Winter’s wrath doesn’t just threaten your people’s safety and your building’s integrity -- a powerful winter storm can also do a number on your landscape. If you’re not prepared for such an event, you can spend an inordinate amount of time and money fixing your lawn well after the storm has passed. Let’s go over how to repair your green spaces following a winter storm.

Prepare Your Lawn Prior to Winter

Doing some pre-winter prep work can save you a lot of trouble before and after a winter storm. Before the first frost, a quality lawn maintenance service will perform tasks such as:

• Landscape debris removal (leaves, garbage, and other materials that may suffocate lawn)
• Mowing grass a short length (2-2.5 inches) to protect new growth
• Aeration and fertilization to help the lawn absorb nutrients after winter
• Mulching to insulate roots from cold winter weather
• Applying anti-desiccant to protect trees and shrubs from snow, ice, winter burn, and wind

By fortifying your lawn for winter’s wrath, you’ll minimize the damage done by a winter storm and reduce the amount of work you need to do to repair your landscape following a major storm.

Clean Up Debris as Soon as Possible

No two winter storms are exactly alike -- one might bring several feet of snow while another might bring biting winds and/or sharp hail. Whatever the case, you can expect there to be various types of debris following the worst winter storms. Heavy snowfall and ice can weaken tree branches and limbs until they crash to the ground while high winds carry garbage, leaves, and other materials. Even if the fallout isn’t severe, it’s important to engage in safe storm debris removal after the storm has passed to reduce the amount of weight pressing on your landscape and rid your lawn of potentially hazardous substances.

Remove Snow and Ice Strategically

Once you’ve taken care of the debris, it’s time to clear as much snow and ice from your landscape as possible to keep your lawn from suffocating -- this is a delicate process, of course. For one thing, you’ll want to make sure that your building is free from snow and ice before anything else (there’s no point in removing snow from your lawn if more will land on it after sliding off your roof). Hire a roof snow removal service to safely clear your building, then have them carefully and efficiently plow, blow, and shovel snow from your lawn without damaging the lawn itself. To counteract the harmful effects of rock salt and other deicing materials, your landscape snow removal services might also apply gypsum to your lawn.

Restoring Your Lawn in the Spring

There’s only so much you can do to protect and fix up your lawn during the winter. You’ll have to wait until springtime to really assess the state of your lawn and make the proper adjustments. Lawn restoration involves a number of tasks such as:

• Cleaning up any leftover debris
• Testing the soil
• Replacing soil and grass that was damaged by snow plowing services
• Inspecting plant life for snow mold and other winter-related problems
• Removing old, dead, and/or harmful plants
• Applying new fertilizer
• Preparing irrigation systems
• etc.

Ultimately, even a mild winter can do a number on your landscape. Whether your region endures a relatively bland winter or an extreme season, the key to maintaining a beautiful lawn is winterizing it prior to the cold weather, managing it as best as you can during the winter, and properly restoring it after things have thawed. Fortunately, The Budd Group’s landscaping professionals handle all three of these crucial tasks. When your facility needs proper lawn care, ice management, snow removal, storm preparation, erosion control, irrigation, and so on, we’re here to deliver. To learn more about all that The Budd Group can do for your business this winter and beyond call us today at 800-221-8158, or send us an email at Solutions@BuddGroup.com!