While the weather outside might be frightful, that doesn’t mean your landscaping can’t look delightful. Caring for your landscaping and green spaces is a year-round affair. While that might seem challenging here in Northern Colorado, with its often long winters, it’s easier than you might realize. With more than 20 years of experience under our belts, Pribble Lawn has mastered the art of year-round lawn care and yard service. Here are some simple tips for you to take care of your yard this winter.

Prepare Now For Benefits in Spring Time

The saying goes, “proper preparation prevents poor performance,” and that couldn’t be more true for your landscaping. Winter can be harsh on your lawn, regardless of whether it’s just grass or an elaborate installation. That’s why it’s important to take some time to prepare your lawn for winter. You’ll enjoy a healthier, more beautiful landscape in spring if you do.

You can start with the basics.

Rake up the fallen leaves from autumn, and remove any debris and yard waste. You can cut your grass shorter too. We’ve found that a height of 2 to 2.5 inches works great. This helps to protect new growth as things start to thaw. Finally, make sure to aerate and fertilize your lawn before the first freeze. This offers your yard the nutrients and minerals it needs to grow healthy and strong in the springtime.

Take Time to Trim

We all love to watch the leaves change and drop during fall, but we’re less enthused about the bare branches leftover. Fortunately, you can do something about that. The winter months are a great time to trim the branches on a variety of vegetation, like bushes, shrubs, and trees.

By don’t just go cutting off branches willy-nilly. Instead, take the time to carefully look over each plant, identifying the branches and limbs that are truly decaying or dead. Not feeling terribly confident in your “arboreal skills?” Don’t worry. Just give us a call and we’ll take care of it for you.

Beware of Road Salt

While winter in Greeley truly is beautiful, one of the downsides is that we get patches of ice in our neighborhoods throughout the season. This is because we get long stretches of sunny days right after a harsh snowstorm. The result is that road salt is a common sight here in Northern Colorado, as cities and homeowners alike use it to make their roads and driveways navigable.

While road salt might make driving easier, it’s not doing your landscaping any favors. It’s important to protect your grass, plants, and trees from road salt, as it draws water away from the roots, leaving the plant to wither throughout the season. Be careful where you apply road salt (if you have to at all), and if some gets on or near your landscaping, simply give that area a nice rinse with fresh water.

Make Use of Mulch

We might not think much of mulch, but it goes far in keeping our landscaping looking its best throughout the year. You can think of mulch as a natural, woody blanket for your landscaping features like garden and flower beds. We like to put a hearty layer on our most delicate or sensitive features. We’ve found that about 1.5 to 2 inches of mulch does a great job of not only protecting our vegetation but also in lending an attractive aesthetic touch to our beds. Make sure you gently rake the mulch to ensure that it’s spread evenly and compacted properly

Mulch serves to keep the roots of a plant warm and comfortable, something we’re all trying to do in winter. This ensures that the roots can grow quickly come springtime. However, we don’t want to put down too much mulch, as it can retain moisture. This could lead to rot and the development of mold in our landscaping beds.

Greeley’s Preferred Lawn Care Specialists

Taking care of your landscaping can be a full-time job, that’s why we made it ours! Pribble Lawn has been a fixture in the Greeley community since 1995. Family-owned-and-operated, we take pride in our work and offer the yard services you need to take care of your green spaces, be they at your home or business. Connect with us today to find out more about our landscaping and sprinkler services.