Lawn Tasks - January and February!

lawn

Winter.

January.

After the New Year, your life will return to normal. The holiday season is officially over and you will be anticipating the arrival of spring. Your lawn may not look like much. If you live in a region that sees a lot of snow, you may have been looking at a white blanket for weeks. Your grass may appear lifeless and your plants have long since bloomed in the sunshine.

But there is work to be done. You will have to go outside at least once a week and walk through your property and check for problems that you will have to take care of once the warmer months have arrived.

In January, you should be concerned with damage to your lawn sculptures and other decorative items.

When inspecting these items, you should:

Check for cracks in the foundation of concrete bird baths, sculptures, and statues

Look for signs of discoloration that could be the early signs of rust.

Check for water and snow damage

Check for broken pieces

Remove any decorative items that cannot be fixed

If possible, you should wrap up these items in order to protect them from the snow and water. If you can move them to a safer place, that would also help. Lawn decorations can be expensive and in many cases, one of a kind. Protecting these items should be high on your list when getting ready for winter and also during the winter season.

February

In February, it is cold and the snow may still fall, but there may be more rain than in previous months. This is a good time to check your plants, shrubs, and grass for damage that you may have to correct in the spring. You should look for the following:

Grass:

Discoloration of grass

Thatch

Bald spots

Thinning

Sod issues

While there is little that can be done until the ground becomes less frozen, you should plan to aerate the soil as soon as possible. If you have thatch, be sure that you have to the equipment to remove it. If you notice pieces of sod are missing, you will have to replace it as soon as the weather warms up.

Trees:

Discoloration of bark

Bent branches

Holes in trunk

If any of your trees seem unhealthy, you should mark them so that you can see if they improve over the next few months. If you notice any branches that are bent, you can leave them alone as long as they cannot fall and harm any part of your home or other people. If they could harm your property, they should be removed as soon as possible.

Plants:

Roots

Color of leaves

Stance

Most plants should be just fine in cold weather. Make sure they are standing tall and are not being weighed down by snow, wind, and rain.

Shrubs:

Roots

Color of leaves

Shrubs should also be fine during this time. Take the same corrective actions as you would for plants if you see that the shrub is being weighed down.

Terry Blackburn. Internet Marketing Consultant, living in South Shields in the North-East of England. Author and Producer of blog http://www.lawnsurgeon.blogspot.com Author of "Your Perfect Lawn," a 90 Page eBook devoted to Lawn Preparation, Lawn Care and Maintenance. Find it at http://www.lawnsurgeon.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terry_Blackburn

Terry Blackburn - EzineArticles Expert Author

lawn