Landscaping in The Fall: 5 Fall Landscaping Mistakes to Avoid

Fall has a way of sneaking up on everyone. One day it's still shorts weather, and the next the days are shorter, the leaves are falling faster than you can rake them, and somehow it's already snowing before you've done a single one of the landscaping tasks you swore you'd get to. The gap between "what your yard needs" and "what you actually have time for" is exactly how fall landscaping mistakes happen, and it's also exactly why so many people end up calling around for landscaping services once the season gets away from them.

Rock Water Farm provides landscaping, hardscaping, and property maintenance services to homeowners throughout Gainesville, VA, including mowing, mulching, pruning, lawn care, drainage solutions, and seasonal cleanups. Our team also handles larger projects like patios, plantings, and outdoor living spaces for properties that want more than the basics covered. To contact a member of our team, call (703) 423-0101 today!

Below, we discuss five fall landscaping mistakes to avoid:

#1: Not Cleaning Up Your Leaves

Fallen leaves can become a big eyesore that can make your property look messy. If you don’t pick them up, they’ll be blowing around all winter and make even more of a mess for you in the spring. Besides being a nuisance, however, fallen leaves can also cause problems for your grass. Areas that are matted down under heavy leaf cover will start to die off.

Additionally, if you’re going to have aeration and overseeding performed in the fall, but you don’t clean up your leaves, your new grass isn’t going to grow very well. On top of all that, fallen leaves that aren’t removed also create the ideal habitat for rodents, ticks, and other pests in your landscape beds. Cleaning up leaves will encourage those critters to move on to somewhere else.

#2: Failing to Mulch

Applying fresh mulch is a professional landscaping company’s tip. People tend to forget that fall is also a great time for mulching; it’s not just for spring flower beds! A fresh coat of mulch in the fall not only looks really nice, but it’s also an important landscaping maintenance task for the layer of protection that it provides once temperatures start to drop.

Mulch helps to insulate the root system of your trees and shrubs and keep the temperature warmer by acting as an added barrier. People tend to forget that winter weeds are common, and mulch can help reduce their chances of sticking around.

#3: Ignoring Perennials and Ornamental Grasses

An important fall landscaping tip to bear in mind is remembering to trim back some of your perennials and ornamental grasses. It’s true that perennials and ornamental grasses are relatively low maintenance. But while they may look okay now, as temperatures cool, grasses and most perennials will brown out and only survive below ground. Removing this year’s foliage, and other parts above the surface, will help to prevent them from breaking off and blowing around all winter.

Fall cutbacks will also help grasses and perennials look better come spring. A lot of folks tend to forget to trim them back in the early spring. Trimming off the dead material in fall means new spring growth can emerge without having to worry about plucking out each dead stem later (which also takes more time!).

#4: Improper Pruning

While certain perennials and ornamental grasses can benefit from a trim, you must be careful that you don’t improperly trim a spring-flowering shrub. This would be a big fall landscaping mistake that could cause irreversible damage for the flowering season. Azaleas and rhododendrons, for instance, only have a four to six-week window of when pruning is appropriate immediately after they are done flowering in the spring. After that, they are setting flower buds for a new season that should not be trimmed off.

If you trim these branches too late in the fall, you could reduce next spring’s blooming. Pruning may be a landscaping maintenance service best left to the professionals if you feel uncertain about performing it properly.

#5: Waiting Too Long to Switch Landscaping Maintenance Services

If you’re not happy with your existing landscaping maintenance service company, the fall is a good time to part ways and start shopping around for a company that will better meet your needs. The off-season poses a great opportunity to interview potential companies and find one that is a better fit. Don’t wait until spring rolls around, which is the landscapers' busy season. Use the time now to research landscape maintenance companies and make an educated decision about switching services.

Gainesville, VA, Homeowners Can Trust Rock Water Farm for Fall Landscaping Services

Avoiding these five mistakes goes a long way toward a yard that looks good through fall and holds up once winter hits. But there's only so much time in a day, and if raking, mulching, and pruning schedules aren't exactly how you want to spend your weekends, that's precisely what Rock Water Farm is here for. As one of the go-to providers of landscaping services that Gainesville, VA, relies on, we'll handle the fall to-do list so your yard is ready for whatever the season throws at it. To contact a member of our team, call (703) 423-0101 today!