Fall Lawn Care
For fall lawn care tips and services in Kirkwood, 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.
Kirkwood, 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. It takes carefully timed efforts year-round to keep a Kirkwood lawn looking nice and performing at its best. You can handle some things on your own, while other processes require professional services.
As cool weather approaches, don't let the hard work you've done all spring and summer go to waste. The proper Kirkwood, MO fall lawn care done at the right time is absolutely essential to coming out of the winter with a luscious, thriving landscape. With the help of Lawn Sprinklers of St. Louis and our Kirkwood, MO lawn care services, your lawn will become the highlight of the neighborhood. We have the expertise and skill necessary to keep lawns in Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood yard? Prepare the turf for the cold season and ensure that it stays at optimal health throughout the year by following these Kirkwood, MO fall lawn care tips :
- Fertilize. The best time for you to fertilize your lawn will depend on the type of grass you have. You grass could either by a cool-season or warm-season variety. With Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood yard from September until November. For the last fertilizer application of the season, you can elect to use a winterizing fertilizer developed specifically to promote hardiness in grasses, which will result in a thicker, more beautiful yard. Fertilize earlier in the year for warm-season grasses. 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 Kirkwood lawn. Though multiple methods of aeration exist, core aeration is the most effective. Aeraton not only improves overall soil composition, but also helps the movement of air, water, and other nutrients through the earth. Aerating your Kirkwood lawn also benefits your land by breaking up built-up thatch and alleviating compaction of the clay soil. Aeration is great for assisting in seeding and fertilizing.
- Mow. Drop your mower blade to cut your grass a bit shorter in the fall (it may be best to do this gradually). Three inches is a good benchmark. Keeping the grass shorter prevents fungal growth and matting in the winter under the added weight of dead leaves, snow, and ice. Cut it much shorter than three inches, and you give weeds room to take hold and grow. This is 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 Kirkwood, 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. For any weeds that still show up, try a post-emergence herbicide at the end of the fall season. 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. Make sure your grass receives about one inch of water per week in Kirkwood, MO, gradually spreading this out to every two weeks as growth begins to slow and winter approaches. Pay attention to the unpredictable Kirkwood weather. Natural precipitation will provide adequate watering during much of the fall. For your Kirkwood 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. Too many leaves on the grass will block the grass's access to light and air and traps excess moisture. 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. Another way to clean your yard is by removing dead organic matter that has built up between the top of the grass and the soil, known as thatch. A thatch layer thicker than half an inch will hurt 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? In early fall, reseed or install sod to address any bare spots. If reseeding, be sure that the seeds are not too concentrated or close together, and if sodding, make sure to water abundantly to ensure successful installation. You can also overseed throughout your yard to prepare for a beautifully full Kirkwood 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 Kirkwood area provider. Begin the fall lawn care process today by calling us at (314) 450-0342.