Complete Fall Care Tips for a Healthy Lawn in Michigan

Given that your grass will go dormant for the winter, fall may not seem like the best time to handle lawn maintenance. However, fall is a crucial time to equip your grass for gorgeous growth the following spring. Grassroots grow vastly and more effectively in the fall than they do in the summer, so taking benefit of this growing season will pay off greatly the following year.

Utilize the cool autumn climate to fertilize, eradicate weeds, and generally enhance the health and look of your yard. When the weather starts to warm up again in the spring, a little preparation now will make room for a lush, green carpet.

Although a carpet of vibrant autumn leaves may be attractive and enjoyable to play in, grass cannot tolerate them. They provide the unfavorable turf below with possibly lethal knockout impacts by obstructing light and trapping moisture.

Therefore, rake the leaves as frequently as you can as they are falling. Continue raking the places where the wind gathers leaves even after the trees are barren. If you don’t, the grass beneath that rotting, damp carpet will be dead come spring.

Put away that lawnmower later. Up until the first hard frost, grass will continue to grow, so it will need to be mowed frequently to maintain the perfect height of 2 1/2 to 3 inches. It will mat if you let it grow too long, making it susceptible to fungus like snow mildew.

Mowing grass too short is equally undesirable since it restricts the root system—root depth is inversely correlated with cutting height—and reduces the lawn’s resistance to winter dryness and cold. Routine mowing also removes those bothersome leaves, shredding them and leaving behind a mulch that improves the soil.

Once the weather turns cooler in the fall, people often stop watering plants. They believe that nature will take care of everything. Although there is more rain, more dew, and less evaporation during this time of year, those factors might not be sufficient to keep the grassroots wet and healthy throughout the winter.

Keep the sprinklers or irrigation system running until the end of October if your lawn isn’t receiving at least an inch of water every week—a basic rain gauge is a helpful method to monitor this. To prevent frozen pipes and spigots by that point, you should disconnect hoses and flush the irrigation system.

Regular aeration once every two years keeps soil from compacting and developing thatch — a thick covering of roots, stems, and other debris that inhibits water, oxygen, and nutrients from reaching the soil.

By creating holes in the thatch and removing dirt plugs, a core aerator solves both issues. Aerating a lawn shortly before fertilization is recommended. The fertilizer will be able to reach the roots directly, where it will be most beneficial, thanks to all the holes in your lawn.

The plant sugars that prevent roots from freezing and give the entire plant the energy to recover in the spring are beneficial to grassroots, just as water is necessary for them to survive the winter. Chlorophyll, which grass produces in large quantities when there is enough nitrogen, creates those sugars.

Because of this, it is advised to use a slow-release granular 24-0-10 fertilizer in the late fall. The values represent the weight percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Because it promotes root development, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and cold tolerance, potassium is crucial now. How much of each nutrient your grass truly requires can be determined by a soil test.

An effective weed barrier is dense grass, which is why it’s crucial to overseed existing turf. This not only fills in bare or thin patches but also enables you to plant the most durable, drought-tolerant grasses currently available. The greatest time to overseed is in the fall because the weather is cooler at night, the ground is still warm, and there is more moisture available.

Overseeding is one of the most difficult lawn-care activities. An established grass cannot simply be seeded with seeds and expect them to grow. They must be completely buried in the soil, kept moist until they sprout, and sufficiently established before the cold season.

For the best outcomes, each of the aforementioned stages must be completed at the proper time. Otherwise, the effort is useless. For example, if overseeding is done too late, the seedlings will be too weak to endure. If you fertilize your grass too early, it will grow fragile blades that the cold will damage. The grass roots won’t be able to absorb all the nutrients you’re feeding them if you fertilize too late. If you can’t get around to aerating this fall, have you considered doing it in the spring? Make no effort. Aeration in the spring simply facilitates weed seed germination.

If following the plan during the fall is too challenging, a lawn care service can take care of the tasks that aren’t getting done. They are frequently the ones that call for renting large equipment, such as core aerators and slit seeders, which is difficult to transport, difficult to operate, and frequently scarce at the rental yards at this time of year. Entrusting one or two of those chores to a pro during this busy season will ensure the work gets done when it should—and that you will be enjoying a thick carpet of green grass next year.

In Michigan, good lawn care practices produce a lush environment and fortify grass so that it can resist the harsh weather that the winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons bring. Preferred Lawn Care is here to help with exceptional lawn care services.

Lawns that have been well-maintained need time-consuming maintenance and treatments. Improve your home’s curb appeal immediately by upgrading lawn condition and enhancing the landscaping in Muskegon through lawn care, landscaping, and irrigation,

Your lawn will benefit from Preferred Lawn Care’s comprehensive and long-lasting lawn care program, which includes proper fertilization as well as continuous guidance on watering and mowing. We have trained experts on staff who can help you maintain your lawn on a daily basis and stop any conditions or pest issues before they become bigger, more expensive issues.

Call Preferred Lawn Care at 231-670-9873 or message us online to learn more about our lawn care program.