AMERICAN LANDSCAPE 

&   LAWN SCIENCE

766 Route 32, North Franklin, CT 06254

860-642-9966 Franklin    860-887-2344  Norwich    860-657-1457 Glastonbury

How to Winterize your Garden

Getting ready for winter is hard work - removing leaves, final mowing of the lawn, winter mulching, pruning, deep root feeding. 

Call us a call and let us help!!

Protecting your valuable ornamentals  against harsh winter weather only costs a little, but could save you the cost of replacement later.

Look over the garden and remember the pests you fought this year. Remove infested and infected plant materials first and throw them away - do not compost diseased plants

Check your garden beds. Cut back dead twigs and stems, and deadhead perennial flowers and shrubs to remove spent flowers. Cut bulky plant materials into 1-inch pieces before composting

Pull out spent annuals and vegetable plants

Remove dead leaves from perennial vegetables and flowers that have finished blooming

Rake up plant debris and compost it

Take a stiff garden rake to the lawn to clean it up. Apply lime or sulfur if a soil test indicates you need it. Use a leaf rake to clean under shrubs and trees - fertilize with phosphorus and potassium every fourth year

Cut down weeds gone wild in hedgerows and alongside your garden - this will deny insects a winter home. Compost all weeds but those obviously infested with bugs or blighted by fungus

Clean out your finished compost to use for mulch, then make more with the debris you've harvested. Use newspapers layered two pages thick for additional mulching, and plant green manure and cover crops to keep weeds at bay

Wash walks and patios, and clean empty pots with bleach and water (using a 1:1 ratio). Roll up and store hoses and sprinklers, store pumps and tender water plants, and clean and oil your tools before putting them away for winter