Winter landscaping is still important despite the colder weather. Even though the cold weather may make landscaping the last thing on your mind, there are a few landscaping tasks you should do for the winter months. A little landscaping maintenance can help your landscape be at its best for the spring. It is all about planning ahead!
1. Aerate, seed, and fertilize your turf before the cold weather hits. This is a very important part of landscaping and should not be neglected. Aerating is needed to loosen the soil so the seeds can get in deep to grow. The fertilizer prepares the turf for spring growth. This is typically done (and suggested) in the fall. Hopefully you are already on the right track and ahead of the game.
2. Pull up any dead annuals and install winter annuals for winter color. If you have a compost pile, add them to it so the dead plants can be used to fertilize the new growth in the spring.
3. Protect any sensitive plants in your landscaping by mulching or using a screen. Several inches of mulch or soil gathered around most plants should do the trick, but for very delicate plants, like Plumeria, banana plant, Calliandra, Bougainvilleas, etc., it helps to cover with a screen.
4. Monitoring irrigation by reducing your irrigation cycles during the colder months of fall and winter is one of the most effective water saving methods. It is very important to turn off your irrigation when rain has occurred or the weather is wet, but remember to turn it back on when the wet weather stops.