Preparing for Winter Dormancy

When the sun is shining on a mild winter’s day, many of us are looking out our windows and asking ourselves, “Is there anything I should be doing to my lawn?” Besides checking Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace for good deals on lawn equipment, there is not much you need to do. However, if you have a busy lifestyle and have just not had the time to get all your lawn preparations checked off, a sunny, mild day in winter is a great time to complete them. Here are a few reminders for the next break in the weather.

Perennial Gardens

Garden Tools

Feathered Friends

Dry Winters?

Winter Food for Lawns

Mulched leaves are beneficial but won’t supply enough nutrients for healthy turf. Apply Snowman, winter root builder, on a day when the ground is not frozen. Snowman winter root builder is low nitrogen with added phosphorous and potash for root growth and disease resistance. Grass roots will continue to grow till the soil is frozen hard.

Lawn-Cal for Winter Lawns

Salt from ice melter used on roads, driveways, and sidewalks can cause severe damage to grass, trees, and small shrubs.  Now is the time to apply Grass Pad’s Lawn Cal, which contains beneficial lawn calcium. Calcium will play a physiological role in recovering sodic soil and improving the soil structure to allow sodium to leach from the soil.

Preparing Trees and Shrubs for Winter

Prune or cut off any dead growth from trees and shrubs to discourage insects who choose to hide there for the winter. Remove branches that overlap and rub against each other.

Avoid pruning spring flowering shrubs such as lilac, azalea, and specific hydrangea. These shrubs form their spring flower buds over late summer and fall. Any pruning of these shrubs, though not life-threatening, will be removing spring flowers. Prune spring flowering shrubs after the bloom petals have fallen next spring.

Dormant oil can be applied on a mild day above 40 degrees. Use over a burning bush, euonymous, pines, or spruce to control scale and other insect eggs, such as spider mites.

Protect young trees from animals by wrapping stems or trunks with wire mesh. Smooth bark trees such as Red maples should be protected with tree wrap to prevent winter sun scalding.

Preparing Perennial Gardens for Winter

Cut back dry stems to soil level to prevent rotting in flower beds.

Procrastinators, if you have not planted your tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth, get them into the ground soon. The ground is still workable now, but it won’t be long before we have a frozen tundra.

Mulch flower beds once extreme cold weather arrives. Adding a fresh layer of mulch around plantings will give the landscape a neat appearance while keeping the temperatures around the plants consistent. Mulch will hold moisture in the soil, one of the most important parts of fighting winter stress.

Garden Tools Need Attention

Oil garden hand tools to extend their life. A thin layer of vegetable oil will help to protect your shovels, spades, axes, and hoes from moisture and winter rust. Extend the life of your garden hoses by storing them in the shed, garage, or basement.

Dry Winter? Pull The Hoses Back Out!

If late fall & winter have been extremely dry, that means your grass (and your landscape!) is thirsty, so get that hose back out and start watering. Deep watering help the roots of your grass and your plants establish better before the long winter, so find a couple of these warm, sunny days and get some water down.