Get Your Commercial Landscape Ready For Winter: Schedule Fall Cleanup Services Right Away!
As the landscape begins to enter its dormancy in preparation for the transition from fall to winter, it’s vital to make sure it gets the most out of its seasonal slumber, so the greenery will return in full force with the arrival of springtime. Fortunately, your local U.S. Lawns is here to ensure the grasses, plants, shrubs and trees on your commercial grounds are ready for the upcoming season. So, if you haven’t already, get in touch with us and schedule your fall landscape cleanup services right away!
Dormancy Is A Critical Time For Plants, Trees, Shrubs & Grasses
Even if you’re managing a commercial property in a region that doesn’t experience the bitter cold and wintery storms, the winter months are an important time for your perennial plants because they still go into a dormant state that it is critical to their well-being.
What Is Dormancy and Why Is It Important?
Much like the way certain animals go into hibernation as the daylight hours shorten, plants also take advantage of the cool season by going dormant. To explain it in the most basic of terms, their metabolism slows, and they stop directing energy to growth above the soil, which offers added protection from the harsh elements while providing regenerative rest at the same time.
Benefits Of Dormancy:
- Dormancy enables plants to conserve and redirect energy to their root systems which will continue to develop and grow throughout the wintertime.
- If trees and other plants continue to grow during the cold weather, the water stored in trunks, leaves and stems will freeze, which can be incredibly harmful; by arresting any new growth, they’re effectively preventing tender tissues from being damaged during a period that can expose them freezing temperatures, as well as drought, a reduction in sunlight, and a shortage of nutrients.
- Dormancy prevents seeds from germinating during the wrong time of the year, which can be critical to the proliferation and longevity of grasses and other perennial plants that depend on re-seeding to reproduce.
How Fall Cleanup Services Support A Healthy Dormant State
So, what can you do to make sure your landscape can get the very most out of the dormancy period? Include Fall Cleanup Services in your commercial landscape maintenance plan.
While most people immediately think of raking leaves when they see “fall cleanup services,” really, leaf management is a subject all its own, which we’ll discuss more about in an upcoming article; the fact is, fall cleanup encompasses a whole lot more than removal of fallen leaves.
Here are a few different items that should be addressed while your fall landscape cleanup is being performed:
- Cut back perennials – flowering plants that have bloomed through the spring and summertime should be trimmed during fall cleanups. This is especially important in colder climates, because as we have already touched on, growth above the soil can freeze all the way to the roots, and if that happens, the likelihood of survival is very low.
- New planting projects – if you need to replace shrubs or deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves every autumn), fall landscape cleanup days are ideal for removing and planting activities. Fall planting provides an opportunity for them to take advantage of their winter dormancy to establish a strong root system to better endure the stresses brought about by summer conditions.
- Clean up debris – fall cleanup duties also include cleaning up twigs, fallen branches, leaves, and other debris on your grounds, so your landscape can have a clean start for whatever the winter weather may bring.
- Weeding – while you’re cleaning up debris and cutting back perennials, remember to remove the weeds–and make sure you get all the roots, so they won’t become too established throughout the wintertime.
- Mulching – although a lot of people associate mulching with spring cleanup tasks, there are some great reasons to mulch in the fall instead:
- First, you’ve already trimmed back the plants, so you have a nice open plant or flowerbed ready to be mulched without the need to be cautious around new plantings.
- Secondly, there is plenty to do during spring cleanup, why not have a big job already done?
- Third, the cooler temperatures make the heavy work of applying mulch a little less taxing.
- And last but certainly not least, a fresh layer of natural mulch offers a nice layer of insulation to regulate the temperature of the soil beneath it and protect root systems from freezing temperatures; it aids with retaining moisture; and mulch also prevents weed germination when springtime rolls back around–just be sure you’re not also preventing self-sowing perennial plants from germinating too.
Trust Your Commercial Landscape Management To U.S. Lawns
Now, if all of this sounds like more than you have the time, tools, and energy to tackle, just get ahold of your local U.S. Lawns commercial grounds care professionals. We have the expertise and all the resources to ensure your greenery receives everything it needs to flourish, and we’re passionate about treating your turf like it’s our lawn. Contact us now, we’re standing ready to serve!