Your lawn is one of the most impressive yet challenging features of your landscape. Lawns require a considerable amount of maintenance and sometimes a professional touch that can seem like far too much effort for the average homeowner. Keeping your lawn healthy involves year-round work and there are many things yet to do in the late summer and autumn. Here’s how a lawn service can prepare your yard for the fall in Highland Park and Lake Forest, IL.
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Encouraging Growth
By the time the summer reaches its apex, the growing season has already begun to wind down. The summer heat has taken over the spring rains and the heat has started to dry out the grass. This is a normal cycle, although choosing the right species and ensuring regular deep watering will help grass retain its lush green color throughout the year.
During this time, lawn care professionals will work hard to keep your lawn properly mowed to the right height, striking a balance between a lawn that is trimmed too short (causing the soil to dry out too quickly) and one that is left too long (causing water retention in the soil, and possibly fungal growth).
As the grass naturally slows the rate of growth during the heat and drought stresses of summer, lawn care professionals may add some fertilizer to bolster the root systems.
Any damaged or diseased lawn will be treated as necessary, including problems such as fairy rings and overgrowth. Early fall is a good time to install sod over damaged or barren areas. In fall, the sod will have time to become established before the freeze of winter.
Removing Leaf Debris
The biggest task throughout the autumn season of lawn care work is consistently removing leaf debris. The leaves that fall from your gorgeous trees are dry once they detach from the branches and they float to the ground. Once on the ground, a layer of leaves will block sunlight, which will start to negatively affect the grass after a few days. Worse, once the leaves get wet during fall rains, they can create a virtually impenetrable barrier to sun, air, and water. This leads to a disaster for your lawn, often killing the plants.
It’s crucial that a lawn care professional removes all leaf debris from your lawn, either mulching it or bagging and removing it (mulching is the preferred option since it returns nutrients to the soil just like mulched grass clippings). It becomes far more difficult to remove fallen leaves once it starts raining or snowing, so the work needs to happen quickly. Make sure leaf removal is in your contract with a lawn care professional.
Consistent Fertilization
Until the ground freezes, it’s necessary to continue fertilizing the lawn with a slow-releasing fertilizer that will make sure the nutrients will support the plants during their winter dormancy.
Weed Management
Weeds don’t stop growing just because the seasons change. Weeds tend to be robust growers that will compete with the lawn for water and nutrients. An application of post emergent weed killer may be necessary to keep weeds from taking over.
Lawn Health
During their regular visits, a lawn care company should be aware of any emerging lawn problems such as diseases or pests, and damage from everyday use such as heavy foot traffic or pet urine. Early fall, when the temperatures have started to cool down, is a good time to mitigate some of this damage. Aeration, dethatching, pest control, and other treatments can restore a damaged lawn to its former glory.
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