
Mulching guide: what are the benefits and when should you do it?
This article has the professional seal of approval from Paul Griffin, owner of Paul's Garden Services and Handyman in West Yorkshire, UK.
This article was updated in November 2024 to provide the most recent guidance.
Winter lawn preparation is as important as spring recovery: with the right approach, you can make your job far easier next year.
After all, the lawn is the champion of winter, as experienced landscape professional Andy Cox points out, "Lawns in winter can look good and still be a focal point; the leaves may have gone, the flowers won’t be flowering, and the lawn becomes the hero, creating something nice to look out on."
For landscape professionals just starting out, or experienced landscapers looking to compare their own autumn and winter lawn care methods with others, this is our guide to preparing lawns for cold weather.
Preparing the lawn for winter is just as important as any lawn care you do in the summer months.
For the more experienced lawn care professionals, this will all be familiar. But as seasoned professionals will know, to prepare your lawn for winter, these tasks are all vitally important.
To ensure the grass stays a lush green when spring and the warmer months of the year arrive, tick off the following autumn season tasks.
Removing debris in autumn is a vital part of winter lawn preparation.
Dead leaves suffocate the grass, preventing air and important nutrients from reaching the ground below, and provide dark, damp conditions which allow lawn diseases to thrive and can lead to pest infestations. If left throughout the winter, the wet leaves form a mulch, which, though good for trees and the compost pile, is going to keep sunlight, nutrients and water from reaching the lawn, stunting root growth and leaving the grass a sickly yellow.
Whether you're working on a smaller space that can be handled with a rake or blower, or a large space that would be better suited to a lawn tractor with a leaf sweeper attached, it's important to clear fallen leaves from the lawn to prevent damage. As mentioned, you can always add the fallen debris to your clients' compost pile!
If you want to skip the clearing of leaves altogether, you can incorporate them into your lawn care routine by mulching them. This saves you the extra work of disposal and provides the grass with essential nutrients!
Fertilising the lawn before the first snap of cold weather occurs both rejuvenates the grass from the heat of summer and prepares it for winter.
A soil test is the best way to find which nutrients your turf is lacking; often in autumn, like spring, you will find that grass is high in nitrogen, but low in potassium. Whichever autumn lawn feed you choose should compensate for the nutrients the lawn is lacking, and help your lawn recover from the summer. The amount you use is of course important as well, as too much fertiliser will leave the grass yellowed.
Weeds are vulnerable in the autumn, so it's the perfect time to pull out their roots and clear the ground through some thorough weeding. Earlier in the season is generally best for weed killer, with most performing best in warmer conditions.
Some may take the view that weeding is unnecessary as they will die off in the winter regardless, but often the weeds are lying dormant beneath the soil and will become an issue once again next spring.
The last cut of the year, before you store your mower for winter, can range anywhere from October to December and will vary according to where you live in Europe, as it all depends on temperatures.
This is fairly common knowledge, but your last time mowing should keep the blades high, only taking the tops off the grass. The mowing height should be set for a high cut, as the lawn needs the extra length to shield itself from the harsh winter conditions.
The months leading up to winter are prime time for many lawn diseases, so you should be extra vigilant as you prepare for cold weather. From snow mould to root rot, several diseases thrive in autumn and can cause unwanted damage if not treated early.
If you're located in Italy or Spain, there's little need to discuss scarifying late in the year, but it's an important task in the UK and other northern parts of Europe. The key consideration for scarifying before cold weather is timing.
You don't want to scarify the lawn too late in autumn, as it leaves the turf vulnerable to frost. Before grabbing the scarifier or rake, consider the temperatures in the coming weeks and make a decision on whether to wait for spring or remove the moss and thatch now.
If moss is a concern in your area, putting down a treatment in early winter is always a good idea.
Once winter has set in, there are fewer ways to protect the lawn. But you can still give yourself a head start for spring and the next growing season with some basic maintenance.
As professionals in the industry, you will likely already perform these basic winter lawn care jobs, but for newer landscapers or anyone needing a refresh, it's useful to cover the basics.
You should aerate the lawn in winter to give the grass space to breathe, and, most importantly, improve drainage. Wet weather and cold temperatures can be damaging to a lawn that hasn't been prepped.
Aerating helps to relieve soil compaction, but it is also useful in draining a waterlogged lawn. You can aerate a lawn that is already flooded, helping to mitigate the damage caused by heavy rainfall. The small holes created through aeration improve nutrient penetration and soil health – for very small areas, a garden fork may suffice, but professionals will have a designated aerator or attachment to perform the task.
Weed killer is often not as effective in the colder months of the year, but manual removal will work just as well when removing them from a garden or small areas of turf.
While many weeds see little growth in the winter, they will come back stronger in the spring. Tackling weeds during the winter will give you a head start when spring arrives, ensuring your client can enjoy a lawn free of weeds for the next year.
Overseeding on bare patches of turf can help you prepare your lawn for the next year with new grass, preventing gaps from appearing where the grass has been worn away or suffered due to warm weather.
While winter isn't the usual season for this job, there are cool season grasses that are designed to germinate in winter; these grass seeds are ideal for overseeding. Even still, the seed is unlikely to grow well in the coldest weeks of the year, so you should wait to sow until the weather is milder for optimal grass growth.
Each season of the year requires a different approach when it comes to fertiliser: for a vibrant lawn, you need to provide year-round attention. As in autumn, the best results will come from testing the soil and seeing which nutrients it is lacking. Like any plant, grass needs certain nutrients to thrive, and a winter feed will work both to provide them and protect the grass from common ailments.
Easier said than done, but if only a few listen, it will still be worth it. Advise your customers that the worst thing they can do to waterlogged grass is walk all over it. Snow and frost make the grass equally vulnerable, and should be signs to keep off the lawn for your clients.
In fact, it could pay to encourage your customers to avoid walking on the lawn in general over winter, as it damages the grass roots when they're at their most vulnerable, compacts the soil and will leave bare patches of mud all over their lawn. If it's the only access route and the grass needs to be crossed, you could suggest stepping stones to help prevent the problem from repeatedly occurring.
Seeing a lawn covered in snow may set some alarm bells ringing, but snow shouldn't be a cause for concern in itself. It insulates the grass from the worst of the cold, protecting the roots from frost damage. As mentioned earlier, the biggest risk is walking over the grass – encourage your clients to keep off the snow where possible!
The risk of lawn diseases does increase with prolonged snow cover, however, as the moist conditions provide an optimal environment for disease. The development of lawn disease under snow is uncommon though, and shouldn't cause undue concern. When the snow melts, the lawn should be just as you left it!
While spring and summer can seem a long way off, what you do in late September onwards will have a huge impact on the lawns of your clients next year. Ensuring your lawns are prepared for winter – and that maintenance is carried out through the coldest months – will give your client's lawn the best chance when spring rolls around.
With all your preparation for the following year completed, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your lawns will be in the best possible condition come spring. In the meantime, you can consider the storage of your equipment through winter, and whether your current toolkit will be up to the demands of the next season. Take a look at the machinery powered by Kawasaki to see a range of ultra-reliable equipment ready to power you through the next season and beyond.
This article has the professional seal of approval from Paul Griffin, owner of Paul's Garden Services and Handyman in West Yorkshire, UK.
Landscape maintenance professionals' livelihoods are more beholden to the weather than most – when you're working in nature, you have to abide by its rules.
This article has the professional seal of approval from Martyn Hooper, owner of Hoopers Garden Maintenance.
Green spaces are integral to society, responsible for improving the wellbeing of people, increasing biodiversity, and providing valuable habitats for wildlife.