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Fall landscaping isn’t just about making the autumn yard look as good as possible. It’s also about getting a jump on next year’s landscape. The chores you do in fall (and how well you do them) have an impact on your yard next spring. With a bit of care and landscaping now, you can set yourself up for a lush lawn when the weather warms again.

Raking leaves, lawn care, trimming plants and removing debris from your garden, making compost, transplanting shrubs and trees, and winterizing the yard should be part of your fall landscaping checklist. Find out why these fall chores are important and how to do them properly.

Rake Leaves

If you have deciduous trees adjacent to your lawn or garden, then raking leaves will almost undoubtedly sit atop your fall landscaping checklist. It is necessary to rake the leaves, as a thick layer of them robs your grass of sunlight. And even though growth is slowed in the fall, cool-season grasses such as tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass need sunlight in the fall for photosynthesis.

Nutrients are passed to the root system, where they are stored for winter. Next spring, your lawn will draw on those nutrients. By raking in a timely manner, you can help your lawn get off to a good start next spring.

Dethatch Your Lawn

A task related to raking is removing thatch from the lawn. If you rake leaves properly, you can dethatch your lawn at the same time. Rake vigorously rather than just skimming leaves off the surface. Push the rake tines down firmly to dislodge the layer of thatch that lies just below the surface. With the thatch removed, your lawn will breathe more freely and be better able to access water and nutrients.

Overseed the Lawn

In the process of dethatching, you may end up exposing patches of bare soil on your lawn. If so, then immediately undertake overseeding. While you can overseed in spring, too, fall is ideal because of the cool nights and mild, shorter days (all of which are great for grass seed germination). The seed retains moisture well, and the seedlings that follow won’t be threatened by the extreme heat of summer.

Continue Watering the Lawn

Continue watering the lawn in the fall. Because the temperature is starting to drop, you won’t need to water as much as in summer. But the fall can have its hot, dry spells, too.

Cool-season grasses need that water because they are working hard to store nutrients for the long winter. Water a warm-season grass for as long as it’s actively growing. When growth stops, rainfall will be sufficient.