Fall Lawn Care
For fall lawn care tips and services in Clayton, MO, come to Lawn Sprinklers of St. Louis. You can learn more about our lawn care services and can schedule a service call by calling (314) 450-0342 or messaging our team today.
Clayton, MO Fall Lawn Care
With each season come a unique set of landscaping needs that must be done to keep your lawn at its best. Successful Clayton lawn care is not merely mowing and watering once a week during the summer - it requires strategically scheduled and executed maintenance during every season. Some maintenance is easily done on your own, while other processes require professional services.
The time you’ve invested in your yard this spring and summer will all go to waste if you don’t give it the proper care this fall. Do the right things at the right time this fall in Clayton, MO, and brilliant, healthy green grass will emerge from the snow when spring rolls around. With the help of Lawn Sprinklers of St. Louis and our Clayton, MO lawn care services, your lawn will become the highlight of the neighborhood. We have the expertise and skill necessary to keep lawns in Clayton, MO healthy through every season of every year. Do yourself and your lawn a favor by contacting our fall lawn care and landscaping company today, by phone at (314) 450-0342 or online, today.
We provide total lawn and landscape services in Clayton, MO, including:
- Licensed Backflow Tester Near Me
- Local Lawn Care
- Irrigation Companies
- Winterize Sprinkler System
- Lawn Fertilizer Service Near Me
- Lawn Aeration Near Me
- Sprinkler System Installation
- Outdoor Landscape Lighting
- Spring Lawn Care
- Sprinkler System Startup
Fall Lawn Care Steps
As the autumn season approaches and the freezing weather and winter snows follow soon after, do you know how to care for your Clayton yard? Prepare the turf for the cold season and ensure that it stays at optimal health throughout the year by following these Clayton, MO fall lawn care tips :
- Fertilize. The best time for you to fertilize your lawn is dictated by the variety of grass you have. There are cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses. With Clayton, MO being in the country's transition zone, temperatures vary greatly throughout the year. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in Missouri knows this about our state's climate. As such, both kinds of grasses are common in our community, and some yards are made up of a blend of both warm-season and cool-season grasses. If you have cool season grasses, including fescue bluegrass, start fertilizing your Clayton yard from September until November. As temperatures cool and you prepare to apply the last round of fertilizer of the season, switching to a special winterizing fertilizer will prepare your grass for the winter season and make it more hardy, making for a more full and luscious yard in the springtime. Warm-season grasses have an earlier schedule. You should start fertilizing warm season grasses like Bermuda and zoysia in July, with the last application in August, about six to eight weeks prior to the first frost. Be careful not to overfertilize.
- Aerate. Early fall is the ideal time to aerate your Clayton lawn. The best way to aerate your lawn is the core aeration method. Aeraton not only improves overall soil composition, but also helps the movement of air, water, and other nutrients through the earth. Aerating your Clayton lawn relieves compaction of the clay-rich soil and the plugs that are pulled from the ground break up thatch to a healthy thickness. Aeration is great for assisting in seeding and fertilizing.
- Mow. Adjust your lawnmower to cut your grass a bit shorter in the fall (it may be best to do this gradually). Three inches is a good benchmark. The idea is to keep the grass short enough to prevent winter fungal growth and matting from the weight of leaf and snow buildup, but not so short that it leaves room for weeds to grow and mature. This happens because blunted grass blades have less root growth, so there is more room in the soil for weeds to flourish. Let the rate of growth dictate when and how often you mow in the fall.
- Weed. A multiple-method approach will be most successful for fighting weed growth in Clayton, MO and keeping your grass healthy. One strategy is the use of chemical herbicides. Treat your yard with a pre-emergence herbicide early in the fall to prevent annual winter weeds from sprouting. If weeds do emerge over the fall, a post-emergence herbicide can be applied late in the fall. Prevention is key in controlling weeds. A regular maintenance practice including aerating and fertilizing at the right times will keep your yard lush, full, and healthy; this blocks out many weeds from being able to grow.
- Water. Cool-season grasses are still actively growing in the fall and, therefore, require water. Start the fall in Clayton, MO by getting your grass watered an inch per week, and reduce to an inch every two weeks as we transition into winter. Pay attention to the unpredictable Clayton weather. Your grass may get enough water most weeks from natural rainfall alone. For your Clayton irrigation or sprinkler system, prepare to winterize your watering system by clearing the lines of water before freezing temperatures set in.
- Clean. It's important to remove fallen leaves from your lawn. Dead leaves that gather on your lawn can be harmful; they keep light and air out and moisture in. If the layer of leaves is not excessively thick yet, you can skip the raking and instead use a mulching lawnmower to shred the dry leaves and disperse them as a mulch. In addition to removing leaves, cleaning the yard includes addressing thatch, the buildup of dead organic matter between grass blades and the soil. A thatch layer thicker than half an inch will negatively affect the health of your turf. Use a tool specially made to dethatch and remove the excess organic matter.
- Repair. Before winter comes, take a survey of your yard. Do you have bald spots, brown spots, or thinning? Reseed bare spots in the early fall by sprinkling a few seeds around or lay a patch of sod, making sure it has plenty of water to get established. You can also overseed throughout your yard to prepare for a beautifully full Clayton spring lawn. Apply the seeds two to four weeks before the first frost of the season.
Fall Lawn Care Near Me | Lawn Sprinklers of St. Louis
Taking care of your yard in the fall with the proper maintenance steps will pay off many times over when the warm weather returns. Keep your turf looking great and staying healthy with fall lawn care. For your fall lawn care needs and all other landscaping services, Lawn Sprinklers of St. Louis is the leading Clayton area provider. Begin the fall lawn care process today by calling us at (314) 450-0342.