The average American home has a quarter-acre of grass surrounding it — and you want yours to look its best year-round.
It’s easy to tend to your grass in the summer, of course, but winter lawn care can be a bit less intuitive. Unfortunately, there are quite a few common blunders that come with the job — but we’re here to help you avoid them.
Skip these, the five biggest mistakes made in wintertime, when it comes to lawn care.
1. Cutting the Grass Too Low
For starters, you don’t want to give your lawn a close cut. Shorter blades may seem to make sense in winter when you don’t want to get out and cut your grass as regularly. But doing so can damage the health and longevity of your lawn.
Without long-enough blades, your grass can’t soak up the sunlight it needs to survive. Plus, taller blades mean longer roots into the ground, which helps grass absorb more water. All of this promotes a healthy lawn.
To prevent too close of a cut, set your mower to cut your grass between 2.5 and 3.75 inches in height.
2. Failing to Water in Winter
On that note, your lawn does need water in winter. Some Texans will mistakenly think that seasonal rainfall is enough to keep grass healthy, but it’s not. Most lawns need about a half-inch of water each week to make it through the cold season.
Always water your lawn in the morning, too. This gives your grass time to soak up the water so that it doesn’t get too cold or soggy overnight.
3. Leaving Leaves on the Ground
There’s a reason why all of your neighbors are outside raking their lawns. If leaves sit on top of the grass for too long, it can spell disaster for the blades underneath.
A layer of leaves on top of your lawn can create the perfect environment for fungi or bacteria growth. None of this is good for your grass, of course. So, rake regularly to keep your grass looking its best — but also feeling its best, too.
4. Relying on Spring and Summertime Fertilizer
Your lawn can’t soak up the same kinds of fertilizer that you’d use in the middle of summer. Granular fertilizers, for example, won’t break down into the soil as they would in warmer, wetter weather.
So, you need to invest in fertilizer to feed your lawn through winter. Lawn care experts can help you choose the right materials for fertilizing in the chillier months.
5. Skipping Weed Control
Finally, weeds will continue to grow in cold weather — don’t think Mother Nature will just do away with them. If you bring in lawn care experts for fertilization, ask them how to handle wintertime weed control, too. Most will use pre-emergents at this time of year to prevent wild springtime growth.
Winter Lawn Care Starts Now
It may not be growing season, but winter lawn care is still vital to the health and lifespan of your lawn. So, get started today — or call us in to help you avoid these and other seasonal mistakes.
