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Winter is Ideal for…
Winter is the ideal time to prune most shrubs and trees
Correct pruning is a landscape practice that can enhance the health, vigor and aesthetics of your trees and shrubs. In this blog, we are discussing five advantages to pruning in the winter:
1. During the winter, most woody plants are dormant and so are the many diseases and insects that can potentially invade pruning cuts. When a plant is pruned during the growing season, for many plants, the activity of pruning during the growing season actually signals the plant to grow. Winter pruning when the plants are dormant, enable you to prune deeper without the plant trying to grow.
2. After leaves have fallen, it is much easier to see the plants overall form and structure. Damaged and diseased branches are more readily apparent when not obscured by foliage.
3. Pruning in the late summer or early fall can stimulate new growth that may not harden off before the cold weather. This is not a concern during the winter. (As discussed above)
4. Winter pruning is good for your plants, leaving them with extra root and energy reserves to quickly heal wounds and support vigorous spring growth that will obscure the pruning cuts.
5. Winter pruning is also good for you, giving you a reason to go outside on a mild winter day to enjoy your landscape.
Although winter and early spring is a great time to prune, if the tree or shrub is a spring flowering plant and the blooms are important to you, it may be best to wait and prune that plant shortly after it is done blooming. Even though pruning spring blooming plants in the winter will never adversely affect the plant’s health, it can reduce those blooms. [Read more…]
The Leaves are Falling
We all liked to jump into large piles of leaves as children. However, now that we are homeowners we have the added responsibility of keeping our yards in check. Each fall, mother nature covers our lawn with leaves and there are a number of ways to deal with those fallen leaves.
Turn Those Leaves into Mulch…
Many lawn mowers have a mulching option whereas the mower can chop the leaves into much smaller pieces and most of the leaf matter will disappear into the turf. Mulched leaves are a great natural way to feed your lawn provided the leaves are not too thick and choking out the turf by disrupting light, water and nutrients from getting into your lawn. Many homeowners also use the mulched leaves around their plants to help feed and protect shrubs, etc. But, be aware that many types of leaves are high in acid and may not be that beneficial.
Remove the Leaves
As mentioned, your lawn needs light, water and nutrients to survive and hopefully thrive. If there is a blanket of leaves on your lawn, it is likely that your turf is missing the benefits of light, moisture and any nutrients available. Lawns can show these signs of stress by developing brown spots, bare spots and grass blades that are more yellow than green. It is important to remove any leaves that come from trees with insect infestations or diseases. Leaves that are infected by insects and disease can ultimately create more problems down the road if they are allowed to stay on the turf.
Some of the more common issues that leaves left on your lawn could cause are brown patch and snow mold. In addition, the leaves left on the lawn will likely slow down or eliminate germination of new grass in the late winter and early spring making the appearance of your lawn less than desirable for the summer months.
Leaves Rain on the Parade of Cool-Season Grasses
Most lawns in Virginia are made up of one or more cool-season grasses. “Cool-season grasses” are so called because they are most active during those periods of the year when the weather is moderately cool. Fall is one of those times. Blessed with enough sunlight, nutrients and water, and enjoying temperatures that are neither too cold nor too hot, cool-season grasses such as a high-quality Fescue or Kentucky bluegrass revitalize themselves in the fall. This is when they must “make hay,” strengthening their root systems and that is why fall is the ideal time to aerate and overseed cool-season lawns.
But a thick layer of fallen leaves can get in the way of the growth of these grasses. Why? Because, for one thing, the leaves can deprive the grass of one of the key elements just mentioned: sunlight. If not raked up or removed in a timely fashion, a thick and/or matted layer of fallen leaves casts too much shade over the grass below.
In summary…
Most disease-free leaves that can be finely mulched ultimately create a great nutrient base (in time, becoming compost) for your lawn and plants. However, for the long-term benefit of your lawn, mulching or removing these leaves will help your lawn year around.
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