Get ready for fall

Get ready for fall

It’s a good time to put in some work to help your landscape stay healthy as it heads into dormancy for the winter. It's still warm, but autumn begins next week, and we look forward to cooler days ahead. A little care now will help make your lawn hardier so that it will return next spring as vibrant as ever.

Here are some steps to consider. Be sure to talk with a landscape professional about which of these steps are important for your landscape:

• Adjust the sprinkler timer to water less. Daylight hours are growing shorter, overnight temps are getting cooler, and daytime temps will become more moderate. Don’t stop watering altogether but do adjust watering frequency and length. Make changes according to the temperature—not by the date. Keep in mind that if you add any new plants this fall, those will be the exception as they are still becoming established.
• Zap weeds. Here's your last chance this year to take care of weeds. The weeds you eliminate this fall are weeds you won’t see at the start of next season.
• Apply a final application of fertilizer. Using the same fertilizer formulation, you used earlier this season is fine. But if you need to buy more fertilizer, look for one high in nitrogen and potassium which are good for healthy roots.
• Core aerate the lawn before winterizing the sprinkler system. Aeration pulls plugs of soil and sod out of the lawn and these holes open the soil so that roots can take in maximum moisture during the winter.
• Get expert help if you have had fungus or other turf disease or insect problems this summer. Have problems properly diagnosed so you know what to do now and possibly into next spring to get things under control for good.

Contact your landscape professional to help you get your landscape ready to be tucked in for winter. If you have an irrigation system, schedule your winterization service now, before schedules are booked up.