Things to Do When You’re Not Mowing in Winter

Winters in New Zealand, though not terribly harsh in most regions, do require a change in how we manage our lawn care. While summer and spring see us mowing with gusto, winter quite often means that lawnmowers are stowed away for at least three months of the year. 

But even though you no longer need to worry about constant lawn growth, that doesn’t mean you can neglect your yard entirely. There are still plenty of things to do when you’re not mowing in winter.

Hedge Pruning & Tree Trimming

If you anticipate seeing a blanket of snow in the weeks or months to come, then hiring a lawn care expert to tackle your hedges and trees can be a wise decision. Broken, dying, or diseased branches can collapse under the weight of snow, which could have disastrous consequences for whatever is underneath.

Safety is one reason to hire someone to tackle trimming, but there are other benefits of doing so, as well. Fruit trees, for example, can benefit from pruning in winter to maximise fruit production.

Given that bacteria and fungi are often dormant in winter, taking care of trimming can also be far safer in winter due to the minimal risk of disease spread. 

Then there’s the stress reduction on the trees. When you prune a tree, its natural response is to grow and close the “wound”. By pruning them in winter, they don’t grow until spring, which means the tree has plenty of time to access the nutrients it needs to grow soundly in the months to come. 

Leaf Removal

Autumn is a beautiful time of the year, with a kaleidoscope of yellows, browns, and golds. Still, for all its beauty, it can also be a bit of a nuisance. Your once picture-perfect lawn is now covered in rotting leaves. Your lawn care expert may not be mowing your lawns right now, but there’s every reason to call upon them in autumn and winter for leaf removal.

Leaves can indeed be a much-needed nutrient, but they can also wreak havoc. Left to rot in a thick layer, they can “choke” your grass and restrict its growth. Then, by the time the warmer weather rolls around, you’re left with patchy, imperfect lawns that can take some loving to get back to their former glory.

Mulching

If your local lawn care service provider offers gardening services, then why not contact them for help with your mulching? It can be a matter of life or death for your plants. Some plants, such as perennials and trees, can suffer in the winter. Without adequate root warmth, they can succumb to the elements and wither away to nothing once spring arrives.

By adding mulch to your flowers and shrubs, you can provide them with enough nourishment and warmth to make it through the colder months of the year.

Lawn Aeration

You might not think that lawn aeration matters a lot in winter, but it does. With the colder weather, increased rainfall often follows. If your soil is compacted, then drainage can become a problem. Aeration can also help with airflow, not to mention the prevention of crown hydration.

Crown hydration is a form of grass injury that can be quite devastating for proud lawn keepers. It’s caused by grass absorbing water during warm weather, only for it to freeze inside on a cold day. The grass cells then rupture, inhibiting growth once the seasons change. Poor drainage is to blame, so talk to your local lawn care expert about how lawn aeration might help.

Fertilising

Lawn mowing may be on the back burner, but in the right conditions, fertilising doesn’t have to be. As long as your grounds are not frozen and your area not prone to frosts, winter can actually be an okay time to fix acidic soil.

Make sure you test your soil’s pH level to determine that acidity is a problem, then apply a slow-release winterising fertiliser. By the time spring rolls around, you can enjoy well-nourished shoots that turn into healthy grass. 

Weeding

No one’s garden will ever look at their best during winter. Many plants lie dormant, and very few flowers are in full bloom. Still, when you’re not mowing in winter, you can be weeding. It’s not uncommon for mild days with rainfall in winter to promote strong weed growth. Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you can’t be proactive and pull weeds throughout the year.

Or, if you want to have the upper hand, consider applying a pre-emergent weed killer. You’ll then have a far smaller post-winter clean-up job on your hands once spring arrives.

Stay on Top of Lawn Care Tasks Year-Round

Your lawnmower may be tucked away in the corner of your tool shed during winter, but that doesn’t mean lawn care has to stop once the colder weather hits. In fact, winter can be the perfect time to jump on those tasks that fell to the bottom of the list in summer.

Get in touch with your local gardening and lawn mowing team to find out how you can keep your garden and lawns looking at their best during winter.