Ozaukee County Fall Lawn Care Tips
Complete Lawn Care in Southeast Wisconsin
Some may be surprised to learn that fall is the season to develop a lush, green, healthy lawn. This is the time for aerating, fertilizing, and shear-mowing. Our Mequon landscapers are happy to share expert and enjoyable lawn care advice.
Continue Lawn Mowing & Lnadscaping
Consistntly mow and water your lawn as needed throughout the fall. As winter approaches, drop your mower blade to the lowest setting for the last two cuttings of the year. That will allow more sunlight to reach the crown of the grass and there will be less of the blade to turn brown during the winter. The lowering should be gradual, never cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blades at any one time.
Aerate the lawn
Fall is the ideal time to aerate your lawn so that oxygen, water and fertilizer can easily reach the grass’s roots. You can rent a gas-powered, push aerator at your local hardware store, or call Oberndorfer Landscaping. This is especially important for heavy, clay-rich soil. Loosen compacted soil and break up thatch. Don’t bother aerating if you have sandy soil – it’s a waste of time.
Rake the Leaves
It is important to remove fallen leaves from your lawn as soon as possible. Don’t wait until all the leaves have fallen to start raking. The leaves will become wet from rain and morning dew, stick together and form an impenetrable mat that will suffocate the grass and breed fungal diseases.
Get a QuoteBenefits of Fertilizing Lawn for Spring
If you fertilize your lawn only once a year, do it in the fall. Grass blades grow much more slowly as the weather cools off, but the grass roots and rhizomes continue to grow quickly. Rhizomes are the horizontal plant stems which lie just beneath the soil’s surface; they produce the blades of grass above and the roots below. An application of fertilizer in the fall delivers essential nutrients for the grass to grow deep roots now, while keeping nutrients on reserve for a healthy start next spring.
How to Fertilize Your Lawn
- Fill the spreader in the driveway, not on the lawn. You’re sure to spill and kill all of the grass that is overexposed to the fertilizer.
- Follow instructions on the bag. You are better off under-fertilizing than over. (They don’t call it “overkill” for nothing.)
- Rinse out your spreader after use before putting it away. All metal parts will rust and freeze up if you don’t.
- Seal partial bags of fertilizer with duct tape and store them in a dry place. Otherwise you will have a solid block of nutrients that aren’t very helpful for spreading the next time you need it.
- If you’ve reseeded some areas of the lawn, cover those parts with plastic before fertilizing the main lawn so you won’t burn the seedlings.
Best Time to Overseed Lawn in Wisconsin
Autumn is the ideal time of year to fix bare and bald spots in your lawn. Summer is too hot for seeds to thrive, the increasingly cooler temperatures will be more nurturing. The quickest, easiest way to do this is with an all-in-one lawn repair mixture. A ready-to-use mixture contains grass seed, a special quick-start lawn fertilizer and organic mulch. Rake the bald area, spread a thick layer of mixture over the area, lightly compact, and then water. Continue to water every other day for two weeks.
Eliminate Weeds
Go after weeds during this time of year when they are more susceptible. Pull them by hand or spray with a broadleaf herbicide. Now is also a great time to prepare your potted plants to come back inside. One last treatment of nutrients and pest spray should have you ready for fall and the long winter.
Superior Mequon Landscaping
For a pristine, professionally manicured lawn all year round, rely on the Oberndorfer landscaping team for a lush, healthy lawn.