Albuquerque Fall Landscaping To-Do-List 2024

If you want your spring colors to really come into full bloom, you must be sure to prepare your lawn for winter. Here is a guide to help you get your lawn through this brutal winter and bounce back by spring.

Aerate the Lawn

Rain and other moisture that pools in grassy areas must be cleared, thinning compactions of soil so water and nutrients can reach the root system. An ordinary garden fork will suffice for a modest yard, however for the greater job, it is recommended to invest in a walk-behind aerator which rips off 2.5 to 3 inch soil plugs, which decompose naturally in spring.

Feed Your Grass

Lowering the application rate of fertilizer in late summer saves perennials time on leaf production. But grass roots can only grow until the ground is 40 degrees or colder, so be sure to keep them in if it is fall. If sown in fall, lawns are rooted early by applying a rich soil rich with phosphorus (12-25-12), and turf greens appear earlier in the season.

Mow One Last Time

Trim your turn to 1.25 inches for the final cut of the season. That’s because diseases don’t survive in short grass. And also allows leaves to pass over and over your lawn easier because there’s nothing to hold on to as they pass. Don’t chop it too thin! Grass produces the majority of its calories from the upper blade, so it can be too much.

Plant New Shrubs

In most places, when you plant shrubs in late fall, you are helping them to get their feet on the ground so they can establish roots early in the fall with the cool wet soil of the season; and that is where all the plants would be working. So here are the basics:

• Dig a hole. It must be 2″ less than the full height of the root ball, and twice the diameter.
• Place the shrubs. The top of the root ball should never fall down to below ground.
• Layer soil around the root ball loosely, water to soften, and sprinkle more dirt on top. Don’t compact the soil, this will stop the aeration that needs to be done. Top with mulch.

Landscaping work during fall may be monotonous and tedious, but it will ultimately be worth it. They’re hills and there’s gold in those there hills and that gold is in the spring of 2020 when all your labor spent here in this fall gets paid back for you come springtime.

When you live at home there is an entire house landscaping fall chore list you must follow. So with that said here’s an expanded list of more fall home landscaping projects to be tackled before fall and winter merge.

Trim Out Dead Limbs

With existing dead trees in the midst of increasing winter snow and winds, it can come crashing down and destroy your land, even hurting you and your family and friends. You’re always advised to hire an expert for larger projects. When pruning small, decorative trees, you’ll avoid excessive damage by eliminating cracked, diseased and saggy branches. You can slice these close to, but never flush with, the trunk. Don’t forget to leave the cuts open to cure.

Dead branches will fall to winter snow and winds and smother you and your house. Big projects bring the experts in,’ says Roger. But you can spare small ornamental trees more harm by sniping cracked, flailing, rotted limbs close to (but not flush with) the trunk; leave the wounds to heal on their own.

Recycle Perennials

Well-nourished beds for spring stem from a bit of effort in advance before the soil is all restful for winter. Eliminating exhausted annuals also forces them to go. They lay their eggs in fall so they will work less when they do it earlier in the year. When we cut perennial foliage to the ground, energy flows back to the root for next year. if you wish to grow your garden, you are supposed to plant a seed in crowded tuberous plants every 3 years. It’s more room for these plants to flower, daylilies and irises.

Burrow Young Plants in Mulch

New beds should be mulched (cut leaves, wood chip, weedless straw) after light frost but before ground freezes. These broken down layers of organic mulch must be worked into the ground and then a new 2″ to 4″ layer of mulch should be placed to keep your new plants warm and to minimize runoff and erosion. Try not to use too thick of a layer as this will choke the roots below.

Dry Out Drip System

Water that is sitting in your irrigation line could freeze and rupture your system. One easy fix begins with leaving the water off. Remove the tap-joint adapter and install an air hose where the system usually would be attached to the tap. Set a compressor to high volume, low pressure and blow away the runoff so that you don’t need to remove the whole system in spring to inspect it for damage.

When you take these ideas and apply them with a proper measure, your landscaping will not only look great but also appreciate you for it. And therefore don’t be in any hurry. Check out these hacks to make your lawn look rad by spring 2024.