Fall is gradually beginning to take effect across north Georgia, and with the changing of the leaves, comes the time to pay a little extra attention to your landscape. Hutcheson Horticultural Company is happy to offer up some excellent fall landscape tips to help with your green space preparation during the month of October.

Lawn Care

Winter is coming, but it is not time to put away the lawn tools just yet! The best way to help your lawn survive during the coming cold months is to make sure it is in excellent during the fall. Below are a few helpful tips for fall lawn maintenance that we suggest:

• Mow, trim and edge lawn areas.
• Begin leaf removal (leaves left on lawns can eventually kill turfgrass).
• Inspect turf for insects and disease; then treat as necessary.
• Apply post-emergent to control weeds as necessary.
• Complete aerating, over seeding and fertilizing fescue lawns. (Water irregulary and deeply to help newly planted grass roots establish deeper growth into the soil.)
• Apply pre-emergent to warm season turf. (This will help control fall and winter weeds, as many weeds are very active during these seasons.)

Trees & Shrubs

Next, move on to the trees and shrubs in your landscape, inspecting them for insects and/or disease. Should you find a problem, treat it as necessary. If you are unsure what type of insect or disease you are dealing with, the UGA Extension Office site is an excellent resource for local lawn and garden issues common to Georgia.

Other steps to follow in October for your trees & shrubs include:

• Pruning your shrubs as needed.
• Fertilizing trees and shrubs with a balanced fertilizer.
• Start transplanting shrubs (for tips see next week’s blog).

Ornamentals

Our fall tips for your ornamental landscape plants and flowers, begin with basic flower maintenance:

• Deadheading
• Fertilization
• Weeding

Then continue installation of fall color to your preference; also, take this time to divide perennials such as hosta and daylilies.

If these fall landscape tips seem a bit more than your have time for, please consider hiring our experienced Woodstock landscaping team to take care of it for you! Contact us today for a consultation and we will have your green space ready for the cold months ahead in no time!