24 Oct Maintaining a Healthy Lawn through Winter
Many people believe that there is little to do for their lawn during winter, especially while snow is on the ground. It is important to know, however, that there are certain practices to be mindful of in the upcoming months. Much of this information is taken from UNL’s Horticulture Update — a great weekly update for anyone interested in timely lawncare practices.
- First, make sure all leaves are removed from the property before snowfall. Leaf buildup under the snow encourage snow mold, causing problems in spring. Heavy leaf layers that shade the turf can smother and kill grass or create conditions favorable for snow mold disease. If leaves are not used for compost, the easiest way to dispose of them is to mow them into the turf. After mowing, the pulverized leaves should not cover the turf but filter into turfgrass so green grass blades are exposed. Research at Purdue and other Midwestern universities shows that tree leaves can be mulched without any detrimental effects on the soil or turf.
- Second, be careful when laying ice melt, and consider where the runoff of your ice melt will go. In soil, salts reduce the availability of water to plants, and significantly increase water stress during spring and summer. This effect has been referred to as chemical drought. Salts splashed directly on foliage may burn and kill the affected parts, or entire plants. This is often observed where salts from winter maintenance damage evergreen trees and shrubs adjacent to roadways. The sodium and chloride components in certain salts are especially damaging to vegetation. Select deicing products know to have minimal effect on plants and use them according to label direction.
- Lastly, avoid traffic on the lawn during winter months. Footprint and tire tracks will remain visible into late spring. Although the damage is almost entirely cosmetic, the lawn will look worse come spring and cannot repair itself until active growth begins.