It’s finally cooling down. The extra sun and heat are fading, which means your plants will be growing less feverishly. However, that doesn’t mean your yard will chill out. Promier Landscapes finds that lots of people believe their yard magically will care for itself when the summer months wane, but they end up with much harder-to-handle work in the long run. Consistently keeping up with your yard in the fall will make for healthier soil and less work when spring rolls around again. Promier Landscape has some helpful tips for keeping those fall months from ravaging your yard.
Tip 1: Mow Your Yard
We understand your grass isn’t growing as quickly as it did during the summer. There is, however, a trick to mowing during the fall. That trick is to mow your grass after it has reached 2 inches tall, but before it reaches 3 inches in height. This applies to weed whacking as well. If you’re seeing weeds creep on decking, fences, and walkways with slightly too much length, don’t just ignore them, hoping they’ll be killed by the cold.
Tip 2: Remove Debris
Leaves and debris quickly can kill plants on the ground. You know that twigs and fallen leaves have to be raked up. Our biggest recommendation is not to let them sit for long, but rather gather them up as quickly as possible. Decaying debris will gather moisture and can create molds and fungi—not to mention that leaves make a perfect compost material.
Tip 3: Reseed Now
If you plan on reseeding or taking your yard up to start new, now is the time. Replanting and seeding in the spring isn’t always a good idea. If you chose to do it in the fall, your plants would have time to take properly to the soil. Reseeding in the fall also can help protect your lawn from the heavy foot traffic it is more likely to see in the spring. In East Tennessee, we have a warmer climate, so it’s not uncommon to see people reseeding as late as November.
Tip 4: Deep Watering
Before your shrubs, hedges, and deciduous trees go dormant (this happens when the ground begins to freeze), you should take the time to give them a deep watering. One good, heavy saturation of the foliage that surrounds your plants will help them survive the winter at their healthiest. But be careful not to oversaturate the ground.
Tip 5: Irrigation
If your yard has outdoor irrigation systems, water hoses, or sprinklers, middle to late fall is the time to drain them. This might not seem important, but shutting off outdoor water lines can prevent your irrigation system from experiencing unnecessary damage. Specifically, water remaining in a line can cause it to burst if it freezes.
Tip 6: Clean Up
We don’t always see walkways, patios, gazebos, or outbuildings as part of the landscaping, but they definitely are. Caring for these outdoor structures actually requires more work in the fall and winter. Dirt and debris that fall on these can create molds and algae, which can stain wooden surfaces. On a more dangerous note, ice and snow on untreated pathways, walkways, patios, and decks can be extremely slippery and lead to an injury.
Fall Landscaping in Kingsport
If you’re in the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, TN, areas and you have lawn care concerns this fall, let the professionals at Promier Landscapes handle the job. Schedule a free estimate today by calling (423) 872-2988.