Fall is a wonderful and hectic time of year.
Summer has wound down, children are into their busy school schedules, and the leaves on the trees are changing color as the temperatures cool. Beautiful fall colors in the form of pansies and violas mixed with colorful kale are bursting from Atlanta commercial landscape beds. These changes have been happening all around us so quickly, but they’ve now settled. Fall is feeling like it’s finally—officially—here.
But don’t let all this magnificent color distract you from the tasks at hand. While fall may seem like the time to take a break after the busy growing season, it’s not. Once fall is here, winter isn’t usually that far behind.
That’s why autumn is an ideal time to complete the tasks necessary to prepare your commercial property for winter and, more importantly, a fresh and vibrant start come spring. Here are five fall essential fall maintenance tasks to prepare your commercial property for the coming seasons.
Fall Maintenance Task #1: Apply Fall Pine Straw
In fall, pine straw starts to break down in commercial landscape beds. Applying a fresh layer of pine straw in these areas in autumn rejuvenates the look of these beds, keeps weeds at bay, reinvigorates soil by adding organic matter, and provides a naturally sustainable addition to the commercial landscape.
Pine straw keeps beds and plant roots insulated through the winter months, so they come back strong in spring.
Fall Maintenance Task #2: Aerate Lawns
Fescue lawns can use a little rejuvenation in the fall as temperatures drop. This is where lawn aeration can give the turf a much-needed boost. Aeration is the practice of removing ½-inch diameter plugs of turf and soil from a commercial lawn using an aerator. In the process, aeration breaks up the top 4 inches of soil, which can become so compact it constricts the flow of air, water, and nutrients to turf roots. This essentially makes the turfgrass slow to recover from drought or compaction from foot traffic and results in brown patches and bare spots.
By removing these plugs, aeration gives turf roots the room they need to absorb water and nutrients. In addition, the removed plugs are usually left in place the day of aeration so they can dry up and be broken down with subsequent mowings, benefitting the lawn further by acting as additional topdressing.
Fall Maintenance Task #3: Overseed Fescue Lawns
Aeration is the perfect task to perform before the next necessary fall chore, which is overseeding turfgrass areas that are worn or bare, usually from heavy amounts of foot traffic.
Fall Maintenance Task #4: Plant Spring Bulbs
What gets one thinking of spring is flowers.
Planting bulbs now ensures that your commercial property is one of the first to experience that much-anticipated flush of color once the weather starts warming up after the winter.
Fall Maintenance Task #5: Create Your Snow And Ice Removal Plan
Speaking of winter, because Atlanta isn’t used to severe weather when a major snow and ice event hits, the result is usually a mad scramble as everyone reactively fights the storm.
The trick to overcoming unexpected winter weather, so your property doesn’t suffer is to be proactive and prepared before the storm strikes.
Now is a great time to ensure you have a service provider ready to help you clear snow and ice during those rough winter storms ahead so you can keep your commercial property open and accessible during winter and prepared to come alive again come spring.
Now Is The Time To Prepare For Spring!
Don’t let fall pass you by without crossing these items off of your to-do list.
Contact Highgrove Partners at (678) 298-0550 or use the contact form to the right to schedule a free consultation.
Last modified: October 10, 2022
