Cooling temperatures slow above ground growth, and moist soil encourages strong root development. Removing spent stems, dead branches, and heavy leaf cover protects the overall health of your plants, giving you a stronger, greener, and healthier landscape in the spring. A little work in the fall results in healthier spring beds!

A few things Tones Solutions can do for  fall clean-ups:

• Cutting back of perennials (prune off dead foliage)
• Blow leaves and debris from your landscaping
• Mow lawn
• bag and haul away organic matter
• Aeration
• Bush/shrub trimming
• Tree trimming
• Leaf cleanup
• Fall planting of trees and shrubs
• Fertilizing
• Mulch young plants for winter protection

Evict tired annuals, as well as the snails and slugs that feed on them, which breed in fall. Trim spent perennial foliage down to the ground; this sends energy to the roots for next season. Every three years, divide crowded tuberous plants like irises and day lilies. More space means more flowers.

Feeding the lawn – cutting back on fertilizer in late summer prevents perennials from wasting energy on leaf production. But grass roots keep growing until the ground gets down to around 40 degrees,so fall is a good time to feed them. Applying a high-phosphorus mix to lawns in fall will encourage roots, so grass greens up earlier in spring.

If rainfall pools on the grass, it’s time to aerate compressed soil so water and nutrients can reach the roots. An aerator pulls out 2½-to 3-inch-deep soil plugs, which will break down naturally by spring.

Mulching young plants gives new beds a layer of mulch after a light frost, but before the ground freezes. Till decomposed layers of organic mulch into the soil, then apply a fresh 2- to 4-inch layer to keep new plantings warm and to control water runoff and soil erosion.

Call or email today to schedule an appointment at 315-224-9991, or tonesgh@gmail.com.