Fall Landscape Tips

In the fall, a little groundwork is essential to keeping your yard water-efficient and looking great:

Mow, Fertilize, Aerate

Lower your mower's height to 1.5 inches to stimulate new crown growth. Fertilize in late-September or early-October with a balanced mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Fertilizer not only improves turf quality, root growth and color—it also builds cold resistance into your grass. Fertilize once more in November to get your landscape through winter with style.

Aerate grass in September or October as well. Compacted soils are all too common in the Black Hills region. Aeration boosts water penetration, which reduces runoff on slopes and helps water and fertilizer nutrients get down to the roots. Aerate again in the spring.

Enjoy color now

For great fall color, plant flowers like Black-Eyed Susan and Snapdragon, grasses like Regal Mist and trees like the Chinese Pistache and Modesto Ash.

If you're the patient type, purchase fall bulbs now for planting in November. These bulbs will yield bright colors in the spring: Anemone, Daffodil, Dahlia, Gladiolus, Hyacinth, Narcissus, Ranunculus and Tulips.

Mulch

Mulch is the little-noticed workhorse of many a smart gardener’s landscape. Mulch is a protective covering—organic or inorganic—we place in a wide circle around plants to prevent moisture evaporation, root freezing and weed growth. Using mulch can reduce evaporation by as much as 30 percent.

Aeration

When you aerate—by punching holes in your soil—you reduce runoff, increase fertilizer effectiveness and aid root growth of your grass. Aeration boosts water penetration, which reduces runoff on slopes and helps water and fertilizer nutrients get down to the roots.

Repeated aerations over time will help your lawn better tolerate heat and our semi-arid climate. Aerate at least twice a year, in spring and fall.

Thatch

Aeration also helps remove thatch—a layer of organic or partially decomposed organic material that is above the soil surface. Thatch becomes a problem when the production of biomass (leaf, rhizome and tiller material) exceeds the decomposition of older biomass. Using too much fertilizer is the main cause of this imbalance. Some thatch layers can be so thick that grass is "scalped" when mowed, water does not reach the soil and fertilizers become ineffective.

How to Aerate Your Lawn

Buy a manual coring aerator for about $20 from a nursery or home-improvement store. These stores also carry easy-to-use rental machines. Use this to pull out small plugs of soil and thatch. Or, hire a landscaping company to do the job for you. Moisten grass a day or two before aerating to soften the soil. If the soil is too wet, it will compact more around the holes. If it is too dry, the aerator will bounce off the sod. Make two to three passes to aerate severely-compacted soil to its proper depth of at least 3 inches. Space aeration holes about 3 inches apart. Leave soil cores on the grass after you aerate. Your mower will spread them around and back into the soil with the next mowing.

Notes About Mulch

Mulch, also known as "top dressing," is a protective covering used to protect plants. Placed around the plant, mulch reduces water lost to evaporation by as much as 30 percent. Mulch also helps plants stay healthy by preventing frozen roots and weed growth.

Mulch can be organic or inorganic, fine or coarse and, in some landscapes, it may even be rocks. Well-chosen mulch not only beautifies and unifies a landscape design, but also discourages weeds and reduces water lost to evaporation.

Other benefits of mulch:

• Helps drainage
• Encourages root development
• Improves soil by making nutrients more available to plants
• Insulates soil and plants in in winter months, while cooling the soil and reducing water use during hot hot summer months
• Decorative

Organic mulch

If possible, consider using organic mulch. Organic mulches are those that used to be living material, such as bark, wood chips, straw, leaves, grass clippings, compost, and pine needles. Nurseries have specially prepared mulches as well. Rocks, a good inorganic and decorative alternative to organic mulch, can get hot and should be shaded with water-efficient plants.

How to mulch

In cool seasons, use a layer of 1 to 3 inches of mulch, depending on your preferences. For best results, use your hands to spread the mulch and avoid layering mulch too thickly as it can affect plant health. Don't allow mulch to make direct contact with the plants, forming a ring about 2 to 3 inches around plants instead. This will help avoid disease problems. When finished, water down the mulch to give it moisture and help it settle into place.