Winter may not seem like the best time to maintain your yard, but right now is when you should prepare your landscaping for spring.
The fall leaves have dropped from the trees, and the temperature has cooled, which can only mean that winter is on its way. If you live in the Maryland region, you know how harsh the winters can get. It is essential to protect your yard and landscaping from the freezing ice and snow. Winter may not seem like the best time to maintain your yard, but right now is when you should prepare your landscaping for the coming spring season. Here are some tips to help maintain your landscaping in the winter.
Clean Up Leaves
You should never leave debris and leaves in your yard over the winter. Doing so can suffocate the grass, possibly causing diseases and attracting insects, mice, and other pests. After cutting your grass a final time in the fall, clear your lawn completely with a leaf blower. Piling snow can also damage your grass as it may starve nearby plants of oxygen. It is recommended to remove snow from growing areas such as flowerbeds promptly. Consider adding mulch around trees, plants, and shrubs for extra protection in winter.
Pruning Trees
Fall is the optimal time to prune your trees and shrubs. When there are no more leaves on the trees and shrubs, you can easily see up into the plants. This may reveal thick and densely branched trees or shrubs. This is not an ideal growth environment for the plant in most cases. Pruning the branches will reduce the density, helping the overall health of the plant.
Cut Back Perennial Plants
Perennial plants are plants that live more than two years. Your perennials can also benefit from pruning. As freezing temperatures hit, most perennials begin storing energy for the winter, resulting in a brown plant on top. This is not very visually appealing, and having a lot of dead foliage in your garden can attract rodents and pests. The most beneficial thing to do is to cut back the foliage that remains of your perennials.
Careful With the Salt
Rock salt and other ice-melting products can harm plants and trees by pulling water away from the roots. Flush out your soil to remove the salt, try to avoid piling snow mixed with salt onto your lawn when you shovel and look for ice-melting products made with calcium chloride, which are less harmful than sodium chloride-based ice melts.
Interested in Improving Your Landscape? Consider Landscape and Hardscaping Design Services from Carroll Landscaping
Carroll Landscaping has over 30 years of experience with landscape construction, porch construction, deck building, and hardscape installation. Our award-winning landscape designers are passionate about providing customers with top-notch service and landscape design. Our landscape designers have a creative design outlook and work as a team with our installation crews to make your vision a reality. We are committed to providing every customer with the highest quality workmanship, professional and knowledgeable service, and creativity in design in order to surpass our clients’ expectations in every aspect of the project.
We serve residents throughout the beautiful state of Maryland including Baltimore, Columbia, Ellicott City, Eldersburg, Clarksville, Sykesville, Manchester, Westminster, and Woodstock. For more information and to schedule a consultation with one of our expert designers, contact us online or give us a call at 410-922-2416.