Care for Your Lawn in Winter
During the cold weather you need to make sure that there is no young growth on your grass as this may cause it to be likely to succumb to pests and diseases. To do this gradually, lower the cutting height of your lawnmower until you are just about shaving the grass. Undertake this in steps over a few weeks as you do not want to abruptly take off all the tissue or cause more damage to the turf. You do not want to let the grass grow longer than 2 inches during the winter.
Apply fertiliser to your grass at the end of fall. Even though it will not be used by the grass during the slow growth of the cold weather it will be reserved in the roots and will be instantly available for use by the lawn in the Spring when new growth starts again. If you have brown areas reseed them at this time. In the colder weather the seeds will germinate.
Remove any trash from the lawn before the first snowfall. This includes leaves, logs, equipment, pots etc. If left on the lawn when it starts to snow these could smother the grass underneath the covering of snow and cause damage which can make the grass more likely to succumb to pets and diseases. During the cold season, even though the grass will grow more slowly weeds will thrive so you need to regularly pull out weeds to keep them from damaging the lawn.
As well you need to water the lawn during the winter, although not as much as you would in the warmer weather. For most grass species watering every week should be plenty. Some species, such as rye grass, Kentucky Bluegrass and tall Fescue grow quickly in the winter and will need fertilising and watering during this season.
If you use a watering system remove all the water to avoidharm in icy weather. You don’t want to use it the following Spring only to find the pipes are damaged and full of holes.
With some care your lawn will survive the winter in excellent shape and be green and healthy with new growth in the Spring. Winter lawn care is not difficult if you stick to our guidelines. You’ll find more information on lawn care and lawn mowers at lawn mower reviews.
