Autumn leaves may be beautiful, but that doesn’t mean you should allow them to linger on your lawn through the fall and into the winter. Many homeowners do not realize the problems that can easily arise from allowing fallen leaves to stay on a lawn once the cold weather arrives. Ultimately, it’s a matter of keeping your lawn healthy, not just aesthetics.

How Leaves Might Harm Your Lawn

The fall months typically include some of the most variable temperatures throughout the year. It can feel close to spring one day and then bitterly cold the next, and precipitation can be just as unpredictable. Leaves are also biological material. When they change colors and fall from trees, this is a sign they have died, and they will begin to decompose soon.

It’s essential to remove fallen leaves from your lawn for several reasons:

• Piles of leaves block the sunlight from reaching your grass. If you allow the leaves to remain on your lawn for too long, this could create dead spots in your grass that may take quite a long time to grow back, especially since these spots won’t be healthy enough to withstand the winter weather.
• Leaves also block your grass from receiving other essential nutrients like water and healthy air is needs to stay healthy.

RELATED ARTICLE: Your Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist

• If the leaves form a barrier over your grass, the decomposition of the fallen leaves will eventually attract contaminants and even pests. Insects love decomposing plants, and the rotting leaves can also lead to problems like snow mold and brown patches.
• Allowing leaves to remain all winter long will make it much harder for new blades of grass to sprout in the spring.
• Fallen leaves can be especially damaging to cool season grasses. These grasses grow the strongest and experience the highest activity levels during the cool weather, and fallen leaves can inhibit their growth when they should be growing the most.

For these reasons, it is important to remove the leaves from your yard on a regular basis until winter arrives. By the time the weather turns very cold, the trees around your property should have finished shedding their leaves. However, keep watch for fallen leaves as the weather changes and remove them as they appear. You don’t need to worry about removing every single leaf as soon as it touches the ground, but don’t allow the leaves to remain for too long.

Use a rake or leaf blower to collect the leaves in one spot. If your township or municipality offers curbside leaf disposal, you may only need to rake them into the street before cleanup day. Another option is to empty your leaves into a compost bin. As your fallen leaves and other compostable materials break down over the winter, it could become valuable fertilizer for your spring planting.

Perrysburg Landscape offers a full range of residential and commercial landscaping services. If neglected autumn leaves have damaged your lawn, contact us today to find out how we can help you repair it and get your lawn in the right shape for a healthier growing season.

The weather’s getting cooler, the leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter – all obvious signs that the fall season is well underway. Here in Perrysburg and Northwest Ohio, it’s essential that you perform your own preparations, and that includes making sure your yard is ready for the harsher weather ahead. In fact, fall is one of the best times to perform a few key tasks to not only keep your yard looking beautiful, but also protect the health of the plants within it.

Keeping reading for our Fall yard cleanup checklist.

Your Essential Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist

Taking care of these tasks this fall can help prepare your yard for the winter and kick start the next growing season:

1. Remove Leaves and Sticks. Leaf removal is one of the first tasks most people think of when it comes to fall yard cleanup and for good reason; leaf buildup can negatively affect the appearance of your lawn as well as prevent essential cool-season growth. The good news – leaves make excellent fuel for other plants, so consider gathering them in a compost area and turning once a week.
   
   
2. Aerate Your Lawn. Aeration ensures water and key nutrients are reaching the roots of your grass. However, if you have a large lawn, it can be all too easy to make the decision to forego this important fall task. Consider hiring a professional with a walk-behind aerator to handle this important fall chore.
   
   
3. Apply Fertilizer. During the heat of the summer, it is important not to over-fertilize. However, now that temperatures are lower, keep in mind that grass roots continue to grow until soil temperatures dip below 40 degrees. Apply high-phosphorus fertilizer now to encourage healthy root growth.
   
   
4. Trim Dead Limbs. Dead tree limbs are not only an eyesore, but they present even more of a safety hazard during the winter months once snow and ice begin to gather on branches. Before falling limbs pose a danger to you or your home, have them removed by a professional.
   
   
5. Prune Your Landscaping. While annuals should be removed altogether to prevent pests from frequenting your flower beds, perennials are a bit more-tricky. For most, you can prune down to the ground, while bulb plants should be divided every few years to promote growth. In addition, trim and shape bushes in the fall to encourage healthy root growth.
   
   
6. Plant Shrubs and Trees. Early in the fall is a great time to plant shrubs and trees. Woody-stemmed plants get a head start at establishing stability if planted now, and, the cool, moist soil is beneficial to a healthy root system.

Need help with your fall yard cleanup checklist?

Perrysburg Lawn and Landscape Is Here For You!

You can schedule an appointment with us in a couple different ways: 

• Call or text  (419) 870-1771
• Visit www.perrysburglandscape.com
• Contact us online to request a quote.

We hope to hear from you soon!