Preparing for Winter

A Yard At A Time

“A YARD AT A TIME”

BRRR… It’s cold outside and your yard and plants probably show the effects. Don’t panic! This is nature’s way to clean up the landscape and get ready for spring. Spring is just around the corner, but we probably have some cold days remaining. Here are some helpful guidelines to get through these last cold weeks and get ready for warmer weather.

1) Don’t over water! Most plant material foes dormant (shuts down) during the winter months and does not need as much water as it does in the warmer months. Light watering will keep your yard and plants healthy until the evapo-transpiration rates go up in the spring.

2) Hold off pruning your plants until late February or early March. Freezing temperatures could damage new growth caused by early pruning.

3) Back off on your mowing. Especially after the first good frost. “Frost” is nature’s lawnmower.

4) To get the most out of your fertilizer, it would be better to wait until temperatures go back up and stabilize.

5) Cover any tender vegetation with a good insulating material when a freeze is forecasted. Some lawn and garden stores carry a material called “frost proof: that is sold in rills and works well.

6) Be patient! Sometimes not doing anything is the best thing. T This is a good time to get ready for spring by planning for changes in your landscape or checking to make sure your irrigation system is working properly.

Even though cold weather can be miserable at times, it plays an important role in our Florida landscapes by ridding some undesirable pest that damages our lawns and plants. These interruptions during the winter months give us time to reflect on the past season and let us look ahead to the next.