Winter can do a lot of damage to people's beautiful yards. There's extra landscaping Toronto residents need to take care of because of how heavy the snow falls in the city during winter. In order to keep things looking good for next spring, it's important that people take care of their plants, shrubs, and trees before the temperature drops.
If your landscaping isn't prepared for winter then you could have quite the mess to deal with in springtime. Follow the tips below to make sure your property is ready for the cold.
Make Sure Your Lawn Is Ready To Meet Jack Frost
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a lawn? Grass, everyone loves a lawn full of luscious green grass. If you want beautiful grass in the spring, then it's important to take care of it now. Make sure you rake up all the leaves before the snow falls, and clear away any debris.
If there's anything left on the lawn that could smother the grass then it likely won't grow to be healthy once the snow melts. Neglecting to rake before snow falls could lead to a stunt in the growth of the grass, or even kill it. Yikes! To make sure the grass grows back healthy, it should be cut down to 2-2.5 inches one last time before winter.
Here's a great tip for having one of the nicest lawns in the neighborhood. Always aerate and fertilize your lawn right before the first freeze of the season. It doesn't need the fertilizer during the dormant stage, but once everything begins to thaw the grass can really benefit from its nutrients.
Keep Plants, Shrubs, and Trees Safe
One of the best things you can do is get some mulch to protect all the plants, shrubs, and trees on your property. It can be used for extra protection against the extreme cold temperatures. Ideally, each plant should have a 2-inch layer of mulch to maintain the proper soil temperature for the roots.
Anti-transpirants can be used to reduce water loss from leaves, and burlap wrap can be used to wrap around trees and shrubs to act as a shield. If you notice any branches that look like they may hold a load of snow, they should be tied together to make it easier to brush snow off the trees.
Final Thoughts: Get Your Landscaping Ready For Winter
Taking the steps to make sure your landscaping is prepared for the harsh winter weather that Toronto gets every year, will help to ensure you have a beautiful yard once things start to warm up again. Doing a bit of work before the first freeze will prevent you from having to do a lot of work once everything thaws.
Once more thing to keep in mind about landscaping in the winter time is that salt damage can occur. If any salt or melting agents get too close to your plants, shrubs, or trees then it is a good idea to flush the soil with plenty of water to get rid of the excess salt.
