How to Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

Preparing your lawn for winter may help you have healthier grass in the spring.

Grass becomes dormant in the winter and barely needs cutting in the fall, but that doesn't mean that you don't have to care for it. If you want to have a green, healthy lawn in the spring, then you will have to properly winterize your lawn. By following a few steps and putting in some extra work in mid-November, you can prepare your lawn for winter and help ensure a healthy lawn come spring.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• Lawnmower
• Aerator
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Rake any leaves scattered on your lawn and remove them. Leaves left on your lawn can smother your grass by blocking light and air.

2. Mow the grass. Cut cool-season grasses to 2 inches and warm-season grasses to 1 inch. Grass that is left too long can trap moisture and encourage plant diseases. Leave a sprinkling of grass clippings on the lawn to help enrich the soil during the winter.

3. Aerate your lawn in the late fall. If the lawn is impacted, any fertilizer that you apply will not be absorbed. As of 2010, you can rent an aerator from your local hardware or home improvement store for about $100 a day.

4. Seed any bald patches in the late fall and early winter before the ground freezes. The seeds can germinate during the colder weather without weeds encroaching. The bald patch should be filled in by the time the ground freezes

5. Apply a sustained release fertilizer. This will strengthen your grass for spring. The Outdoors with Dave website recommends that you choose a fertilizer specifically designed for winterizing your lawn.

References

• Outdoors with Dave: Preparing Your Lawn for Winter

Resources

• LawnSite.com