Yellow, brown, red, orange – the colors of fall will be arriving soon. As beautiful as they can be on the trees, most homeowners struggle with keeping those fall shades away from their yard. We spoke with one of our preferred vendors, Heath Tinsley from Charlotte Green Earth, on the best tips and tricks to keep your lawn and landscaping in shape through the fall and winter and prepare for spring!

• What are your Top 3 tips for preparing a lawn for fall and winter?
  • If you haven’t already, spray herbicides in September.
  • Aerate and seed in September – October, depending on weather. If the weather cools off quickly, you need to do this earlier.
  • Add starter fertilizer when aerating, then fertilize when the grass starts to show in October – November.

• What is the most overlooked or neglected area of lawn care that you see with homeowners?
  • Watering!

• What are some tips on staying on top of watering?
  • It depends on the weather. If it’s raining twice a week for 30 minutes, you don’t need to do additional watering on your lawn. When it’s hot out, water your lawn twice a week for 20 minutes. Water shrubs and bushes for 30 minutes once a week.
  • Best tip: Don’t stand over your bushes with a hose while watering. Put a hose on a very slow drip, and let it sit so it gets down to the roots. You’ll have to move and rotate it, but ultimately this method helps bring the roots deeper. It’s helpful for grass as well.

• What can people do this fall to ensure their yard and landscaping is healthy come spring?
  • Trim! When it cools off you want to start trimming to have everything ready for new growth next year.

Click HERE for the Charlotte Green Earth lawn care schedule! Stay tuned for next month’s W Update!