Prepare in the fall, and your landscaping will thrive in the spring.
Landscaping in the fall gives plants and trees plenty of time to establish strong roots, enabling them thrive come springtime.
The cooler temperatures in autumn make manual labor outside more manageable.
If you’re hiring a professional landscaper, you’ll often save if you get the work done in the fall due to lower demand.
Most homeowners want their yard to look good for spring and summer, but the best time of year to landscape is actually the fall. Not only will a little preparation give your plants, trees, and grass more time to flourish, but the cooler temperatures will also make it more comfortable to work in. Professional landscapers may also charge less in autumn due to the lower demand for routine services.
The best time to landscape is in the early fall, often in early to mid-October, when the temperatures cool but before they dip close to freezing. Whether you’re DIYing your landscaping or planning on hiring a professional, preparing your property in the fall will give you a head start in the spring, set your plants and trees up for success, and can even save you money on professional landscaping and hardscaping services.
There are four primary factors that affect the success of your landscaping efforts, all of which point to fall as the best time to do the bulk of your landscaping work.
Perhaps the most important factors for plant health are the temperature and sunlight availability. Whether you’re planting grass, shrubs, or trees, you want to ensure healthy, deep root growth for the best results. In most cases, extreme temperatures in the summer and winter months will put a lot of stress on your
plants and limit the establishment of a healthy root system. In the winter, frozen soil can also impede growth entirely.
That leaves you with the spring and fall, and getting everything in the ground in the fall will give your plants more time to establish themselves before the oppressive heat of the summer.
Of course, plants also need ample sunlight to flourish, but too much direct sun can overstress and even burn new plants and shrubs. Planting in the summer can overwhelm plants trying to establish themselves, and the winter may not provide enough sunlight for optimal growth.
The amount of rainfall in your area will also affect plant health—grass, shrubs, and trees need ample water, but too much can lead to root rot and soil compaction that stunts root growth. Spring often brings higher levels of rainfall that can damage new plants that are still trying to establish root systems. The higher temperatures and abundant sunlight in the summer can dry out soil, which means you need to water plants more often to maintain their moisture.
If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, landscaping in the winter can mean that a thick blanket of snow limits sunlight and keeps the soil too cold for some plants to thrive. In terms of precipitation, fall presents a happy medium.
Some pests that put added stress on new plants are most active in the spring, including aphids, spider mites, and caterpillars. Planting in the fall avoids some of these pests and gives your landscaping a head start to get well established before the pests come.
Weeds also thrive in the spring and summer, so you’ll need to weed less often if you start in the fall.
Manual labor in the heat of the summer or freezing temperatures in the winter can be exhausting and uncomfortable. The more moderate temperatures in the spring and fall will keep you or your professional landscaper more comfortable.
Finally, the cost of landscaping will often be lower in the fall than in the spring, when most homeowners are hiring professionals and buying landscaping supplies. Many landscaping supply stores will offer deals in the fall to empty their inventories in preparation for the spring. You’ll often find that landscaping and hardscaping materials are discounted in the fall.
Spring is usually the busiest season for landscaping professionals, with spring cleanups and routine maintenance beginning. The higher demand could mean you need a bigger budget for your landscaping.
Summer is the worst time to do landscaping due to the oppressive heat and unrelenting sunlight. They can put a lot of stress on new plants, trees, and cool-season grass, setting them up for failure. You’ll also be less comfortable working outside in the heat, and you’ll have more hands-on work to maintain your soil’s moisture with the heat and sun.
A common exception to this is warm-season grass, which thrives in warmer weather. Plan to lay down warm-season grass seed in the late spring or early summer for the best results.
Most homeowners spend around $3,500 to redo landscaping, including mulching flower beds, planting trees and shrubs, and preparing their lawns for another successful year. Prices can range from $200 to $14,000 or more, depending on the work you need done and whether you hire a professional landscaper or do everything yourself. Adding in hardscaping costs an additional $9,000, on average, or anywhere between $300 and $30,000, depending on the scope.
While hardscaping is often best left to professionals, you can absolutely tackle your own landscaping projects to save money on labor. You might be signing up for a lot of time and manual labor, depending on what projects you’re planning, but you could save an average of around $2,500 if you redo your landscaping yourself.
With that said, it’s often a good idea to hire a landscaper near you for the best results and the most professional appearance. A pro can help you plan your landscaping design and get plants and shrubs that will thrive in your climate and soil conditions.
You should avoid planting grass, shrubs, plants, and trees in freezing temperatures, as the ground can get frozen and become too hard for proper root growth. It’s best to plant in the fall to allow your plants to establish root systems before the first frost. Landscaping when the average temperature in your area is between 50 and 60 degrees will usually deliver the best results.
The process to winterize your landscaping depends on the plants you have, but generally speaking, you should rake your lawn to avoid leaves from smothering your grass and leading to mold and fungi growth, wrap young trees to protect from fluctuating temperatures, and fertilize your lawn to provide some nutrients for the grass through the colder temperatures. You can also consider marking off small trees and shrubs to avoid accidentally damaging them with snow removal tools.
Yes, you can landscape in the rain, but you should take some precautions to keep yourself and your tools safe. Avoid using electric landscaping tools during rainfall, and don’t mow, thatch, aerate, or rake in the rain, as your tools can more easily tear out roots in the loose soil. Be careful when working on wet grass, and take your time to avoid slipping. Avoid putting in new plants before a particularly bad storm, as heavy rain and strong winds can damage or uproot plants that aren’t yet established.
