Your commercial property is not just your business, a place for people to come and work, make deals, or peruse the merchandise; it’s also a reflection of your brand and who you are.
With fall arriving, there is a new magic that settles over a place. With the right maintenance, your landscaping can reflect this feeling and boost your overall appearance and curb appeal.
A few simple steps, as outlined below, will help to ensure that your landscaping in the following spring will be just as colourful and amazing as it was this year.
1. Out with the old and in with the new
Fall brings out some of the most fantastic colours, but this is also a sign that the plants and flowers are singing their swan song and will soon wilt and cover the ground in a blanket of debris.
Removing this layer of dead leaves, twigs, and other plant material will help the ground underneath to breathe. This is also a great opportunity to dig up the plants that won’t survive the winter and plant new ones so that they are ready for the spring.
For the hardier plants that can survive the cold months ahead, a good pruning is useful to make way for new growth. This doesn’t mean cutting the shrubs right back to the roots. However, a quick trimming of some of the longer branches will make all the difference.
2. A good meal to last the winter
When some animals go into hibernation, they stock up on food stores to last them through the winter. Plants can do the same thing.
A good, generous helping of manure and mulch to cover the flower beds or laid around shrubs, bushes, and trees, will provide the much-needed nutrients and warmth to feed and protect the fragile root systems that are in place.
This helps promote a good yield in the spring when the new plants begin to grow. It also aids them in becoming stronger and more vibrant. Until the first snow falls, you should continue to water the ground and plants.
The weather may be colder, but they still need water just as much as mulch and manure. Don’t over-water, however, as this can lead to root rot when the winter fully sets in, thus undoing all your hard work.
3. Aeration
During the spring and summer months, in areas of heavy foot traffic, animal activity, or just with an abundance of vibrant and inviting plants and shrubs, the soil becomes compacted.
What this means to your landscape is the soil can become too dense to allow the proper flow of water, air, and nutrients. During the fall and leading into the winter, this is the time when plants rest and recoup so they can come back better than ever in the following spring.
With compacted soil, though, this can’t happen, and you could end up with patches of grass that won’t grow or plants coming in weaker and sick-looking. Aeration breaks up the soil, allowing nutrients to move naturally through, thus benefiting your plants.
In terms of your lawn, overseeding at this time, too, helps to ensure that damaged or thinned areas of the grass will come back fuller, greener, and more inviting in the spring.
4. Bundle up
Bundling up in the winter is a natural thing we all do. There are some plants in your landscaped areas that could also use a protective layer to keep the frost and cold air at bay.
There are some things to consider when looking to protect these plants, like their location and closeness to roads, exposure to wind, and the type of plant itself.
Your options for bundling up your plants include wrapping and mounding. The plants’ type will dictate the technique you should use. Taller plants will benefit the most from being wrapped, including the following:
- Established evergreen plants.
- Big-leaved bushes and shrubs, such as rhododendrons, and broad-leaved hollies and boxwood.
- Any plant that is close to a road or walkway that is at risk from exposure to salt, grit, and sand.
- Plants, trees, and bushes that will be exposed to high, fierce winter winds.
A combination of stakes and burlap sacks are the most common items used to wrap plants, offering stability and protection from the elements.
Mounding is a technique used to protect the root system and the base of the plant itself. This is ideal for shorter plants and bushes. You can build up the base with compost, then place mulch over the top to keep everything together.
The plant itself should be cut back as close as possible to the ground so that it benefits from this mounding and regrows to its full potential in the spring. Plants ideal for this technique include:
- Rose bushes
- Butterfly bushes
- Pink or blue big-leaf hydrangeas
An Efficient Fall Clean-up
Fall clean-ups can be tedious, back-breaking, and never-ending. While your landscape will benefit in the spring and have a good winter, making sure that everything is fed, watered, cleaned, and wrapped takes time.
Working in partnership with a property maintenance company makes sure that the right people will do the difficult work and ensures a colourful new spring.
JW Landscaping will work tirelessly to ensure your landscape will bloom to its full potential. We use modern technology to make light work of your fall clean-up on your commercial property. This saves time while making sure that your property is properly maintained and ready for whatever the winter throws at you.
Reach out today and chat with one of our friendly experts who are excited to discuss your fall clean-up needs and get you winterized and ready to go. Call us at 289-290-5241, or contact us here for a free quote and let’s bundle you up for winter.
