Fall Is The Prime Time For Planting And Other Landscape Improvements

While people tend to associate planting with springtime, the autumn months are ideal for renovating your landscape in a myriad of ways, some of which are vitally important to the health and longevity of your landscape. 

Autumn Creates the Perfect Conditions for Healthy Roots

As a matter of fact, the perfect trifecta of warm soil, cool temperatures, and increased rainfall amounts creates the prime environment for the development of healthy root systems. And because roots are able to grow in soil temperatures as low as 45°F, early fall planting offers the advantage of extra growing time which enables them to become well-established, even after the branches and stems above the ground have stopped growing for the season. 

Planting During Dormancy Reduces Risk of Transplant Shock

The fall is a beneficial time for planting spring blooming perennials and certain varieties of shrubs and trees, since many have already gone into a state of winter dormancy, which greatly reduces the risk of transplant shock. 

You’ll also want to get spring bulbs planted before the ground freezes, so this is a landscape enhancement that take place from late September into early October. 

If you’re located in a region that doesn’t experience harsh winter weather, the autumn offers a unique opportunity to plant perennials and annuals that prefer more moderate temperatures, so your property can have new and different seasonal color during the temperate months. 

Perennials Respond Well to Fall Dividing 

The autumnal months are the best time for dividing perennials and replanting them as it gives them a chance to become established, so they’ll really be able to thrive upon the return of the growing season.  

Fall is the Season for Refreshing Container Plants

Containers are an effective way to draw attention to focal points on your property, and they’re also valuable for keeping seasonal color fresh throughout the year. In fact, with the right placement and proper maintenance, arrangements of hearty, colorful plants such as flowering kale and ornamental grasses, complemented by the blossoms of mums or pansies, can be used to beautify your grounds all year round.  

Autumn is a Critical Season for Making Lawn Renovations

In addition to trees, shrubs and other plantings, autumn is also a critical time for improving the lawn. Whether overseeding sparse grassy areas, putting down new sod, or replacing turf, now is the time to prepare your lawn for the approaching winter. There are a number of services associated with autumn lawn care, including:

• Lawn Dethatching – prior to making any other renovations, you’ll want to ensure the top-most layer of dead grass is removed through a process called dethatching. This is important because excess thatch blocks roots from getting necessary light, water, air and nutrients.  
• Lawn Aeration – the next step (if necessary) is to aerate your lawn, which is a process that loosens the soil and enables roots to grow deep and strong. If your soil is not compacted or is of a sandy consistency, aeration is not likely to be needed. 
• Overseeding – since root systems actually experience the greatest development in the fall, it’s a good time for overseeding the lawn, which is simply planting grass seed to fill in sparse turf areas and enhance the color and thickness of your lawn.  
• Fertilization – along with overseeding the autumn months are also when you need fertilize your lawn, which will stimulate root growth and make sure your grass has the nutrition it needs to survive the dormant season and come back green and lush next spring. 

An important thing to remember about fall fertilization is that it’s good to fertilize grass as well as deciduous shrubs and trees which will be utilizing the nutrients for survival during the winter months instead of for new growth. However, DO NOT fertilize any plants that are in the dormancy process, because feeding them will force them to expend energy on new, tender growth, and threaten their ability to survive the winter. 

• Weed Control – treating for weeds is another action that is crucial to take in the early fall. Early fall is the key here, because once weeds have a chance to enter dormancy, treatment applications are ineffective, which means someone will have to get out there and pull those weeds by hand.  

Fall Cleanup, Mulching and Lawn Sprinkler Winterization are a Must

Crucial to maintaining curb appeal as well as a healthy softscape, fall cleanup services are a must! This includes trimming back certain perennials and deadheading fall flowers, removing dead leaves and debris as well as dead tree limbs and other potential hazards. 

Once all the debris has been eliminated, the trimming is done, and the first deep frost has taken place, it’s a good time to apply fresh wood mulch around those newly trimmed perennials as an added layer of protection. 

Finally, for areas that experience frigid winters, you need to make sure your irrigation system has been properly shut down, drained of water and winterized to prevent breaks and other costly damage that can be caused by freezing temperatures. 

Trust all your Fall Landscaping Services to U.S. Lawns

While all of this may seem like a long list of specialized work, you can trust your local U.S. Lawns commercial landscape management professionals to do it for you. We’ll take care of everything, including the lawn care, planting and maintenance of trees, shrubs and flowers, and we’re experts in irrigation services and snowplowing and ice management as well. Even better, we have the capabilities to build all types of hardscapes, making your property the place where people want to be fall, winter, spring and summer. If you’re ready to get started, we’re ready too, so contact us today!