Fall Yard Maintenance

Clean out beds and mulch: Remove dead growth, leaves and weeds that have cropped up. If your perennials have become overcrowded, divide them up so they can thrive next year. To allow nutrients to seep back into the soil, turn over the dirt with a hoe. After beds are nice and clean, mulching will seal in moisture, keep the ground soft, and, well, it just looks nice. There are many different varieties to choose from, and while it may be tempting to simply dump it on your beds, carefully place it around plants so as to not damage them.
Plant! It may seem strange to suggest this now, but fall is great for a second round of veggies, transplanting trees/shrubs, adding perennials or putting in bulbs for spring.
Fertilize: Most areas across the country should plan on fertilizing their lawns, but when and what kind of fertilizer (nitrogen and/or phosphorous) will depend on your temperatures and native grasses. Check in with your local landscaper for more information.
Pruning: Do NOT over prune in the fall. Pruning stimulates growth and if it gets cold where you live, the only kind of trimming you want to do is to remove dead branches or limbs.
Decorate: Summer isn’t the only time to enjoy your backyard. Think about adding a few strings of light, tiki torches or even a fire pit to brighten things up as the days grow shorter.

If you spend a little extra time taking care of the upkeep in the fall, the pleasure you receive from a beautiful landscape all year ’round will be worth the effort!

If you layered your flower bed with mulch over the winter, now is the time to start removing the mulch to allow any perennials the chance to grow. Sometimes, the perennials may break through a thick layer of mulch, but most of the time the perennials will be damaged. Depending on the weather, you should start checking your perennial growth in late winter or early spring and determine if the ground is thawed yet. If the ground is thawing and you do not remove the mulch, you will ultimately smother the flowers. Removing the mulch will allow the flowers to breath and thrive for the spring’s growth cycle. Once the flowers have sprouted out of the grown, then you can replace the mulch around each flower.

If you are trying to plant vegetable in the spring, then you have to determine when the frost dates will be for that area. If you are just transplanting, then you can do that after the last frost date is past. If you are planting seeds that will sprout within 2 weeks or so, then you can plant them 2 weeks prior to the last frost date.

If you want to apply lawn fertilizers in the spring, then Scott’s suggest a four-part schedule starting with your spring grass. Generally, slow-release lawn fertilizers are the best type to apply on your grass. This schedule depends on where you live and your grass-type, so you should refer to Scott’s schedule for more information.

If you have crabgrass that you need to get rid of, then you can start killing crabgrass earlier in the spring by using pre-emergent herbicides. In many regions of the U.S., you will want to start applying the herbicides around May 1st, but application will vary depending on where you live and how warm a spring you’re having. Down South, herbicides will need to be applied even earlier to prevent crabgrass growth.

If you are not sure whether to fertilize an older well-established tree, then consider that fertilizing older trees in the spring can result in vigorous new growth, which includes a thicker leaf canopy and a richer color in the foliage.

If you want to prune your flowering shrubs, but not sure when, a general rule of thumb is to first determine the reason for pruning. If you just want to rejuvenate overgrown, neglected flowering shrubs, then the best time to prune is late winter or early spring. True, pruning flowering shrubs at this time will reduce or eliminate blossoming in spring that year, but the trade-off is in gaining healthier, more vigorous flowering shrubs for the long run.

If you want to just do a routine pruning to maintain the flowering shrubs within certain dimensions, then observe the shrubs’ blooming habits. For shrubs that bloom in summer or fall on the current year’s growth, prune in winter. For shrubs that bloom in spring from last year’s growth, prune after their blooms begin to die.