Winter is settling in and your lawn may still have piles of leaves and cluttered flowerbeds. Your Jamison, PA yard is winding down for the season—but leaving lawn waste on it will affect how it springs back to life in March.
You want a simple plan that keeps your lawn healthy now through spring without adding more stress to your schedule. Jamison Lawn Care guides you through winter lawn clean-up.
Clean-Up Leaves from the Lawn
When you allow thick leaves to remain on your lawn over the winter, moisture gets trapped and there’s no airflow. Underneath these leaves, your grass could develop snow mold and suffocate.
Snow mold typically appears in early spring when the snow melts on your lawn. Your lawn has snow mold if you see these three signs:
-Matted, crusty patches
-Fuzzy white mycelium on grass blades
-Tan, matted grass after the snow mold dries out.
You can check whether your lawn is experiencing any winter stress now by moving a pile of leaves. Is the grass yellow? Is it bare or thinner than it was in early fall?
Removing leaves from your lawn allows air to circulate and reduces the risk of disease. Plus, your grass receives the right amount of sunlight and moisture.
At Jamison, our crews remove the heavy blanket of leaves and other debris on your lawn, so it can breathe and receive sunlight, rain, and snow in winter.
Learn more: Team “Leave the Leaves” or Team “Clean It Up?”
Refresh Your Landscape Beds Before Winter
Don’t forget to remove leaves and other debris from your beds, as they cover and smother your plants.
Additionally, your ornamental trees may have weak branches that should be pruned before heavy snowfall or wind.
Look for these two signs of weak branches that may break in a winter storm:
-Branches that don’t extend upward at 30-45° angles.
-Heavy branches.
Some shrubs, such as hollies and red-twig dogwoods, don’t survive when smothered in a bed of leaves. Protect your investment and ensure that all leaves and other debris are removed before winter.
You also want to ensure that all water drains rather than ponding in your yard to prevent plant diseases and death. Poor drainage means water isn’t percolating into the ground and instead remains on the surface for hours or days after a rain event.
Poor yard or bed drainage leads to root rot and fungal diseases, and plants can’t take up water during the winter.
We also want to remind you not to pile snow on your shrubs, as it can damage the plants by weighing down branches and causing winter damage to leaves.
Read more: Dormant Seeding Secret Tip!
Make a Simple Winter Plan for a Better Spring Start
Understanding the dangers of leaf piles left on your lawn and landscape helps you realize you need to clean-up your property before winter.
If you choose not to prepare your lawn and landscape before winter, you risk a damaged or dead lawn, broken tree branches that disfigure the tree, and the high cost of spring repairs.
You don’t need a long checklist because cleaning up leaves benefits your beds and lawn right away. They will now get light, air, and drainage throughout the winter months.
Imagine the first spring morning when your beds are clean, the grass is greening, and there are fewer bare patches in your lawn. We help you avoid winter damage so your property starts on a stronger note when warmer weather returns.
Let Jamison Help You Get Your Lawn Ready for Winter
Leaves still lingering? Reach out via our contact form, and our Jamison crews will handle the cleanup. You’ll head into spring with a healthier lawn and landscape.
Sources:
Extension.Illinois.edu, Preventing Winter Damage to Lawns.
Extension.PSU.edu, Preventing Winter Burn on Evergreen Landscape Plants.
LawnStarter.com, How to Prevent Snow Mold.
TomlinsonBomberger.com, 3 Tips to Prepare Your Landscape for Winter.
Ibid, Top 5 Fall Landscape Maintenance Tips to Prepare for Winter.
Ibid, How to Protect Your Trees and Shrubs for Winter.
