With winter around the corner, Fall is your last chance to prepare and protect your property and maintain that curb appeal you’ve worked so hard to create.
Why Fall Is Important
In the Fall, the cooling air temperatures send a message to plants that it’s time to start going dormant. This makes your plants steer their energy from leaf production, flowering and fruiting, into root growth and fortification. Since the soil temperatures stay warm longer than the air, it makes Fall an ideal time for root development. Trees, shrubs and perennials that are planted this time of year will establish strong root systems and be prepared to flourish come spring.
The following tasks are essential for Fall Preparation:
1. Spread Mulch - Fall mulching protects roots from frost and helps retain moisture during a cold and dry winter. We recommend spreading 3 inches of fresh quality mulch around shrubs and trees. Make sure you choose a quality mulch because “you get what you pay for”. Cheap, dump mulch is often made from trees that have died from disease. These diseases may linger, and you certainly don’t want ground-up diseased plants around your landscaping.
2. Remove the Dead and Dying - Fall isn’t the time to prune, because that encourages growth when healthy plants should remain dormant, however it is the time to neaten your landscaping before putting it to bed for the winter. Tackle your fall landscape like you are doing a spring clean-up. We call this getting "mulch-ready" in the fall. Now is the time to remove dead annuals, deadhead spent blooms and cut back your dead and desiccated ornamental grasses and perennials.
3. Divide, Spread and Move - Take advantage of all that growth by dividing and replanting. Hostas, Daylilies, Irises, Black-Eyed-Susans, and Shasta Daisies are just a few common perennials known for getting too big in the garden. Dig them up, chop them in half, put one half back where it came from and plant the remaining half in a new location to start a new garden. Fall is also a great time to move small-to-mid-sized shrubs from cramped quarters to more spacious territory. Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Boxwood and Spirea are all shrubs that move easily.
4. Weed - By fall, many people feel like they can stop weeding. In the fall, weeds go to seed and those seeds get spread by birds and the wind. Then they lie dormant over the winter, waiting quietly for spring. Come springtime, Ta-da! A whole new crop of weeds. If you take the time to thoroughly weed in the fall – removing roots and all -- you'll have a better chance of getting mulch down early and having less weeding to do next season.
5. Seed - Think spring is the best time to seed your lawn? Think again. Spring is a poor time to try to generate new grass. The ground is cold, and plants are just coming out of winter dormancy and slow to respond to fertilizing. Fall is the best season for seeding and reseeding. Why? Because the soil is all warmed-up and responsive and the rains generally return – both key elements for promoting new root growth.
Let Accent Lawn Care customize your landscape to enhance the image of your organization, increase the value of your property and provide you with a full range of worry-free maintenance services.
Call us at 985-893-1928 or email us to schedule your FREE LAWN CARE ANALYSIS. We are professional, reliable and affordable and offer exceptional customer service.