By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — A lot of work goes into keeping up gardens and lawns in the summer and fall, so a plan should be put into place as to what precautions to take during our long, harsh winters to keep what lies underneath all the snow and ice from being damaged.
Joey Cowett, owner of North End Landscaping and Stone Supply, made some recommendations to keep your greenery safe during the winter months.
First, Cowett suggests a fall core aeration, which involves extracting plugs of soil from the lawn. Aeration provides many benefits, including allowing oxygen to get to the roots of the soil and helping it to breathe. Water is also able to better soak in the soil and reach the root system. Aeration can be done manually with a handheld tool or it can be done with a power aerator.
Cowett also recommends a lime application before winter sets in to keep soil pH balanced and to give grass a good color.
Fall fertilizer should also be applied to help strengthen the root zone and give extra support, according to Cowett. This would be supplemental to the usual spring fertilization.
Any shrubs that may be located around the perimeter of the house should either be wrapped or covered with a sturdy structure, Cowett recommends, to help prevent damage from falling snow or ice from the roof.
As far as plants are concerned, Cowett suggested that perennials should be cut back before winter sets in to eliminate dead growth.
If you want to stretch the flower season out and keep some color around the house for as long as you possibly can, mums and pansies are popular, hardy flowers that will stay in bloom during the colder temperatures. However, they should be covered or brought inside when there is the threat of a frost in the evenings.
As we head into mid-October in northern Maine, remember just about any weather condition is possible. It can be sunny and in the 70s one day and below freezing and snowing the next. There is no way to stop Old Man Winter from showing up; the only thing we can do is prepare ourselves and our property for his arrival.
