Fall Clean-Up Checklist for Centennial Yards
Fall in Centennial moves fast. One week the cottonwoods and maples are full, and the next the whole yard is buried in leaves and pine needles. A good fall clean-up protects your lawn through the cold months and makes spring a lot easier. Here is the checklist I use on yards around Centennial, Aurora and the rest of the south metro.
1. Get the leaves off the lawn
Leaves left on the grass mat down, block sunlight and trap moisture. By spring that turns into dead, matted patches and mold. Rake or blow leaves off the turf every week or two while they are falling, and do a final pass once the trees are bare. If you only have a light layer, mowing over it with a mulching mower is fine. Anything thicker should be bagged and hauled.
2. Clean out the beds
Pull weeds before they drop seed, and clear leaves and needles out of rock and mulch beds. In rock beds especially, leaves break down into soil that weeds love. A leaf blower and a rake handle most of it, and a quick pass now saves a lot of hand weeding in May.
3. Cut back perennials and trim shrubs
Cut back spent perennials like daylilies, hostas and iris. Leave ornamental grasses and seed heads standing if you like the winter look and want to feed the birds, then cut them down in early spring. Lightly shape shrubs that are crowding walkways or the house, but save heavy pruning of spring bloomers like lilacs for after they flower.
4. Lower the mower a little for the last cuts
For the last two mows of the season, drop the deck to around 2.5 inches. A slightly shorter lawn going into the cold months is less likely to mat down and develop mold over the winter. Do not scalp it, though. Too short stresses the roots right before dormancy.
5. Aerate and overseed if you have thin spots
Early fall is the best time to aerate the heavy clay soil we have around here. Pulling cores loosens compacted ground so water and fertilizer actually reach the roots. If your lawn has thin or bare spots, overseeding right after aeration gives the seed great soil contact.
6. Give the lawn a fall feeding
A fall fertilizer application helps the grass store energy in its roots over the winter, so it greens up faster and thicker in spring. It is one of the most useful feedings of the whole year.
7. Clear the gutters
Once most of the leaves have dropped, get the gutters and roof valleys cleared. Packed gutters overflow, and in freeze and thaw cycles that water can back up under shingles or form ice along the edges. A gutter blowout after the trees are bare is usually all it takes.
8. Haul it all away
Fall clean-ups make a lot of debris. Bag it for yard waste pickup, take it to a green waste drop-off, or have it hauled in one trip so it is not sitting along the side of the house all winter.
Quick fall checklist
Leaves off the lawn every 1 to 2 weeks
Weeds and debris out of the beds
Perennials cut back, shrubs lightly shaped
Last two mows at about 2.5 inches
Aerate and overseed thin areas
Fall fertilizer application
Gutters and roof valleys cleared
All debris bagged or hauled
Want it done for you?
South Metro Yard Care handles complete fall clean-ups for homeowners in Centennial and Aurora. I do the work myself, bring all the equipment and take every bit of debris with me. Licensed and insured. Call or text (303) 214-8603 anytime, and I'll get back to you fast, or request a free quote.
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