The Ultimate Guide To Preparing Your Charlotte Lawn For Winter

Your lawn could use some loving care in the fall. How does fall lawn care work? Join us today as we break down the facts you need to know. We'll start by assessing the health of your lawn, pointing out some of your lawn's needs as winter approaches. And we'll show you how your efforts to prune and trim can make a big difference. Stick with us to the end because we'll review what lawn care professionals do to keep your lawn looking beautiful all year. 

If you'd rather relax and let the professionals take care of your lawn, remember that Go-Forth Home Services is here to help you take the struggle out of having a beautiful lawn. If you're in Charlotte, you're in luck. We provide lawn care services in Charlotte and the surrounding area. Contact us today for details or to schedule a meeting with one of our lawn care specialists.

Assessing Your Lawn's Current Health

Winter is rough on your lawn. As your lawn goes into that time of dormancy, starting off on the right foot is important. There are a few ways you can check your lawn's current health. Here's what you need to know:

• Look for dry patches where the grass looks tan instead of green. Tan grass is a sign of drought stress or a pest problem. If your lawn needs water, providing the moisture it needs is vital. Giving your lawn half an inch of water every week is the best avenue.
• Look for damp areas. Too much water is also bad for your lawn. It can lead to issues with fungus and plant disease. If your plants are sick, you'll see it.   
• Look for any damage to the tips of your grass blades. Damage like this is evidence of a pest problem, like armyworms.
• Look for vegetation that is not your turfgrass, like weed and crabgrass. These choke your turfgrass and steal valuable nutrients.
• Use a spade to dig up a core from your grass and soil. Examine it and measure the thatch. You may need aeration and dethatching if it is over two inches thick. You can use a machine to aerate and a rake for light dethatching.
• Check the length of your grass blades. It is important to cut your grass to the appropriate length for your grass type. There are resources online to help you identify your grass and select the correct mowing height.
• Consider what fertilizer you're using, and ensure you're giving your lawn the right nutrients to get it through the winter. 

If you need help inspecting your lawn, checking for issues, or getting a soil test, a lawn care company can help. A company that provides comprehensive services, like Go-Forth Home Services, can also give you insights into fertilization, watering, overseeding, aeration, pest control, disease management, and more. If you're in the Charlotte area, reach out to us for a free, no-obligation lawn evaluation.  

Understanding the Importance of Winter Lawn Care

Why is winter lawn care so important? There are many reasons. The most important reason is that your lawn needs a good jump start. What you do in early winter has big implications on how well your lawn will start off in the spring. For example, for turfgrass that can start to take root in the fall, it is good to overseed in the fall and early winter in Charlotte. That new grass will have a strong root system when spring rolls around. Here are a few more important factors to consider:

• Applying pre-emergents in the fall can prevent certain weeds from germinating in the spring. It is wise to get ahead of weed problems with pre-emergents rather than having to resort to post-emergents.
• Fall and early winter is the perfect time to remove unwanted thatch because your lawn needs good nutrient absorption going into the winter.
• Along with removing thatch to make a path for nutrients to the roots of your turfgrass, it is critical to apply the right kind of fertilizer, which is where the nutrients come from.
• Winter often brings a lot of extra moisture. Prepping your lawn in advance can help it prepare for oversaturation.

The bottom line is winter care leads to strong spring growth and a healthy lawn. North Carolina lawns have some growth all year long but still need care in winter. Now, let's take a look at a few things you can do to help your lawn do well in winter.

Pruning and Trimming Before Winter Sets In

Winter is the best time to prune or trim because plants grow dormant during the winter. Just before winter sets in, is when it is time to stop trimming. If your grass stops growing, it is time to stop mowing. If you continue to mow your lawn as you head into winter, you can put stress on your grass.

Another factor to consider is grass height. We touched on this, but there are some general rules for preparing for winter. You want your grass cut short just before it stops growing for the season. What this does is create ridge blades that stick straight up. Blades like this will not fold over and allow moisture to rest on top and will allow air to easily flow through, making your grass resistant to plant diseases. Short blades of grass like this will also be resistant to damage from foot traffic.

When you contact a lawn care company, does your lawn service include pruning and trimming? It is rare for a company to provide both lawn care and mowing services. The primary job of your lawn care specialist is to provide the things that you may not have the expertise to provide, such as correct weed control, fertilizer, and pest control applications. Your lawn care provider also has the equipment and tools to do the job correctly. So, rather than renting an aerator and doing it yourself, you can have someone do it for you and pay for the whole package. 

Let The Professionals Help Keep Your Lawn Beautiful All Year

There are so many ways your Go-Forth Home Services team can help you keep your lawn healthy. Sure, we are an industry-leading pest control service provider, but we also employ highly-trained lawn care specialists. We apply the same level of excellence to lawn care as we do pest control. That is an important factor to consider, as we are the best choice when you need lawn pest control. 

At Go-Forth Home Services, our technicians have access to the latest lawn and pest control information. Here are some ways we help you maintain a beautiful and healthy lawn, starting with pest control:

• When weeds start to create bare patches, ants come in to make things worse. Ants eat nectar and are attracted to flowering weeds. The mounds ants create are spread by your lawn mower, and the dirt chokes your grass, creating larger dry patches of bare ground.
• We deal with some pests before they become a problem. For example, grubs are the larvae of beetles. In their larval stage, they eat the roots of your grass and create brown spots in your lawn. We target this problem and stop those pests. 
• Fertilization is essential in every season. We test the soil and make sure your fertilization is perfect for the needs of your soil and turfgrass. We also take into consideration seasonal needs, drought stress, and oversaturation.
• Weed control is paramount if you want a healthy lawn. Weeds compete with your turfgrass for important nutrients. We provide pre-emergent applications to get weeds before they germinate and post-emergents for particularly troublesome issues, like crabgrass control. There are many weeds that can become a problem in Charlotte, such as ragweed, chickweed, dollarweed, dandelions, clovers, plantains, spurge, and more.
• Go-Forth Home Services offers aeration services to address compacted lawns. When you get a lot of foot traffic, it can make your soil dense and prevent nutrients from reaching the roots of your grass. Aeration works in a similar way to detaching. It is hard work and requires a machine. Why not let our team handle this for you?
• If your lawn is getting a bit thin, we can thicken it for you. We offer overseeding. Fall is the best time of year to overseed. During this time of year, we will appropriate turfgrass seeds to add new grass to your lawn. In the spring, your lawn will grow in full and lush.

Are you ready for a healthy, happy lawn? Are you prepared to give your lawn what it needs for winter? When you want the best lawn treatment for your yard, you can trust the Go-Forth Home Services team. We do so much more than pest control. 

Contact us today for professional lawn care in Charlotte.