It’s officially fall, and though the weather may still be pretty warm, now’s the time to prepare your landscaping for the coming winter. And no one is better qualified to tell you how to do it than Keith Houck, co-owner of Westview Nursery & Landscaping — the family-owned business that’s been keeping Waco beautiful since his grandfather founded it 71 years ago.
Houck offered some great tips for winter landscaping and explained what’s required to ensure that a lush lawn emerges next spring.
Pre-emergent weed control and fertilizer
There are two different types of weeds — those that like warm weather and those that thrive in cold. Warm-weather weeds die out as the temperature chills. But if you want to get rid of cold-weather weeds, you have to apply the right pre-emergent weed killer each fall at just the right time.
“You’ve got to kill the seeds before they germinate. If you don’t catch them early enough, they'll grow all through the winter,” said Houck. “Once that seed germinates, you can try to kill the weeds with spray — but that won’t really keep them under control.”
Fall is also the time to spread fertilizer on your lawn. This nourishes it while it’s dormant so that it will emerge early in spring with a rich green color.
You can pick up the products you need at Westview Nursery and apply them yourself. They’ll even lend you a spreader at no charge, explain how to use it and show you the correct settings. Or they can send a professional to your home to apply the products, keep track of the schedule, and let you know throughout the year what has to be applied and when.
Water regularly all through the winter
Even in winter, it’s important to water your yard on a regular basis — every week or 10 days — unless it’s been raining. This actually protects the root system of your plants.
“I know it sounds like it’d be just the opposite, but when you water good and deep, when the cold weather comes in, the top of the ground will lightly frost over and form a little insulation. This prevents the deeper soil from freezing and protects the roots of your grass and everything else you’ve planted,” he said.
Dry soil will freeze twice as quickly as wet soil. So whenever freezing temperatures are coming, water everything before the cold snap hits.
Trees, shrubbery and seasonal color
The best time of year to plant most trees and shrubs is in the fall. That way, they can build the root system that will help them survive that first hot summer.
You can also add beautiful touches of color to your landscaping with plants that thrive in winter, like pansies, snapdragons and dianthus, as well as colorful decorative kales and cabbages. And fall is also the time to plant winter vegetables and herbs.
Can you keep your lawn green throughout the winter?
You can — though having a green lawn in winter is not for everyone. It takes a lot of work, but if you’re willing to mow and maintain it, here’s what you need to do.
“The only way to have a green lawn in winter is to overseed it with a winter grass,” said Houck. “But when the weather gets hot, it will die out, and unlike summer grass, it won’t come back again.”
As with weed killer and fertilizer, a Westview professional can do the overseeding for you, or you can pick up winter grass at the nursery and borrow the equipment you need at no charge.
For more information, visit westviewnurseryandlandscaping.com.
