Fall Landscapes and Prepping for Winter
Fall Landscapes and Prepping for Winter
This blog is based on how we approach your landscape in the fall at Cumming Lawn Service
As we enter fall here in Cumming Georgia, late September it is still hot and we are cutting grass just like it is July. However, fall like weather will sneak up on us.
Best practices for your landscape heading into fall:
These are also the practices that we follow at Cumming Lawn Service is to cut back on mowing once the temperatures start into the low 60’s and 50’s each night let the lawn have a little height to it for winter insulation. This is if you have Bermuda or Zoysia lawns. I’m not suggesting letting the height get to 3 plus inches. Allow it to top out at 2 ½ inches at the tallest unless we are in severe drought. We should never allow our Bermuda or Zoysia lawns get over 2 ½ inches.
We speak more on lawn heights in “Maintaining Summer Grasses. Also mid to end of September touch up plants once more. The hedges and shaped plants. No hard pruning just a touch up. Best fall practice for your shrubs is to allow the plants to harden off even If they grow a little it’s best not to prune them anymore. Let any new growth harden off. This will protect it from the first hard freeze. This is how we train our crews at Cumming Lawn Service
The Transition Period:
There is a transition period where just a few leaves will be falling but let them lay they are pretty and gives us a sense of fall is arriving and you can have a rest from yard work for a few weeks. More on Leaves in a bit. Early September to mid-October if you have a fescue lawn it is time to reseed. The fescue has taken a beating through the summer and probably looking poorly. Scalp the fescue grass to 2 inches aerate and spread a good turf type seed on your lawn add a starter fertilize water in for 7 days.
Restrain from mowing for 3 to 4 weeks. By this time, we will be ready to start the leaf blowing process. It is best practice to blow your leaves away from the house often. They get damp and cause mold algae and nesting places for bugs. A lot of homeowners will let leaves lay till spring.
Why You Should’nt Wait
The leaves will blow up next to the foundation and pile up. This isn’t a good practice especially if you have someone in your home who has any respiratory problems. Wet leaves can grow mold and have spores that can cause major problems to breathing especially if someone in the home is sensitive to this type atmosphere. Allowing leaves to pile around the home can also be a pest control problem and a good hiding place for snakes. Copperheads are known to blend in as well as any snake and can mix in with the fall and winter leaves well.
At Cumming Lawn Service, we blow the leaves out in to lawn from all plant bed areas. We use mulch kits on our mowers to mulch the leaves into small pieces so they can decay faster. The mulched-up leaves are a good source of natural fertilize for your lawn and plants. Once the leaves are mulched any left over debris can then be blow back into plant beds and will be made a good source for you landscape instead of health or pest hazard.
Many landfills are refusing to take natural debris such as leaves or grass clippings due to the extended time for them to decompose. It isn’t a law here in Cumming Georgia at all landfills but you can read for yourself what the legislation says
Grass Cycling and leaf cycling is a practice that we believe in at Cumming Lawn Service. Our leaf cleanups will consist of blowing into natural areas, mulching leaves into much smaller pieces letting it lay where possible in the lawn or blowing in to plat beds where possible. If we remove the leaves from your property the prices will a great deal more expensive.