Fall Clean Up Time: Your Fall Landscape To Do’s

A good fall yard clean up is important to the caring of your home’s landscape.  Fall clean up maintnenace preps your yard for the spring. Here’s a guide we developed for you to use this fall landscape clean up season:

Aerate the Lawn – It’s time to aerate your lawn’s compressed soil so water and nutrients can reach the roots.

Feed Your Grass – Your grass roots continue to grow until about 40 degrees.  Fall is a good time to feed them to encourage root growth so your lawn will green earlier in the spring.

One Last Lawn Cutting – Give your lawn a good short last cut.  Shorter grass prevents disease and gives fallen leaves nothing to hold on to preventing disease.

Collect Leaves – Rake fallen leaves and consider putting them in a compost bin.  Aerate the leaf compost bin pile every week by turning so it will be ready to use next year to nourish your lawns, flower beds, and shrub borders.

Plant New Shrubs and Trees – Fall is a great time to plant new shrubs and trees.  The combination of the season’s cool temperatures and moist soil is an excellent combination for establishing roots in the season’s cool, moist soil.  Don’t forget to add mulch for winter protection.

Cut Back Perennials – Trim perennial foliage down to the ground.  This will give the roots energy for next year.  Take out tired annual plants to prevent bug feeding.  Divide your crowded plants like irises and daylilies giving more space for more flowers next year. 

Mulch Young Plants –  New plant beds will need a layer of mulch before the ground freezes to keep new plantings warm and to control water and soil erosion.

Trim Dead Limbs – Snow and winds can damage your home with fallen tree limbs.  Rid of these and potential damage to your home by cutting cracked and loose limbs.