5 Tips For Your Yard During Winter

Winter weather is not always ideal for landscaping, because successful landscaping happens outside. 

​Shorter days and colder weather of winter mean still heading outside to tend to your landscaping. The thing is, just because things aren’t growing does not mean that it is time to relax when it comes to your yard. 

In fact, there are quite a few things that can get accomplished during the winter months where landscaping is involved.  Think about an approach that will help the yard look great during winter, but will also serve as a head start on spring landscaping. 

​Read further as we discuss our top five tips for winter landscaping.  Do your yard a favor, and use these tips to make the most out of your property during the winter months.  

Our Top Five Tips for Winter Landscaping

• Pruning and the Removal of Leaves and Debris:  In fall and winter it is important to prune both your trees and shrubs.  Reducing and shaping your trees and shrubs help keep them healthy over time.  Also, it is beneficial to clean up fallen leaves and debris from the yard because they can sit on the surface of your lawn and block sunlight from reaching the grass.  Less sun during winter means that there will be less growth.  This can make your yard look unhealthy, with patches of brown grass. ​

• Mow Your Lawn One Last Time and Winterize Your Equipment: You will want to mow your lawn one last time to prevent matting under the snow.  And, once the snow arrives, try not walking on the frozen yard.  This can cause bare spots that do not go away until the grass comes out in spring.  It can be a real eyesore.  It may be tempting, but do not use a shovel or broom to knock snow off of a shrub.  The snow renders the shrub very vulnerable to damage, so even the slightest touch may hurt your shrubs.  And, make sure that all your water systems, including irrigation systems, get winterized.  Turn off all water spigots and cover them up until spring.  Store leftover fertilizers away safely so that it cannot freeze.  Finally, winterize your tools.  Empty out any fuel leftover in your mower and other lawn equipment.  If gas is left in engines over winter, it can gum up the fuel lines.  

• Consider Planting Fruit-Bearing Plants: There are quite a few fruit-bearing plants that are very capable of growing during winter.  For instance, the crabapple tolerates winter weather extremely well. Make sure that you still keep up with fertilization.  Your outdoor plants may really struggle with getting nutrients, so consider using a liquid fertilizer., it can go a long way in protecting your landscaping during winter. ​

• Continue to Care for Your Perennials: It is very likely that you have a few perennials on your lawn.  They still need care during winter.  Take time to remove any dead remnants of the plants.  This can help keep rodents away from your landscaping.   

• Consider Adding Some Personal Touches:  Add a little personality to your winter lawn.  Consider adding dogwoods or birch trees to improve the look of your yard for winter.  They have a pleasing charm to them and can enhance the slightly brown and gloomy look of winter lawns.