With the first snowfall of the season already behind us, it is now time to consider the ways in which you can winterize your yard.
Winterizing can be a season-long process, so it is in your best interest to winterize your yard by late fall, or as soon as possible. The following article from Yahoo! Voices provides a great step-by-step process on how to winterize your yard by dividing the winterizing process into three categories; lawn, trees, and shrubs/annuals.
How to Winterize Your Yard: A Step-by-Step Guide
Preparing a Yard for Winter
By John Stone
Caring for your yard is a year-round process, and winter is no exception. It is important to properly prepare your yard for winter in order to prevent damage and to ensure it enters the following spring healthy and ready to flourish. Winterizing your yard will be a breeze if you follow the how to winterize your yard steps outlined below.
The best time to begin to winterize your yard is in the fall after most visible grass growth has stopped but before freezing temperatures have set in. To winterize your yard:
Prepare your lawn for winter. For an in-depth guide, follow the link to the left. Preparing your lawn for winter can be done in 4 easy steps:
1. At the beginning of fall, reseed any bare areas of the lawn as needed. Grass roots grow well in the fall, and fewer bare areas will mean fewer weeds come spring.
2. Apply a winterizing fertilizer to the lawn, preferably between mid fall and the end of fall. If done near the end of fall, this can be done in conjunction with fertilizing your trees (see step 7 below).
3. Rake your lawn after grass growth has stopped and most of the tree leaves have fallen.
4. Lastly, give your lawn a final cutting at about 1″; for this final cutting bag any grass or debris.
Prepare your trees for winter. For an in-depth guide, follow the link to the left. Preparing your trees for winter can be done in 7 steps:
1. Refrain from watering trees from mid summer through early fall to allow trees to harden.
2. Beginning in mid-fall, ensure trees are watered by 1″ of water every week (through rain or hand watering).
3. Continue watering the trees every week until the ground freezes.
4. In mid fall, prune all trees, removing visible deadwood and branches that may drag on the ground
5. Near the end of fall, spread a layer of mulch around all trees. Leave a space between the tree trunk and the beginning of the mulch to discourage rodents from nesting.
6. Wrap young trees in cold climates with burlap or tree wrap.
7. Toward the end of fall, apply a winter tree or lawn fertilizer.
Prepare your shrubs/annuals for winter
1. In mid fall, when annuals are dying and turning brown, clean out all planters and flower beds.
2. Trim back hedge growth and bushes; also remove and dead branches.
Winterizing a yard can be a lot of work, but in the end the results are worth it. Preparing a yard for winter gives it the best chance of not only surviving the dry, cold, months, but also thriving with more new growth in the spring and summer. Follow this guide on how to winterize your yard and you will be very happy come spring.
Winterizing your yard can be a long and arduous process, but with a little bit of luck (or warmer weather) along with the recommendations provided here, the winterizing process should be painless. Hopefully by this point of the year you have already followed some of these steps to winterizing your yard and you are now merely adding the final touches. Remember to also winterize other summer outdoor accessories such as your pool, boat, other vehicles, etc. All of these aspects of your outdoor living space need to be winterized in order to prevent damage and retain normal their function during warmer months.
For more information about winterizing your yard, please contact Camosse Masonry Supply. We’ll gladly answer any questions you may have about outdoor winterizing as well as provide you with the right tools for the project.
