Preparing Your Landscape for Winter

PREPARING YOUR LANDSCAPE FOR WINTER

BY: C.L. Eaton, County Extension Agent – Ag/NR

Many folks look forward to the cooler weather of fall and winter as a time to stay inside and relax from the usual work around the house. While, winter is generally a less active time when it comes to landscape care, there are a few steps that should be taken to keep your landscape in good condition through the winter and make things a little easier on you in the spring.

Winter Lawn Care

October is the perfect time to start preparing your lawn for the winter dormancy. It is always a good idea to make a fall fertilizer application around October to give your lawn the nutrition it needs to stay alive during dormancy. Its always a good idea to do a soil test sometime earlier in the year to see what your lawns exact fertilizer needs are (for more information on soil tests, contact the County Extension Office.

Another good step to take to keep your lawn free of winter weeds is to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. These are usually a systemic herbicide in granule form that your water into your lawn and will prevent these weeds from germinating. This is especially a good idea if you have bare spots in your yard. When selecting a product, read the label and be wary of “weed and feed” type applications. Many of these may have 2,4-D and other herbicides that could harm your trees. As always, follow the label instructions to avoid damaging your plants or making an ineffective application.

Many folks  out there believe that once your yard goes dormant, there is no longer any need to water…THIS IS NOT THE CASE. You should still try to water at least monthly (especially before a long hard freeze). Water to a depth of 6 inches to train your root system to go deeper for water. Of course, if we have rain or snow, there is no need to water until things have dried out again. 

Winter Tree Care

Fall is a great time to apply or re-apply mulch. Soils around trees and shrubs can dry out over winter. In some cases, drying out causes considerable damage to the plants. Mulches conserve moisture. They also have many other wonderful qualities. For recently planted trees and shrubs mulch gives new roots more time to develop. Mulch also helps minimize the effect of temperature fluctuations that can heave plant crowns out of the ground. Mulch also prolongs plant dormancy in the spring and reduces the chance of late spring frost injury to new leaves and flowers. This being said, you should avoid the “mulch volcano” and leave a little space around the trunk of the tree. This will help prevent insect damage, rot and other potential hazards. 

FIGURE 1: Example of a “mulch volcano”

 Mature deciduous trees will not need supplemental water after they’ve gone dormant (with the exception of young trees), but evergreens such as Pines and Live Oaks will need supplemental water due to the fact that they are still producing foliage. Water evergreens on warmer days (above 45 degrees) to help them along.

Raking and disposing of your leaves after they’ve fallen will usually ensure less headaches in the spring. Leaving excess organic matter on your lawn all winter opens your landscape up to disease, rot and insect damages. Plus, raking up the leaves looks neater! If you’d rather use those leaves for something else, they make a great addition to your compost pile.

FIGURE 2: Winter Watering (Courtesy of University of Wyoming Extension)

 

Potted Plants & Ornamentals

For your perennial & biennial ornamentals in pots, the best thing to do is get them out of the weather before the first freeze. Greenhouses are great, but a garage or shed will do, just as long as they are somewhere dry that keeps a fairly constant temperature. Heat lamps and other heaters are a nice addition, but be sure you are being fire-wise.

For your plants that are stationary (planted in the soil or a box), try to protect them for the cold the best you can by wrapping them and covering them with a bucket.

Winter is a great time to kick back by the fire and enjoy time with friends and loved ones. If you’ll take a few preemptive measures in your landscape this fall, you’re guaranteed to have a peaceful winter and a leg up come springtime.