During winter you need to make sure that there is no young leaf growth on your lawn as this may cause it to be likely to succumb to diseases and pests. To do this gradually, lower the height of the cutting blade of your lawn mower until you are almost shaving the lawn. Undertake this in stages over a few weeks as you do not want to abruptly remove all the tissue or inflict extra damage to the grass. You don’t want to leave the grass longer than 2 inches during the winter.
Administer fertilizer to your grass in the late autumn. Even though it will not be utilised by the grass during the slow growth of the winter it will be stored in the roots and be instantly usable by the grass in the Spring when new growth begins. At this time you could reseed brown or bare areas. In the colder weather the seeds will germinate.
Clear up any debris from the lawn before the severest weather. This includes leaves, grass clippings, equipment, pots etc. If left on the lawn when it snows these will smother the grass under the blanket of snow and cause damage which may make the lawn more likely to succumb to diseases. During the colder weather, even though the lawn grass will grow very slowly weeds will multiply rapidly so you need to weekly take out weeds to keep them from harming the turf.
Also you should still water the lawn throughout the winter, although less than you would during the Summer or Spring. For most types of grass watering each week should be sufficient. Some grasses, e.g. rye grass and tall fescue grow well in the cold season and will need fertilising and watering during this time.
If you use a sprinkler watering system drain out all the water to prevent harm when the temperature drops to below freezing. You do not want to use it the following Spring only to find leaking pipes.
With some care your grass will survive the winter in the best shape and emerge healthy when it starts to grow again in the Spring. Winter lawn care is not hard if you stick to our guidelines. You’ll find more information on lawn care at lawn mower reviews.