You take pride in your lawn and spend plenty of time and money maintaining it. However, if you completely neglect lawn care during the winter, your outdoor landscape might be lackluster or have health issues by the time spring arrives. Don’t let this happen to you. Follow this guide of seven ways to protect your lawn during the winter, as compiled by your Johnson City landscaping professionals at Promier Landscapes.
Step 1: Fertilize
Even when temperatures drop, your lawn can benefit from a fertilizing treatment. When you fertilize your lawn in Kingsport, you want to choose a product that offers both fertilization and weed control. This nourishes your lawn, improves its health, and reduces the number of weeds you’ll need to pull once the new growing season begins. We recommend that you hire a landscape company near you in Kingsport. Our professionals can handle your fertilization and weed control needs all year long.
Step 2: Rake
By now, any leaves have fallen from their trees. We know that raking can be a hassle, but if you let those leaves linger on the ground through the winter, they can suffocate your lawn, depriving it of both sunlight and moisture. As leaves decompose, they also can infect your lawn with a disease that turns the grass an unsightly brown color.
Step 3: Keep off the grass
Your lawn tends to see higher traffic during the summer, but in the winter, walking on your grass can weaken it. If you experience snow or ice at your home this winter, resist the urge to take a shortcut through the grass. Apply rock salt to your front porch, driveway, and walkways to keep these areas navigable even when the weather turns frightful.
Step 4: Aerate
Aeration is a process that is recommenced once your lawn begins to go dormant. Small holes are punched into your soil, allowing nutrients, water, and air to penetrate more deeply into the ground. The result strengthens your grass’s root system and makes for a healthy and lush lawn next spring. Aeration can be tricky even if you don’t factor in your type of grass or encounter compacted turf. That’s why we recommend hiring pros like Promier Landscapes to have your lawn aerated in Johnson City.
Step 5: Keep Mowing
You want to be sure to keep mowing your grass until it goes dormant. Set your mower to its lowest settings so that the cut grass is no more than 2 ½ inches off the ground. If your grass grows above that height, it’s time to mow again—even if it’s chilly or downright cold out. Maintaining taller grass during the winter can make your lawn vulnerable to mold and certain diseases.
Step 6: Hydrate
Even when the temperatures drop, your grass still needs water. We understand not wanting to go out and hose down your lawn most mornings, especially when it is cold outside, so we recommend you have a professional irrigation system installed in Kingsport. When you trust your irrigation needs to experts, you know your lawn will be receiving the proper amount of water at the ideal times. And, for Promier Landscapes’ clients on our yearly maintenance program, we will handle any repair needs as they arise and winterize your sprinkler system.
Step 7: Store toys, lawn furniture, and barbeque grills
Hammocks, lawn furniture, and toys need to go into your basement or shed once the weather turns cold. Any objects that remain on your lawn shield the grass underneath from sunlight. If these objects are left in place for the entire winter, this will kill those grass areas by spring.
Winter lawn care in Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol
Follow this guide, and your lawn can get through the winter healthy and looking well by spring. We also recognize that, even during the winter, lawn care responsibilities can feel overwhelming. Promier Landscapes offers a thorough landscape maintenance program that provides care throughout the entire calendar year. For more information or to schedule an estimate with one of our professional landscaping contractors near you in Kingsport, call (423) 872-2988.