It is fall and that time of year again when the leaves begin to fall. Some people have asked, “Why do I have to remove the leaves from the lawn?” Colorful red and yellow leaves from maples, dogwoods, and other trees may look nice and you may love the sound of the crunching underfoot when walking across your lawn but those leaves piling up are not doing your lawn any good. As a matter of fact, they are smothering the grass. The grass needs to breathe! Air is important to allow the grass to dry off from the morning dew. A pile of leaves left on the grass will smother the grass if left too long. Grass is still growing in the fall. Even if you can’t see the changing height of the blades the roots are growing and need sunlight. Leaves lying on the grass form a barrier that blocks water and nutrients from air and sunlight from getting to the soil level and to the root system. Grass revitalizes itself in the cooler fall season.
How to get leaves up
There is no real rule of thumb. If you like the vigorous exercise, use a rake. It will get the job done by removing the leaves and at the same time will help remove and loosen some of the thatch that may have built up during the growing season. If you have recently seeded your lawn rakes can damage the new seedlings and great care must be taken to not destroy your newly planted grass seed.
Most landscape companies use leaf blowers and rakes for tricky areas. The key is to get the leaves off the grass and allow the turf to breathe.
Leaves can be ground up and used as mulch in beds. If you have a lot of leaves get them up. Use a bag on a mower or blow them into piles and remove them from the turf. Compost your leaves and use them in flower beds next season.
It is also common courtesy to pick up your leaves so your neighbors don’t have to. They don’t want your leaves blowing into their yards. Not to mention leaves can be dangerous. Wet leaves can cause someone to slip and fall. Picking up the leaves from the landscape also provides a nice clean look. It’s all about curb appeal and if you get those leaves up your landscaping and grass will look nice all winter long!
American Landscaping Inc.
(301) 384-4486
We serve clients in Montgomery, Prince Georges, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, throughout the Washington, DC metro area including the following cities and communities:
Ashton MD | Sandy Spring, MD | Barnesville, MD | Beltsville, MD | Bethesda, MD | Brookeville, MD |Burtonsville, MD | Cabin John, MD | Calverton, MD | Chevy Chase, MD | Clarksville, MD | Colesville, MD | College Park, MD | Columbia, MD | Damascus, MD | Friendship Heights, MD | Gaithersburg, MD | Germantown, MD | Glen Echo, MD | Hyattsville, MD | Kensington, MD | Laytonsville, MD | Laurel MD | Montgomery Village, MD | North Bethesda, MD | Kensington, MD | North Potomac, MD | Olney, MD | Poolesville, MD | Potomac, MD | Riverdale, MD | Rockville, MD | Savage, MD | Scaggsville, MD | Silver Spring, MD |Somerset, MD | Spencerville, MD | Oakmont, MD | Takoma Park, MD | Wheaton, MD | West Laurel MD | White Oak, MD | Berwyn Heights, MD | Cloverly, MD | Glenwood, MD | Lanham, MD | Landover, MD | Fulton, MD | Washington D.C.