing some basic winter lawn and landscape care. Taking the proper precautions now can ensure your trees, shrubs, and lawn come back to vibrant life in the spring. Here’s what our specialists recommend for customers who want to protect their lawn landscaping plants this winter.
Winterize My Landscaping 101
Protecting Your Lawn During the Winter
- At the end of each growing season, it’s important to give the lawn a “winter cut.” We recommend grass heights of 3” to 3.5” all year round. The final cut before winter should keep grass down to that same length. This will help protect the lawn and minimize opportunity for pests and rot.
- Speaking of rot, it’s also important to remove leaves from the lawn throughout the winter. A heavy blanket of wet leaves is the ideal breeding ground for rot and mildew. Leaves can saturate a lawn while blocking sunlight and airflow. (Learn more about our leaf removal services.)
- Now is also a great time to fertilize and aerate your lawn. Though your lawn is not in an active growth state during the winter, those nutrients will remain in the soil, ready and available when springtime rolls around.
Winterizing My Landscaping – Trees, Shrubs & Plants
- Beds and any other areas around your trees, shrubs, and plants can benefit from a good mulching before winter sets in. Not only does mulching help with weed suppression and moisture retention throughout those hot summer months; it also helps keep roots warm and equalizes moisture levels throughout the cold winters. Discover our popular mulch options.
- Mulch can be even more effective when plastic or fabric is laid underneath as a barrier. There are pros and cons to both, which your Turf Managers specialist can explain. Plastic, for example, traps more moisture, while fabric allows for greater moisture and oxygen flow. On the other hand, plastic takes the advantage in keeping soil warmer.
- Protect your plants by pruning at the end of the winter season, right before new growth begins. This minimizes pruned limbs’ exposure to pests and disease.
- Tie any delicate tree limbs together to protect against damaging frost or snow, which may cause limbs to crack and break under pressure.
- Wrap a wire mesh around the base of young trees to ward off any animals that may attempt to gnaw at the tree’s base for nutrients in the winter.
Word of Warning: Salt!
While we don’t salt our roads in Middle Tennessee nearly as often as other areas of the country, salt does make an appearance at least a couple of times a year. While a great benefit to freezing roads, salt runoff can be harmful to trees, shrubs, and plants by drawing away moisture. If you have any roadside plants (or should you salt your own sidewalks), be sure to flush out the soil with water in order to keep plants hydrated.
Protect Your Landscape During Winter With Turf Managers
Need help getting your lawn in tip-top shape for winter? Wherever you live in the Greater Nashville Area, just call (615) 269-7706 or email us at helpdesk@turfmanagersllc.com for pricing and scheduling. It’s not too late to winterize your landscaping. Let’s get you on the schedule today!
