Autumn is an amazing time of transition. With the summer’s heat and activities wrapped up, fall is time to enjoy the outdoors in a whole new way.
We bundle up a bit more. We marvel at the brilliance of color that emerges and the changes that take place as nature prepares itself for a long winter’s sleep.
Around your home, the feeling is an interesting mix. As temperatures cool, homeowners make a mad dash outdoors on sunny days trying to complete any cleanup tasks before it becomes too cold to venture outdoors. It’s reminiscent of preparing for hibernation, so we can soon rest easy and stay warm and cozy indoors.
While many landscape tips and suggestions focus on maintenance during the growing season, autumn is an essential time of year for performing landscape tasks. In fact, preparing the landscape now, while temperatures are in the low 40s or even high 30s, can result in substantial outcomes for the next spring and summer.
Since the window of time to complete these tasks is short, we’ve narrowed down the top items to focus on to prepare your Idaho landscape for winter.
Lawn repair & renovation
Does your lawn feel battered after a summer of kids using it for games of catch and tag and your dog making it his personal playground throughout the day? Fall fertilizer applications are very important to a turf’s sustainability for the next growing season because they can strengthen turf roots.
In order to prepare your Idaho landscape for winter, now is also the time to repair any of this wear-and-tear on turf by over-seeding and/or repairing turf with sod. Fall aeration can also give turf a needed boost.
Tree & shrub care
Pruning and maintaining trees and shrubs is a natural fall task so deadwood can be removed, and the plant can focus its energy on the rest of its branches come spring. Transplanting trees and shrubs that need more ideal locations is also a great task for this time of year.
Want to prepare your Idaho landscape for winter even more? Add a new tree to your landscape! Now might be a great time since the soil is still easier to penetrate compared to springtime.
Perennials need love, too
Perennials can also use a little TLC in the fall. To prepare your Idaho landscape for winter even further, trim and cleanup perennials to remove dieback. Renewing mulch can also help protect and insulate plant roots.
Want to have the first landscape to pop with color come spring? Now is a great time to plant bulbs like tulips, hyacinths and daffodils in your landscape beds.
Watering is still important
And just because it’s fall doesn’t mean landscape watering ceases. Watering your lawn at least twice a month can ensure the roots have the right environment in which to grow and prepare for dormancy.
Do not forget to give your shrubs and trees the same watering as your turf, especially evergreens, which continue to lose water through their needles throughout the winter months.
Pools, ponds and sprinklers, oh my!
Popular landscape and hardscape additions also have to be readied for winter, especially when water is involved. Autumn is a good time of year to clean and inspect all water-involved equipment, including lines, pumps and motors.
Prepare your Idaho landscape for winter by shutting down pumps and filters and bringing pumps inside. You might also want to drain ponds and pools by a certain percent.
Sprinklers can be prepared for winter by draining and expelling all the water from the irrigation system and equipment with pressurized air. It is important to remember it is much less costly and much less labor intensive to properly and efficiently prepare the system in the fall than to repair damaged fittings, piping, valves, sprinklers and other components in the spring.
This is true for all mechanical elements of your landscape. A little time and proper winterization can lead to fewer problems in spring.
Finally, autumn is a perfect time to unwind from summer and enjoy the scenery. Preparing your landscape for winter does not have to be a wearisome chore. The above tasks may seem daunting, but Outback Landscape professionals are up for the task.
Contact us at 208-656-3220 for a free consultation. We can help you smoothly and swiftly prepare your landscape for a long winter’s sleep and even better spring revival. After all, spring will be right around the corner.
Image credit: Patagonia-Idaho Homes