Keeping your grass green every year is an intimidating task. Without the proper knowledge, it’s easy to get discouraged trying to maintain a full, bright, healthy lawn.

Let this blog be your annual guide on how to take care of your lawn through the seasons.

Most people don’t think about their year-round lawn care, so if you follow these tips, you’ll have one of the greenest lawns in town!

Lawn Care Maintenance Through the Warm Months

Summertime is easy. Make sure there isn’t too much matted dead grass choking out your healthy grass, and maintain a regular mowing schedule – once per week is standard. For the best look, try to follow an even path while mowing.

Infrequent fertilization and regular watering will encourage healthy new grass to grow – but be sure to kill weeds when you see them.

If this regularly required upkeep seems a little much, the best thing you can do is hire an expert like Cherry Oak Landscaping. We will be happy to keep your lawn in great shape!

Act Early in Autumn

Autumn is a critical time for lawn care. Lawns go through a lot during a Michigan winter and need some help to survive. With the right system, they can thrive.

The goal of autumn preparation is to give your lawn a boost before the snow comes and you can’t tend to your property anymore. Winter and the browning of your grass is a natural cycle, but there are things you can do to come out on top once spring springs again.

Get Rid of Leaves and Remove Those Weeds

Autumn means falling leaves. To have a blooming green lawn in the spring, you must remove the fallen leaves. If you don’t, they will decompose with the grass below them. Be sure to give your grass a good rake, too. A slight dethatching before winter can be very helpful.

Autumn affords you one last chance before winter to do some weeding. Weeds can propagate unattended in wintertime without anyone there to pluck them out, so take this time to comb your lawn for weeds and remove what you can see.

Aerate!

Give your lawn a healthy dose of autumn aeration.

You’re about to give your lawn a huge boost of nutrients before the winter, and aeration is the best way to prepare your property for it. Aeration breaks up the thatch layer and the soil and exposes your soil to more oxygen and sunlight. The holes in the lawn provide a more efficient throughway for water to get at the roots. Aeration promotes healthy decomposition in your yard, which will help fertilize your grass throughout winter.

The Benefits of Overseeding

Overseed your lawn before it snows. Overseeding is a great way to ensure your grass has a fighting chance next season. Not all your seeds will take, but many of them will germinate and become seedlings if you take the proper precautions.

The act of overseeding will replace the mats of dead grass winter can cause. The new seeds will give your lawn a huge boost when spring arrives.

Fertilize Early

Give your lawn some food! Although the snow will provide your property with some sustenance with incremental meltwater deposits, fertilizing your yard gives it a serious advantage when the sun returns.

Autumn Watering

The perfect time to water your lawn is while your new seeds are germinating. You should water your lawn more than usual, up to three times per day during seed germination and once daily after the seedlings sprout. Plenty of watering, fertilization, and overseeding is like a bear’s last meal before hibernation. It will sustain your lawn throughout its winter sleep and ensure it gets off to a great start after the big melt.

Mow Grass Higher Than Usual Before It Snows

Make sure to leave your lawn higher than usual for the last few mows. When the grass is taller, so the roots become deeper. Stronger roots are an obvious advantage during wintertime because they help the grass stay alive.

If you leave your grass a little longer, the long grass, once matted, will shield vulnerable seedlings from direct contact with snow and help them sprout easily in the spring.

Clear the Lawn of Objects

Make sure to remove every object from your lawn. All lawn furniture, hoses, sprinklers, playhouses, kiddie pools, etc., must be removed. If they are not, you will have massive lawn-furniture shaped dead-patches in your grass next year.

Minimize Foot Traffic Over Your Lawn

Avoid walking on your lawn as much as possible throughout the winter. The best way to do this is to ensure all your walking paths are clear. Try to ensure there is never a reason to walk on your grass, and your lawn will thrive come spring.

Chip Extra Ice Away

If you notice that your lawn starts to develop a thick layer of ice on top of it, try to chip it away or pull it off. Snow on your grass is fine, but big chunks of ice are no good. Ice is too heavy and could be very damaging if it directly contacts your grass.

Wait Until It’s Dry to Mow Again

Do not mow your grass again until all the snow has melted and the ground is dry. Mowing a wet lawn can severely damage or even kill your grass.

Complete a post-winter walk around your lawn, remove any sticks or debris that might have gathered throughout the winter, and prep for the springtime.

Springtime: Rake, Aerate, Fertilize

After winter, you will have returned to the beginning of the lawn care cycle: springtime.

Once your lawn is dry enough to work on, it’s time to rake that dead layer of grass away. You can also complete your spring aeration in preparation for the summer weather—once is enough.

And now that the sun is out, give your grass a nice big helping of lawn food. Correct fertilization is the key to a healthy lawn.

That concludes our guide to year-round grass maintenance! If you want to learn more, we invite you to reach Cherry Oak Landscaping directly!