Winter Lawn Care Tips

Just before your area’s first expected frost date, head out to your lawn and aerate. If they’ve never aerated before or need a little reminder, direct them to check out How to Aerate Your Lawn. Aerating will give the consumer’s lawn a chance to breathe before the grass goes dormant, and helps relieve any compaction that has built up during the warmer months.

After aerating, it’s a good time to fertilize with Scotts® Turf Builder® WinterGuard® Fall Lawn Food. The grass roots absorb and store the nutrients during the winter months. Then, in the spring, their lawn will be able to tap into those stored nutrients giving it a head start, making it green and lush. Let them know that this can also help weeds, pests, and diseases from moving in once it warms up.

There’s a good chance that leaves have piled up on lawns during fall. Because of that, customers’ lawn could suffocate before winter. Leaves that are left on the lawn could also become too wet, which can invite disease. If the leaves are not too thick or wet, customers can mulch the leaves with their mower into dime-sized pieces to recycle the nutrients back into their lawn. If the leaves are too thick, wet, or matted down, they should rake them up and remove them.

For extra points, they should remove lawn furniture and debris from their lawn, as well as any spare logs from next to the fire pit.

Encourage your customers to avoid walking on their grass too much while their lawn is frosted or dormant. Even strong grass can become weak if the same path is walked over too many times.

Try to keep driveways, walkways, and sidewalks clear of ice and snow so you will have a safe and clear path to walk. Apply Scotts® Eco-Blend Snow & Ice Melt to all of these areas to clear them of snow and ice. The all-natural blend is enhanced with a green color indicator for monitoring application and a corn-based liquid to ensure maximum performance. 

Finally, make sure your customers have your winter lawn care plan in place well ahead of time. Talk to them once there’s a chill in the air, and remind them to keep an eye on the forecast. They can pre-purchase their winter supplies at your store, to leave enough time to put a plan into action before the first frost arrives.