What Happens To Your Lawn During Fall?

Sep 19th 2024

Among expert landscapers in Gainesville, FL, it's well known that the best way to ensure your lawn is thick, green, and healthy come spring is to provide it with some well-timed attention in the fall. Many property owners, however, tend to make basic fall-time lawn maintenance mistakes, later wondering why their grass isn't reaching its full potential come spring. The cooler temperatures of fall provide the ideal conditions to spruce up your lawn and get it ready for dormancy in winter. Here, our Gainesville landscaping experts discuss what happens to your lawn during fall. Contact us today to schedule landscaping and lawn services for your property!

Expect Your Grass To Change In The Fall

As summer gives way to fall, grass on your lawn is preoccupied with absorbing essential nutrients, water, sunlight, and nitrogen in preparation for the dormancy period through winter. The cool weather of fall allows the grassroots to develop much better than in the summer season, allowing it to take advantage of the coming growing season. The most common type of grass planted throughout the State of Florida is St. Augustine or Floritam.

Depending on the type of grass on your lawn–whether it's cool-season grass or warm-season grass–will determine the specific features of your lawn over fall and winter. Those with warm-season grasses may notice their grass turning brown or yellowing as the season progresses. Maintaining adequate lawn care during the fall season is critical to having healthy grass for the rest of the year.

Fall Lawn Care Tips From Our Experts

The best way to ensure your lawn makes it through the coldest days of the year during the winter is to keep your grass well cared for in autumn. This includes keeping up with regularly scheduled professional lawn care services, mowing the lawn, raking up fallen leaves and debris, and aerating the soil. If you're looking for a professional lawn care company to take care of your lawn no matter the season, Evergreen Lawn Care has you covered–from fall yard cleanup to hedge trimming to residential and commercial landscaping, we do it all!

Schedule Lawn Care Services

Fall lawn care should be performed like clockwork. If you perform fall lawn care tasks too late in the season and too close to winter, you risk degradation of the soil, as the soil will be incapable of absorbing the provided nutrients. If you struggle to find time to perform fall lawn maintenance tasks or if you'd prefer to put your yard in our expert hands, our lawn care services can transform your lawn and help it reach its full potential as spring arrives.

Mow The Lawn

Thanks to our temperate weather here in North Central Florida, lawns typically go dormant only for a short period of time in the winter, meaning they will continue to grow through the rest of the year. That means you have to ensure that your lawn is cut regularly. You should plan to mow your lawn at least once every couple of weeks during this time. If you don't cut the lawn regularly, the grass will grow too long and tangle with other blades. This will result in poor growth, as the grass won't be able to absorb nutrients properly.

Rake Up Fallen Leaves

A common fall transition for trees is that they shed their leaves through the autumn. As they fall, they descend upon the ground, often covering the surface of your grass. As they sit atop the grass, they can create an unsightly mess. But what's even more concerning than this aesthetic consequence is that fallen leaves on the grass block out sunlight and prevent the grass from absorbing nutrients. Be sure to remove fallen leaves by raking them off the lawn, whether using a leaf blower to gather them into a pile or a stiff rake to help loosen thatch.

Aerate The Soil

Soil aeration is among the most important fall lawn care tasks you can perform. Aeration involves loosening up hardened, compacted soil so that oxygen can reach the roots of the grass. This process helps encourage water retention and nutrient absorption, allowing your grass to get all it needs to make it through the winter in preparation for the growing season in spring. Soil compaction is common in warmer months, causing oxygen levels to deplete and roots to rot due to increased rainfall. Aerating the grass when fall begins can help avoid this issue.