Get Your Lawn Ready for Spring with These Five Landscaping Tips
If you’re anything like us, you’re itching to get back out into the garden! Colorado gardeners can get a little stir crazy in the winter months wanting to start pruning, preparing, and planning for the coming outdoor season. While it’s still some weeks away until we can get going on this year’s gardening activities, there are things you can do to help get your lawn ready for spring!
Look for days when it’s warm enough to bundle up and work outside, there’s no snow on the ground, and any ice has melted. Once this kind of weather arrives, follow the following tips to get your yard in the best possible shape to thrive this spring.
Careful Clean-Up
While you may have cleaned up leaves on your lawn in the fall, chances are that the winter Colorado winds and snowfall have turned up more debris on your grass. Too many leaves lying on the grass create an environment for disease to grow during the fluctuating warm and cold days. Leaves can also smooth down the grass and make flat patches.
Work to get your lawn as clean and tidy as possible. Gently rake up leaves or, if there aren’t that many, take the time to walk around and pick them up. Also, collect any small twigs or branches that have landed in your yard. Help your lawn stay healthy in the home stretch of winter!
Your grass is only just beginning to awaken from its winter slumber. Try to avoid walking on dormant grass, letting kids play too hard on the turf, and watch dogs or pets that are making repetitive patterns or trails in the yard. Too much wear-and-tear while grass is dormant can cause long-term damage and inhibit the greening of grass as we enter springtime.
Prepare for Pests
You might have areas of your lawn that are free and clear from snow while other areas still have a protective patch of snow. These dry areas, usually south and west facing, can create an ideal environment for mites. This breeding ground for Colorado mites can cause severe damage to lawns and can cause dead patches and turf damage.
Mites can’t tolerate moist conditions so, when the temperature rises 40 degrees, plan on giving it water. Don’t water, however, in below freezing temperatures. This winter watering can help prevent and control mites and enable a lush lawn for spring.
Mower Maintenance
A sharp mower blade is important to keep your lawn healthy and green as it begins to grow in spring and during the height of the growing season in summer. If your lawnmower blades are dull, they don’t cut the grass but tear it instead. Ouch! Torn grass blades are more prone to disease, which, in turn, can cause more problems.
Remember the edging you may have run over last summer? Or the rock you mowed because it couldn’t be seen? Now is a great time to inspect your mower parts, replace anything that is worn, and get new mower blades if yours are worn.
Aeration and Fertilization
Before you know it, you are going to find days are warming up and your lawn is coming to life. Keep an eye on the upcoming weather patterns to identify when the time is right to schedule aeration and fertilization. In Colorado, this optimal window can be anywhere between early March and mid-April, and you want to be ready!
Core aeration and seasonal fertilizing are one of the best things you can do for a beautiful spring lawn! Turf soil gets compacted and needs to be aerated to allow the lawn to get oxygen and needed nutrients. Following up with fertilizer ensure the right nutrients get down deep in the lawn.
Not sure when to start or how to undertake your preparation for a beautiful Colorado lawn? Call us at (303) 922-9889 or contact us! We are your full-service landscaping company from lawn maintenance to custom landscaping, we deliver it all with incredible value and outstanding service. We’d love to get your lawn looking great this season!
