We may tend to think of winter as a time to take a break from outdoor maintenance, but the mild winters in North Texas allow for some things you could and should do to beautify your lawn and garden and ensure it remains healthy for spring.
Here are five things to complete during the winter months in the Dallas, Texas area:
- Plant: Winter is a great time to plant cold-enduring annuals such as pansies, snapdragons, and flowering cabbage or kale. These should be planted either in November or early February. In late February you can also add calendulas, poppies, alyssum, wallflowers, petunias, stocks, or English daisies. You will also want to plant perennial bulbs for tulips and hyacinths when soil temperatures stay consistent around 50 degrees. The best time of year for perennial planting is typically around late-December or early January but can vary slightly from year to year.
- Prune: Remove dead and damaged tree limbs that might not survive a winter storm. Winter is also a good time to prune trees and shrubs to tidy their growth. Bush-type roses should be pruned to half their height. You will also want to prune back and clean up perennial gardens by late winter if you didn’t in the fall to make room for spring growth.
- Relocate: Existing trees and shrubs are best to be relocated to another part of the yard or garden during the winter months and only after the first hard freeze. It is imperative that trees and shrubs have gone dormant before they are relocated to avoid damage.
- Cover: Prepare to cover cool-season flowers and any shrubs or plants that could be killed by cold spells. You can buy lightweight landscape covers that you will want to cut ahead of time to fit your shrubs and garden beds. Weigh them down with bricks or rocks to keep them in place. Also, make sure to disconnect and cover hoses during freezes.
- Lawn Care: Taking care of your lawn is an important aspect of outdoor maintenance in the winter. Snow is rare in Dallas and the surrounding areas, so lawns may still need to be watered in the winter if it’s been a couple of weeks without rain. A good rule of thumb is to cut irrigation time in half once nighttime temperatures remain in the 40s or below. Turn off watering altogether during rainy periods. During the winter months, you will also want to continue removing leaves and debris from the lawn that might block sunlight and kill the grass. A mild, sunny day would be a great time to mow warm-season grass to manicure the lawn and remove any late-falling leaves and pine needles. A quick mow will also allow you to inspect the lawn for any winter weeds creeping up, which you will want to actively remove to keep the lawn looking good and healthy for spring. If you desire a green lawn all year round, you can achieve this by overseeding, or planting cool-season grasses when your warm-season grass goes dormant for the winter months. A lawn care professional can help you know which grasses would be best for your lawn.
Winter is a great time to relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends, but don’t forget to accomplish any needed items on this winter outdoor maintenance checklist to ensure a healthy landscape. Want to relax even more during the winter months? Give CGreens Landscape Management a call for a free consultation at 972-231-2870. They can perform many items on this checklist for you.
CGreens Landscape Management | Outdoor Maintenance Dallas TX | http://www.cgreens.com/
