The Doc Is In: Diagnosis And Treatment Of Your Landscape After Winter

Common wintertime damages to your landscape

When temperatures begin to drop, leaves fall to the ground, and snow flurries have made an appearance in many people’s yards, they can be beautiful. It’s no secret, though, that the drop in temperature and harsh weather can do a number on your landscape. 

One of the most significant damages your lawn will sustain is destroying your grass. It can become dehydrated, succumb to brown patch disease, begin to die off from freezing, along with many others. Your other plants can also become damaged for very similar reasons if they’re not brought inside, put in a greenhouse of some kind, or appropriately covered. 

Your hardscaping can also take some intense damage, even though they are made of more sturdy materials. Your wooden decks or patios can become rotted and weaken, making them unsafe to walk across. Any concrete surfaces such as walkways, driveways, and retaining walls can crumble or crack. These damages can be a higher risk if they already have pre-existing damage. 

Pipes for your irrigation systems or water features can burst, leak or crack if they’re left with water in them or left on over the coldest months of the year. These are the most common issues you will face by the end of the winter and the most common ones in need of upkeep. 

What’s most at-risk in your area

Here in Kentucky, your lawns will face different types of damage than in other places, as the grass and plants that grow here are very different as well. Some hardy grasses can endure these frigid temperatures for extended periods, such as Rough Bluegrass, Creeping Bentgrass, often Kentucky Bluegrass and Colonial Bluegrass. They still need your assistance in keeping them in as good condition as possible but are at less risk than grasses like Tall Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, or Annual Bluegrass. Unfortunately, these poor guys can’t stand up to the low temperatures and can fall prey to them. 

One common issue homeowners face over time is damage due to salt use; this is common practice in the northern states but does more harm than good! The salt often used to help deice your hard surfaces will break down in the soil, saturating and dehydrating it without enough water to help wash it away. Of course, being in the northern states, there is a risk of snow mold becoming a problem. 

Snow mold is an annoying fungus that attacks your lawn – it grows well in below-freezing temperatures but can continue to grow after the snow melts and the grass stays wet and cold. Crown hydration is another affliction to be concerned about as it is incredibly destructive to the grass on your landscape and develops during times where your grass freezes the unfreezes repeatedly. 

Assessing what damages your lawn has endured

Throughout this chilly season, and immediately following the ending of the season, is a time for observation. Meaning it’s essential to investigate your landscape to see if any immediately obvious damages have occurred or possible damages you’re concerned about. This observation is one of the most essential parts of your wintertime lawn care – making sure you’re keeping track of how your lawn is growing, looking, and thriving. 

In addition, it will be best for you to make sure your hardscaping surfaces do not have any cracks, breaks, rot, or unusually slick surfaces to make sure they have not sustained lasting damage. 

Beyond that, checking on the green, growing parts of your lawn is going to be the biggest job for you. Inspecting the grass (when you’re able if there’s no snow coverage where you’re living) to check for spotting, matting, or thinning will be step number one. 

Next, assess your trees of all sizes for any breaking limbs or rot, look around hedges for browning or thinning, and your irrigation piping for apparent breaks or leaks. It isn’t easy to do these at once, as temperatures and weather shift, and due to time, if you have a large piece of property. 

Most beneficial steps to fix that damage 

However, your landscape does not have to be a complete lost cause – there are steps you can take to remedy what’s happened over the winter! Once you’ve assessed the majority of the damage, it’s easier to identify the culprit and, therefore, how to go about fixing it. 

Snow is one of the biggest ones you, of course, do not have control over. However, it’s easy to tell what’s been done by snow to your lawn, so you can make changes necessary to nurse it back to health. If the culprit wasn’t just snow but something such as crown hydration, there is unfortunately not much that can be done other than tracking how far it has spread so you can see how far the damage truly goes. 

Winter desiccation is the opposite problem – crown hydration results from too much water, as this is the result of too little. If it’s expected to be a dry winter or seems to be how the pattern is running, the best thing to do is to topdress exposed areas and make sure there is no traffic across your lawn. 

Voles themselves can also be a big problem for your lawn, as they will burrow to hide from predators and keep them safe in the not-so-ideal weather. Choosing to focus on reseeding when the weather allows and making it less tempting to them by removing woodpiles or other sources of “cover” you may have that they’ll use is the best solution to this issue. 

How lawn care professionals can help 

Many different terrible things can happen to your landscape throughout the winter months – and not quite so many “easy” fixes can be made. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure those damages are being addressed as soon as they can be, with the suitable materials and equipment needed. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to these or has the time to dedicate to the hard work it takes to reverse the harm winter has done. Your local lawn care professionals, such as Perfection Lawn And Landscape, can help you determine what’s happened and the best course of action on how to rehabilitate it. The winter can mess up the look and vitality of your lawn – these folks can bring it back to perfection!