If you live in Northeast Ohio, you know the winters can be rough. Even the mildest winter includes some snowfall, freezing ground and ice. You may wonder what these winter weather conditions do to your grass, and they can have an adverse effect. That doesn’t mean winter lawn damage is inevitable.
Let’s look at how to winterize your Northeast Ohio lawn to protect it before winter.
What Is the Best Grass Height for Winter?
If you look forward to the last lawn mowing of the season, you’re not alone! When you mow, it’s a good idea to know the best grass height for winter. It’s a matter of finding that right balance, where the grass is neither too long nor too short.
Shorter grass is better for your lawn during the cold months. Longer grass blades are at greater risk for disease. However, if you cut your grass too low, it can cause stress and damage to the roots. So, what’s the ideal height for grass before winter?
The ideal grass height for winter is 2 inches to 2.5 inches. At this height, the grass is short enough to resist lawn diseases but not so short that the roots are in danger of cold exposure. Keep this in mind when you do your last lawn mowing of the season, and your grass will thank you.
Does Your Grass Need a Winterizer?
Most Northeast Ohio homeowners dread winter and look forward to warmer seasons. But if you want a beautiful, healthy lawn in the spring, winter is the best time to prepare. You’ve probably fertilized your lawn before, but have you tried a lawn winterizer?
A winterizer is a winter application of fertilizer. But this isn’t your typical fertilizer. Winterizer is a special formula, designed to give your lawn what it needs to withstand the rigors of cold weather.
You may wonder: how is a winterizer different than a fertilizer? Winterizer typically uses two important ingredients: nitrogen and potassium. Each of these nutrients deliver specific benefits to help support your grass from a root, and even cellular, level. This gives you stronger, healthier grass in the spring.
Think of the nitrogen as the ingredient your grass needs to store during its “hibernation.” The cool-season grasses that grow best in Northeast Ohio become dormant in the winter. (That means they’re not growing, which is why you get to take a break from mowing.) The grass stores the nitrogen from the winterizer and then uses it in the spring for regrowth. Nitrogen also helps protect the grass from early spring fungus, also known as snow mold.
Potassium strengthens the actual cell walls of the grass. This allows them to be more resilient when exposed to cold, ice and snow. It also helps the grass retain water.
When Should You Use Winterizer?
The time to apply a grass winterizer is after it stops growing for the winter. In Ohio, late November to early December is the optimal time. You can even apply winterizer over a light covering of snow. The granular formula of the winterizer breaks down easily in the moisture, which means you don’t have to water the lawn after the application.
Lawn Care for All Four Seasons
To give your lawn the best opportunity to thrive and to avoid winter lawn damage, enlist the experts. The Deluxe Lawn Care Program from Grass Master gives you six applications, applied strategically throughout the year to continually support grass growth. The result? Your lawn will be the envy of the neighborhood!
The Deluxe Lawn Care Program begins in the spring when the grass starts to grow, and weeds begin to germinate. Our first application includes pre-emergent crabgrass control, a balanced lawn fertilizer and broadleaf weed control. Throughout the year, we provide timely applications of fertilizer, alongside an application of surface insect control. For the last application of the year, we apply a winterizer, giving your grass everything it needs to grow lush and green in the spring.
Are you ready to have a beautiful lawn that looks good year-round? Talk to Grass Master about our Deluxe Lawn Care Program. We’re currently signing up new customers who are excited to have the best grass ever in 2024. Contact Grass Master today!
