As Colorado heads into winter, preparing lawn for winter is essential as it faces months of cold, snow, and unpredictable weather. Taking a few measures now can protect it from damage and help it return healthy and green in spring.
Westside Grounds has been helping Colorado homeowners prepare their lawns for winter since 1999. With experienced crews and proven methods, we protect turf during harsh weather so it comes back greener and thicker in spring. This guide shares practical tips for preparing your lawn for winter, explaining simple steps you can take now.
To ensure your lawn’s survival through the winter, take the following precautions:
Use Fallen Leaves
Left unattended, fallen leaves can damage your lawn by reducing oxygen flow to the roots.
To use them to your advantage, layer chopped fallen leaves directly over garden beds as a natural mulch. This layer protects soil from freezing and thawing cycles, which can damage plant roots. By using leaves wisely instead of bagging them up, you save money on store-bought mulch and help return nutrients to the soil for stronger grass in spring.
Create a Compost Pile
Maintaining a compost pile is great for your lawn and garden, and is especially valuable in winter weather. You can use leaves, plant trimmings, grass clippings, sawdust, fruits, veggies, and even old food scraps.
Spreading a thin layer of mature compost over your grass before winter adds organic matter and beneficial microbes to the soil. Compost also improves drainage, which reduces the risk of water pooling and freezing on the surface.
Try to avoid inorganic materials or any plant life that has been treated with pesticides.
Aerate Your Lawn Before Winter
Core aerators can be rented from any home garden store for a low price. But especially if you have cold season grasses, you want to make sure you aerate your lawn before the winter arrives.
Aeration relieves soil compaction caused by summer foot traffic and heavy watering. Looser soil lets air, water, and nutrients move down to the root zone where they are most needed. This step also prevents thatch buildup from locking in moisture that can freeze and damage roots.
You should irrigate your lawn a couple of days before you aerate. Then after you aerate the lawn, you can use some of the compost you have created to fill in any holes left behind.
When thinking about how to prepare your lawn for winter, remember that aerating gives grass a better chance of surviving cold stress.
Overseed Before the First Freeze
In Colorado, it is a good idea to overseed your lawn 6-8 weeks before the first hard freeze, making fall a great time to seed cool-season grasses. Overseeding also gives your lawn a nice boost in the spring, and prevents a loss of grass during the winter.
When overseeding, choose a grass variety that matches your turf and tolerates Colorado’s winter conditions. Seed evenly and water lightly until germination to help new seedlings establish before the freeze.
Keep Your Grass Low
When you begin to mow your lawn through the winter, you want to leave it short. This will allow you to avoid hosting bugs and other animals on your lawn.
Cutting grass to the correct height also prevents snow mold and other fungal diseases. Longer grass tends to mat under snow, trapping moisture against the crown of the plant. A final cut before winter helps the lawn withstand snow cover and bounce back faster in spring.
Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget Winter Maintenance
Seasonal maintenance is the next step after preparing your lawn for winter.
- Snow removal. Lightly clearing snow from walkways, driveways, and the areas where people regularly cross the yard prevents heavy, compacted drifts from smothering the grass underneath. It also helps you spot issues, like pooling water or ice, before they cause bigger problems.
- Limit salt and harsh de-icers. Avoiding rock salt or harsh de-icers along the edges of the lawn keeps chemicals from seeping into the soil and damaging the grass roots.
- Debris removal. Picking up fallen branches, trash, or heavy objects keeps them from crushing or shading the turf during long stretches of snow cover.
Small actions like this protect the soil and help grass emerge healthier when temperatures rise again.
Trust Colorado Professionals for Lawn Care in Winter
If you aren’t sure where to begin, contact our Lakewood lawn service. We can provide you with winter lawn care to ensure the health of your outdoor space through the cold months. Westside Grounds offers free quotes, clear communication, and ongoing maintenance so your grass stays in top shape. Our team understands Colorado soils, weather, and grass types, so you’ll get guidance tailored to your yard rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.
Knowing how and when to winterize your lawn is the simplest way to guarantee a healthier, greener yard in spring. With some planning and the right help, you can protect your investment and enjoy a lawn that thrives year after year.