The healthiest landscapes receive year-round care. A few simple steps this fall will help protect from costly repairs and give your yard the best chance for a spring rebound.

 Fall System Maintenance

• Drain and disconnect hoses: Detach all garden hoses, spray nozzles, and quick-connect fittings before the first hard freeze. Leaving hoses attached traps water inside the spigot, causing the pipe behind the wall to freeze and burst.
• Shut off exterior water valves: Locate the interior shut-off valve supplying your outdoor spigots (usually in the basement, crawlspace, or utility room), turn it off, and open the outdoor faucet to bleed remaining water.
• Install insulated faucet covers: Wrap outdoor spigots with foam or fabric insulated covers to shield valves from freezing ambient temperatures.

Irrigation System Blowout

• Perform a seasonal blowout: Use an air compressor to clear standing water from irrigation lines, zone valves, and sprinkler heads. Trapped water expands when frozen, cracking PVC pipes and valve manifolds. 
• Shut off the main backflow valve: Close the main isolation valve feeding the sprinkler system and set the automatic controller to "Off" or "Rain Delay" mode for the winter.
• Drain backflow preventers: Open test cocks and drain plugs on backflow assemblies (RPZ or pressure vacuum breakers) so water doesn't pool in expensive copper or brass components.

Trees & Shrubs

• Wrap young or thin-barked trees: Apply commercial tree wrap or crepe paper from the base of the trunk up to the lowest branch. This prevents sunscald—cracks caused by warm winter sun rapidly expanding frozen trunk tissues.
• Shield evergreens with burlap: Wrap sensitive evergreens (like arborvitae or boxwoods) in burlap screens to block drying winter winds and prevent heavy snow from splitting branches.
• Deep water before the ground freezes: Give trees and shrubs a thorough soaking late in autumn. Moist soil holds heat better than dry soil and protects delicate root structures from frost damage.

Lawn & Soil Care

• Apply a final "winterizer" lawn treatment: Use a fall lawn fertilizer rich in potassium to promote deep root growth and stress tolerance rather than lush top growth.
• Mow lower on the final cut: Drop your mower blade by about half an inch for the last cut of the season (around 2 to 2.5 inches). This prevents long turf blades from matting down under snow cover, which breeds snow mold.
• Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch: Spread bark or shredded leaves around the base of perennials, shrubs, and trees. Keep mulch an inch away from main stems and trunks to prevent rot and rodent damage.

Perennials & Beds

• Prune selective perennials: Cut back diseased foliage or hostas and daylilies that collapse after the first hard freeze. Leave sturdy seed heads (like coneflowers or black-eyed Susans) intact to feed overwintering birds.
• Protect tender bulbs: Dig up non-hardy bulbs (dahlias, gladiolus, calla lilies) after the first frost, let them dry, and store them indoors in peat moss or sawdust.