Ways you can prepare now for new growth this winter

The bitter cold of winter may seem like an unusual time to think of lawn care, but what you do now can help you make your lawn beautiful this spring, summer, and fall.  Here are four important steps you can take while Ole Man Winter is here:

man raking leaves in Atlanta

  1. Rake Leaves, usually about once a week. Even when it’s dormant, grass needs sunlight and oxygen. Leaves can smother the grass if you let them pile up.  However, those leaves can make excellent mulch around plant material if properly mulched and not just piled around the plants.  Leaves can also provide nutrients to the lawn soil and help support a healthy yard, but they must be mulched / shredded finely.

 

  1. Mulch: Adding mulch to your garden can protect plants during winter. Add several inches of shredded leaves to protect tender perennials. It’s best to mulch before the first freeze, but it can still be done during the winter months. Winters in Georgia can be really hard on plants.  The rapid changes in temperatures can cause plants to think spring is here long before the danger of frost is over. Mulching helps provide needed insulation and nutrients to the plant root systems.

 

  1. Remove Plant Debris: Clean up / cut back perennials, pull up any weeds, and discard of any dead or diseased plants from your garden. If you don’t want certain plants in your garden during next years growing season, now is the time to remove them.

 

  1. Winter is the time to resize shrubs and plants of certain types.  During the growing season plants are generally “shaped or pruned” but not “resized” which is what should be done in the winter if they’ve gotten too big.  Caution should be exercised when doing winter pruning as not all shrubs can be drastically cut.

 

Sound like a lot of work?  It is, but it’ll be worth it come spring when your lawn and gardens are a source of delight for you.  The professionals at Associated Environmental Landscape can help you get your winter lawn in shape. Call us today and we’ll give you a free estimate for your lawn clean-up.