A To-Do List For Fall

Thank goodness most of us (we hope!) take great pride and pleasure tending to the never-ending needs of our lawn, garden and trees. Nobody embraces the work like Carolinians. In that spirit, we offer these random recommendations in our Fall newsletter. As always, when in doubt, consult Arborscapes. In no particular order…

• Take care of those leaves! Make sure they’re not keeping living things from getting the oxygen and water they need to prosper. Get them out of your gutters and off your roof – safely, please! If you have baby fescue, tread lightly. You want to get the leaves up. But you don’t want to tromp all over your tender grass. It’s a fine line. Walk softly and not too often.
• Basic lawn projects to tackle each autumn include raking leaves, mowing your grass to the right height and fertilizing your lawn with a product that supports root growth and development as grass leaf growth slows down for the season.
• The big projects? Core aeration, dethatching, seeding and top-dressing that will set your lawn up for long-term success.
• The best time to aerate a lawn is in the fall or early spring. This is when the lawn is softer and not in full-growth mode. A few days before you aerate the lawn, mow it to about half its usual height, then water it well. As we’ve advised, rake up fallen leaves or debris. Mark the locations of sprinklers. Aerate the lawn using your chosen tool. Leave any soil plugs on the lawn. They will return nutrients to the soil as they decompose.
• Evergreen trees and shrubs are vulnerable to common fungal disease. These infections can cause an evergreen to appear sick or dying and greatly weaken plants. Treatment of fungal diseases often depends on the extent of infection and the type of fungus. Talk to Arborscapes. We’ll help tackle the problem if there is one.
• Watch out for overwatering. Too much of a good thing may not be a good thing.

Anyone with a rake and work gloves knows there is more to autumn than what we’ve shared here. But we thought we’d get you in the mood, to get you ready and raring to go. You didn’t really want to spend your Saturdays watching college football, did you?