Landscape Maintenance in the Late Fall: How We Prepare for Winter in Chatham Township NJ
Proper landscape preparation in the late fall can mean less damage to your landscape in the winter and faster green-up in the spring. To keep your Chatham Township, NJ, lawn and plants in the best shape, these landscape maintenance tasks done in the late fall can keep the harsh winter weather from undoing all of the landscape beauty that you love.
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Apply Weed Control
The healthiest lawn tends to be the one with the least weeds, and weed control starts before the weeds germinate in the spring. Late fall can be the ideal time for a lawn treatment that prevents weeds from sprouting when the temps rise next year. Then, when spring arrives and the weather warms up, there are fewer weeds to combat in the lawn.
Core Aeration
The best way to cultivate a lush stand of grass can be to core aerate in the late fall. This process can enhance root growth by removing small cores from the earth where new grass seed can germinate, oxygen can better reach the existing roots, and the water can be more readily available for the roots. Along with the sunshine, these factors encourage strong roots that can survive the cold winter temperatures to produce healthy grass in the spring and summer. An experienced landscape maintenance service knows that the best time for core aeration is usually right after a rain or when the soil is damp. Equipment designed to pull small plugs from the ground goes over every inch of your landscape to boost root health and ultimately grass health. The plugs are left on the ground to decompose.
Feed the Lawn with Nutrients
The best time for nourishing your lawn can be when the grass is slowing its growth and the days are cooler. Grass needs three nutrients to thrive: Phosphorus boosts root growth and health, potassium encourages strong blades and overall health, and nitrogen brings dense green color and growth at the top of the grass. Each nutrient is essential as food for the grass over the winter as it cannot make its own food without the summer sun.
Remove the Leaves
One of the surest ways to a ruined lawn can be to ignore the leaves that fall on top of it. Cleaning the leaves, branches, and other debris from the lawn and landscape beds can leave a clean palette that does not smother the grass. Left on the ground, the dead leaves can encourage the growth of mold and other fungus that kills grass in patches, leaving unattractive dead sections within your lawn that must be addressed in the spring as the grass begins to green up. The piled up snow that sits for months on the grass can also bring about the conditions that mold and fungus love, so a reliable method for snow removal should also be a part of your late fall lawn maintenance concerns. A dependable, discreet lawn maintenance service can be a wise investment in your Chatham Township, NJ, landscape. Along with expert plant care from a certified horticulturist, their team can take care of every detail for you so that you have time to do more enjoyable things than worry about your landscape.