Keeping your lawn alive and as healthy as possible when the cold weather hits requires that you start thinking about lawn care long before winter actually arrives. If you neglect your lawn during the fall and winter, it will become obvious during the spring, when unsightly dry patches or brown spots can appear. Your lawn-and your entire garden-should be prepared for winter with some tender care and winter care strategies developed in early fall.

Fall Lawn Care Strategies

Changing some of your lawn care strategies in the fall will help your lawn survive the winter, and thrive in the spring. Many of these lawn care strategies are designed to help improve your lawn's resistance to winter diseases.

Fall is a good time to start lowering the height you normally mow at. Keep your lawn short during late fall so that your lawn does not contain too much new, young growth that might help encourage the development of disease. However, it is important to lower the height at which you mow gradually, to prevent damage.

Delay the application of fertilizer until late fall-the best time for the final fertilizer application is just after Thanksgiving. Applying fertilizer in late fall rather than early in the season will encourage deep root growth to support the surge of growth that will occur in the spring. This also means that a spring feeding is not necessary, and may help to improve your lawn's resistance to disease. Chose a sustained (slow-release) fertilizer to ensure there are plenty of nutrients to support new growth in the spring.

Late November is also a good time for dormant seeding, if you have any bare patches of lawn that need to be seeded. This method is best suited for small patches of bare ground, particularly if your winter climate is unpredictable. For larger patches of ground, wait until the spring to sow.

Once your lawn becomes dormant and stops growing altogether, give it one final mow to leave one to two inches of grass remaining. It's fine to leave a little mulch over the lawn after the final mow-but only a little. A too-thick covering over your lawn may smother it over the winter. A little mulch will help return nitrogen to the soil, but make sure it's only a very light sprinkling rather than a heavy layer.

Ensure your lawn is aerated before the first freeze arrives. Along with a good application of fertilizer after Thanksgiving, a well-aerated lawn will help ensure strong spring growth.

Your lawn-and your entire garden-should be cleared of debris before the first snow fall. Any items such as toys, logs or rocks, and garden equipment left lying around may smother your grass after a snow fall, leaving your lawn vulnerable to disease.

What can you do when Winter Arrives?

If you live in a very cold climate where snow and frost are common occurrences in the winter, there is unfortunately not much you can do to help your lawn once winter actually arrives. However, by choosing a hardy type of grass that is tolerant of cold climates, you'll help ensure your lawn survives and thrives year after year.

When you live in such a climate, there is really only one you can do to help your lawn survive once the snow and frosts hit. This is to simply minimize traffic over the lawn. Walking over a snow or ice-laden lawn puts more pressure on the grass beneath, and continual pressure of this kind may eventually kill the lawn.

Remember to drain and close down your sprinkler system if you live in a climate where freezing is likely to occur, to prevent any breakage caused by water freezing in the pipes. If your lawn needs a light application of water during a dry winter, your hose will suffice for this.

If you live in a warmer climate where snow isn't a common occurrence, you'll have a few more options for taking care of your lawn during the winter. However, with one exception, all of your most important winter lawn care strategies should implemented the fall to get the most benefit. There are just two exceptions. First, in warm, dry climates, your lawn may need occasional watering over the winter. Second, even though your grass is dormant, weeds have a habit of appearing, even in the dead of winter, so be on the lookout, and apply a weed control product if necessary.