Lawn Care Tips to Keep Your Landscape Green During Troy, Illinois Winters!
Lawn care is probably the last thing you are thinking about going into winter since it’s a time when you’re not going to be using your yard much. But landscape maintenance is important so that your grass stays green all winter long and will be ready to provide you with beautiful landscaping once spring arrives.
Fertilize
Late fall or early winter is the best time to fertilize your yard. Your grass needs fertilizer to stay healthy so skipping this step means your grass may not recover from the long winter months. Soil can become dry and hard making it difficult for nutrients to penetrate the soil which means your soil won’t get enough nutrients to thrive. To ensure your grass is properly fertilized during the winter months, make sure you cover your lawn with fertilizer before the first frost of the winter season to replace any nutrients that might be lost with the first freeze. This is similar to flash-freezing vegetables and the nutrients will be locked in. Once snow blankets your lawn the fertilizer will feed your grass all winter long.
Over-seeding
Your Troy, Illinois lawn care plan should address dead areas in your yard as these are unsightly and need to be corrected. If you have dead spots in your lawn, then over-seeding is recommended. Failure to seed the dead spots means you’ll almost certainly have no grass in those areas for the next year. Fall is the best time to see your yard. You’ll need to provide proper irrigation to ensure the seeds are well watered.
Mow at the Right Time
You need to wait at least 10 days after planting new seeds to mow. You do not want to cut more than 30 percent of the leaf as mowing more than this will prevent the grass from photosynthesizing and it’s possible you could pull out the new seedlings. Once the new growth is established it’s really up to you as to how often to mow before winter sets in. If you prefer thicker grass then mow less, but if you like your grass short you’ll need to mow more often.
Provide Enough Water
Keeping your lawn well-watered is crucial to ensure your grass will be green when it emerges from the winter snow. You’ll want to water seedlings at least three times per day. Once the seeds germinate and have grown one and a half inches high, you can cut back on watering to once per day. When the grass becomes established you can reduce watering to every other day. A great way to make sure your lawn receives the right amount of watering at timed intervals is to install an irrigation system.
Diversified Services can provide you with professional landscape maintenance services. Give us a call to see how we can help you.