You take good care of your lawn all year long, performing important lawn care services at the appropriate times.
But how do you go about preparing a lawn for cold weather in Louisville?
While our winters are more mild than other parts of the country, we’re not immune to cold weather. You still want to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to set up your lawn for winter success.
In this article, we’ll share some things you ought to know about how to winterize a lawn in Louisville. The good news is that there isn’t too much to do.
There are just a few simple tasks that will set you up for the season. We’ll share that information and more so that you’re ready for the chilly days ahead.
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It’s important to take a few steps before winter to set your lawn up for seasonal success. Taking care of these tasks will help strengthen your lawn and protect it from damage in the coming months.
Some of the benefits of winterizing your lawn include:
Here is how we suggest preparing a lawn for cold weather in Louisville.
This probably sounds counterintuitive to the mowing advice that we give during other times of the year (when we are urging homeowners to “mow high” as it’s better to leave grass on the longer side).
But the last mow of the season should be a little bit shorter than your usual mows.
For one, this is because it may grow a little bit more, even after your final mow. So, you want to leave it on the shorter side to account for that added growth that could occur after the mower has been put away.
But it’s also a matter of preventing winter problems.
When grass is left higher, it can get matted down, particularly with snow. The idea is to keep grass short enough to prevent long blades from folding over and trapping moisture. This helps reduce the risk of snow mold and other winter diseases.
Of course, we still don’t want you to scalp your lawn. A shorter final mow of around 3 inches is ideal. This still allows your lawn to store energy for the winter.
Winter fertilizer for lawns in Louisville is also important.
This final fertilizer application of the year — often called a “winterizer” — plays a critical role in preparing your lawn for the colder months ahead. A winterizer containing high nitrogen will help your grass to grow strong roots and also store energy for the winter.
Of the various rounds of fertilization that take place, this is arguably the most important one! This last application will help set your lawn up for success ahead of going into dormancy with a final boost of nutrients. It will also enhance your lawn’s performance as it “greens up” next spring.
People are often surprised to learn that how their lawn performs in the spring (coming out of those harsh winter months) is often the result of the winterizer that was applied at the end of the growing season.
Finally, we also like to remind homeowners that some trees are still losing their leaves into early December. Oak trees are some of the last to drop leaves, so don’t put the leaf blower or rake away too soon!
Cleaning up leaves and debris is important because it allows your lawn to keep breathing. You don’t want your lawn’s access to sunlight, oxygen, and water to be blocked by leaves.
Keeping leaves and debris off the lawn also helps to discourage pest activity as pests love to hide under the cover of debris on the lawn.
When leaf fall is light, mowing those leaves into your lawn is preferable.Your lawn appreciates the extra organic matter.
However, when leaf fall is heavy enough to cover your lawn completely, it’s time to rake or blow those leaves away. We know it’s a frustrating chore but it’s an important one! You especially want to make sure that leaves are cleaned up prior to any snow fall as this can make a snow mold situation more likely.
In Louisville, cool-season grasses will go into a state of dormancy in the winter. This is a natural defense mechanism to help protect your lawn from extreme conditions.
Grass stops growing when temperatures consistently stay below 50 degrees. This is going to be what triggers your grass to go dormant.
This is also the right time to stop mowing as grass is no longer actively growing. During dormancy, grass blade growth will pause and your lawn will conserve nutrients, water, and energy.
You definitely want to avoid mowing when there is any frost on the ground as this can be damaging.
Since lawns go into dormancy here, we don’t actually perform winter lawn services. You won’t need any Louisville lawn treatments for winter.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be keeping a watchful eye on your lawn and looking for signs of trouble. For one, you want to be careful where you apply salt and ice melt products as they can burn your lawn and plants.
In the winter, you can also watch for signs of lawn trouble, like snow mold.
Snow mold is a type of fungus that grows underneath the snow. It commonly goes unnoticed while there is snow on the ground. It’s often not identified until the early spring, as the snow clears. As snow melts, you might notice patches of pink, gray, or white growth on the lawn. Pink snow mold tends to be the most damaging type and can cause whole areas of the grass to die.
The winter months could also be a good time to start talking to a lawn care company and get set on their calendar for the spring. Lawn care companies get busy, so start your research now and get set up with lawn care services in Louisville KY in time for spring treatments.
Lawn care steps that you take at different times of the year have a major impact on the overall health of your turf. At the end of the day, it boils down to helping your lawn reach its full potential.
You want to make sure that your lawn is receiving every service that it needs so that it continues to look and perform its best.
But you don’t have to handle this all on your own! The key is to find the right lawn care company to work with.
There are a lot of companies out there offering various lawn care programs, and you want to feel confident you’re choosing wisely.
One thing that we would urge some caution on is shopping on price. We know that some people simply choose the least expensive lawn care program when shopping around. The trouble is, you might not be getting everything you need. Some pros might even skip a service like winter lawn fertilization because they assume you’re not educated on the importance of winter lawn care.
But you want to make sure you’re working with a company that is providing you with the full spectrum of lawn care services and also educating you on all the important things you ought to know about your lawn.
Do your research and choose a company that won’t sell you short.
At Limbwalker, we’re always here to offer advice, even when it has to do with services that we don’t offer ourselves. We believe that the best lawns are the result of a strategic partnership between you (the homeowner) and us (the lawn care pro).
We’re always available to provide advice and tips that will help you see better results from your lawn. Together, we can have lawn care success.
Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that’s getting everything it needs at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options.