Winter in Colorado can be rough on your lawn. The cold weather, dry conditions, and constant freeze/thaw cycle can harm even the most healthy lawns without a little TLC. Keeping your lawn healthy during the winter will prevent problems come springtime and ensure that it comes back to life greener and healthier than ever.
Here are some tips that will help your lawn survive even the toughest winters:
5 Tips to Keep Your Lawn Healthy During Winter
Give Your Lawn a Good Fall Clean Up
Prepping your lawn before winter starts is the best way to keep it healthy. Once the grass has gone dormant for the year, it’s time to give your lawn a once over, removing any fallen leaves, weeds, dead plants, and other debris. This will ensure that your grass gets as much sunlight as possible and not have to fight for nutrients. Outdoor furniture should also be moved every once in a while to avoid killing the grass underneath.
Dethatch and Aerate Your Lawn
Once your lawn has been cleaned, the next step is to dethatch and aerate it. The best time of year to do this in Colorado is early spring or fall (while the grass is still growing) so that it can recover quickly. It’s also best to dethatch your lawn first, which can make aerating easier and improve your lawn’s overall health.
Keep in mind that a thin layer of thatch (less than ½ ” thick) is actually beneficial to lawn health. But once thatch starts to get too thick (it usually becomes a problem around 1″ thick), it can keep water, nutrients, and air from reaching your plants roots. Generally, it’s a good idea to dethatch your lawn once a year if necessary. Aerating, on the other hand, should always be done once or twice a year to keep your lawn healthy.
Overseed Before the Cold Sets In
After dethatching and aerating the lawn, overseeding will help fill in any bare patches in the lawn and help it grow back greener and healthier overall. Cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass or fescues are the best types to use in Colorado’s climate. Early autumn is the best time of year to overseed, as it gives the grass seed more time to germinate and take hold before the weather gets too cold. After overseeding, make sure to water the grass every day (up to 3x a day) until the new seed has taken hold.
Add Fertilizer to Keep Your Lawn Well-nourished All Winter
Once you’ve added new grass seed, the last step of preparing your lawn for winter is to ensure that it stays well-fed. A winter fertilizer will make sure your lawn gets all the nutrients it needs through the winter months. It’s important to dethatch and aerate before applying fertilizer in order to guarantee that it penetrates deep into the soil down to the root zone.
Avoid Harming Your Lawn and Plants When Using Ice Melt Products
After putting all this effort into prepping your lawn for winter, it’s important to keep it healthy as best as possible. When using ice melt products on your property, be sure not to go overboard, as any chemical runoff can harm your lawn and plants. Calcium chloride is the most plant-friendly ice melt product to use, as plants can take in fairly large amounts of calcium without too much trouble. If necessary, burlap screens can be used as an effective barrier from snow and ice melt spray. Making drainage improvements along walkways and diverting runoff away from your lawn and plants will also ensure that they’re not harmed by harsh chemicals and salts.
Looking to Prepare Your Lawn for Winter and Keep It Healthy Year-Round?
Our team of pros at GroundMasters Landscape Services have the expertise needed to make your property stand out from your neighbors. For over 25 years, we have been providing year-round seasonal landscape services to Denver-area businesses and commercial properties. Our services include lawn care & maintenance, sprinkler installation & maintenance, tree & shrub care, and landscape enhancements – along with storm cleanup and snow removal for when the weather takes a turn for the worst. To see what GroundMasters can do for your commercial property, give us a call today at (303) 750-8867 or get in touch with us online today to get started.