Essential Winter Lawn Care Tips
Learn About Winter Lawn Care
It’s not as much fun to garden in the winter, and thankfully there isn't as much to do as there is in the summer. However, winter lawn care matters if you want a safe winter landscape and a beautiful garden in spring. Here's what you need to know about what your landscape needs in the winter.
Is Winter Lawn Care Important?
For many homeowners, when the first snow covers their yards, all thoughts of landscape maintenance vanish. However, while your lawn and garden certainly move more slowly in the winter, there are still important things to be done.
In fact, providing superb lawn and garden care throughout the winter makes it much more likely that you will have a beautiful garden in the spring. Some aspects of winter lawn care, such as pruning and debris removal, keep your landscape safe through winter storms. Here's a summary of why winter lawn care matters for your landscape:
- Remove dead and unstable branches so they won't fall under ice and snow
- Treat shrubs and trees to prevent them from the worst of winter damage
- Eliminate overwintering pests and weeds so that they will not infest your garden in the spring
- Protect landscape plants from deer
Winter Lawn Care Tips for January Through March
January Lawn Care
It's a brand new year, and although your lawn may be covered in snow, that doesn't mean that part of your New Year's resolutions shouldn't be making sure it's getting the best care possible. Here are the essentials for January winter lawn care.
Continuing Dormant Pruning
January is the ideal time to continue dormant tree pruning. Dormant pruning improves the structural integrity of the tree. It also removes branches that may be likely to become structurally unsound as they keep growing in the spring.
Second Application of Anti-Desiccant
January is the right time to apply the next layer of anti-desiccant to protect your evergreens. If you have broadleaf evergreens like Azalea, conifers like Cypress or Juniper, or perennial shrubs like Roses or Hydrangeas, this treatment will protect them from injury to the plant tissue from the cold by coating the leaves. This coating affects the way water moves in and out of the leaves, preventing damage from freezing or dehydration.
Check for Damage From Storm and Ice
The winter can be hard on your lawn and garden. Pressure from snow and ice can compress the soil and break branches. January is a good time to look for any damage that has been caused by winter storms. It's important to look for broken branches that may be hanging down now before spring comes and sap running through the branches causes them to fall.
Look for Deer Damage
By January, many deer are becoming more desperate to find enough food. In many areas, deer are too numerous for winter vegetation to support them and they may start trying to eat plants on your property that they haven't eaten before.
January is an important time to look for deer damage since it is likely to intensify in February, before new growth starts in March. If signs of deer damage are found, steps can be taken to protect the vulnerable trees or shrubs.
Time to Renew Contracts
It's a new year, so now is the time to renew your contracts so you can continue receiving superb lawn care for the New Year. Take this opportunity to talk with the maintenance manager about your plans and add any additional services that you may have been considering.
February Lawn Care
In February, many of the same essentials will be important as matter in January. However, February also is the right time to begin some spring planning for your garden.
Continue Dormant Pruning
The sap has not yet begun to run in your trees and shrubs, so this is the right time for close to final pruning before spring. You'll be able to fit in only one more dormant pruning in March, so if your trees need a lot of shaping, it's important to make major cuts now and final cuts in March.
Final Application of Anti-Desiccant
February is the last time that you will need to protect your evergreens with anti-desiccant. in March, sap will start running and this coating can be negative for the plant, so you want to make sure your plant is protected through February but that it doesn't run into March.
Think twice about overlooking this final treatment. February storms can be some of the most damaging, so you want to protect your evergreens so they'll look great in the spring.
Winter Clean Up
By the end of February, most of the big winter storms will be behind you. Therefore, this is a good time to take advantage of the still cold weather but increasingly bare ground to do any necessary winter clean up. This includes pulling out dead foliage, doing some final trims, and looking for places that need to be re-mulched or re-sodded.
Prepare for Your Spring Landscape
Now is the time to look at your landscape and decide what you'd like to change or improve in the spring. This is the time to get in orders for mulch, so think about where you want flower beds and other mulched areas to be.
This is the best time to meet with a landscape designer and discuss your various project ideas. They'll be able to let you know what supplies you need and get orders in now so that they'll be ready for the spring.
March Lawn Care
Spring is just beginning to come into bloom, but it is still very chilly. March is one of the most important times to prepare your lawn and garden for the spring and summer. Here are some of the most essential tips:
Final Dormant Pruning
At the beginning of March, the sap will not yet have begun to run, so you can get in the last dormant pruning to shape trees for their final look in the spring.
Dormant Oil Application
You want a fresh, clean garden in the spring. The last thing that you want is the aphids, mites, and scales that haunted you last summer to follow you into this spring. Dormant oil smothers any of these insects that may be overwintering on your trees and shrubs.
It can also destroy their eggs. Applying it in the March ensures that any insects that have made it through the winter will not make it to destroy your spring garden.
Spring Root Fertilization
You want your young trees and shrubs to grow with vigor in the spring, so applying deep root fertilization in the March is a great idea. This fertilizer will give your trees extra spunk to move from winter into spring.
Many people wait until trees are already starting to show new growth to fertilize, but fertilizing while they are still dormant gives them the tools they need to draw from as soon as growth begins.
Spring Cleanup
By March, snow will be on the ground less often and any dead growth or damage from winter will be clear. This is the time to pick up any deadwood, dried up plants, and other debris from the yard.
It's important to do it now before the thaw so that you can eliminate any insects or pests that have overwintered in the dead matter before they can spread to healthy new growth.
Prepare Lawn Care Program Proposal
Now is the time to talk to us about what you want from your lawn in the spring and summer. You can make decisions about what kind of grass you want to grow and any changes to plant and flower beds.
Pre-Emergent for Plant Beds
Why wait until the weeds are already shooting up in the spring to begin your weed control protocol? Adding pre-emergent to plant beds in March keeps weeds from coming up in the spring, making your mulching protocol much more efficient. This is the perfect time to apply pre-emergent, well before weeds have begun to sprout.
Annual Flower Rotation
Many people make the mistake of planting the same types of annuals in the same beds year after year. While you may love the look of one flower or another in a particular place, doing it year after year sets you up for increasingly pest-ridden and soil-depleted beds.
Planting the same annuals in the same spot makes it more likely that pests that have overwintered will reinvest the annuals again. It also hurts the quality of the soil over time. We can help you with plant rotation and new annuals to meet your goals for color and form in the various spots of your landscape.
Make the Most of Your Landscape with Our Winter Lawn Care Tips
If you want your garden and lawn to be hazard-free throughout the winter and look their best in the spring, follow our winter lawn care tips and contact Kinnucan Tree Experts & Landscape Company to get started today. We will work with you to formulate a plan for every detail of your garden, from trees to grass to planting beds, so you’ll have the landscape of your dreams all year long.