Ask the Experts, Landscape Maintenance

Your Winter Landscape Maintenance Guide

Your Winter Landscape Maintenance Guide | Dallas Landscaping Services

Can landscaping be done during the colder months? Our answer is a resounding “yes!”

Winter is a time for dormancy for your landscape, but it still needs some TLC if you want your landscape to thrive and flourish in the coming growing season. Just as your landscape has 4 different seasons of rest and growth, it also has 4 distinct seasons of landscape maintenance.

Yes, winter landscape maintenance should not be overlooked. Here are some of the top things you should do for your landscape this season.

1. Mulching

Adding a layer of mulch around your shrubs, trees, and plants will help lock in moisture and help insulate the roots of your plants against the cold.

It’s best to mulch in early fall or winter to help protect your plants against the alternating of freezing and thawing temperatures. If you do not have a lot of leaves on your lawn, you can use crushed shells, bark chippings, or farmyard manure to give your plants, trees, as well as your turf a nice source of nutrients.

2. Pruning

The dormant season is best for pruning. It is less stressful for your trees, yields a better result, and limits exposure to diseases and pests. Your trees are able to heal more quickly because it has extra energy reserves. In addition, pruning when all the leaves have dropped will give you a better view of the best areas to prune so that the tree will maintain its structural integrity. Spotting vulnerable areas like diseased or damaged branches is easier too.

A lot of the diseases and pests that are active during the growing season and can infect your trees are dormant during the colder months, which makes winter the perfect season for pruning. 

3. Fertilization

Fertilizing during the colder months is considered one of the most important lawn treatments to ensure the health and beauty of your lawn in the coming months. A good winter fertilizer applied the right way will strengthen and assist your lawn’s root system. The lawn goes into protective mode as soon as cold weather hits, and the blades turn brown, hardy, and grows slower as it prepares for dormancy.

You might be surprised to learn that under the soil, it’s a different story! The root system keeps growing, and it becomes stronger, thicker, and more established into the soil. And we all know that a good root system has a better chance of withstanding stress, drought, and diseases during the sunny season.

4. Lawn aeration

Lawn aeration should be done before the first freeze. Aeration is done to create openings in your soil so that it can allow essential air and water down the soil, helping it reach the grassroots. When the grass’ roots receive a healthy supply of these resources, it won’t struggle in stressful conditions like heat and drought. 

Heavily compacted soil can starve the grass, and aeration is the antidote to compacted soil. During winter, your lawn has reduced water retention capacity. Aeration solves this issue by facilitating the flow of essential resources down to the grass’ roots!

Here are our other recommendations for winter landscape maintenance:

  • Gutter cleaning
  • Pressure washing of hardscapes
  • Leaf removal
  • Snow removal
  • Tree and shrub trimming
  • Irrigation system winterization
  • Pool winterization

Beautiful lawns do not just happen overnight. Those with healthy, lush lawns will tell you that achieving their goals entails a year-round commitment – even during winter!

A lot of these tips are supportive maintenance for a healthy landscape, but if you need help, it’s best to call the pros. Southern Botanical, your Dallas landscaping services company, can take care of all your landscaping needs this season. Give us a call today: 214.366.2103.