Heavy rain is a double-edged sword for your yard. It brings needed moisture and can help plants thrive, but the downpour can also do physical damage. How can you and your landscapers help your yard recover faster and healthier after extreme rain? Here are a few things to consider.
1. Stay Off the Grass. Waterlogged soil becomes fragile. It's easily compacted and forms harmful troughs and ridges when any pressure is applied. So try to keep everyone and everything off wet landscape as much as is feasible. If you need to fix yard damage or work in very wet areas, spread out the weight with plywood or other methods.
2. Aerate Lawns. All that rain, pooling water, and runoff compacts the soil around grass roots. Aeration after extreme weather helps reintroduce oxygen and other needed gasses as well as boosting circulation and giving roots more space to re-expand.
3. Clean Up Debris. Did the rains bring down any branches or cause trees to lose more (or all) of their leaves? Did it move yard waste around the landscape? Have mulch or other loose objects been pushed up around tree trunks or bushes? Ask your landscape service to clear the debris from the yard so that it doesn't further weigh on or warp recovering greenery.
4. Don't Mow Early. In general, you shouldn't be too quick to mow wet grass. Mowing involves trampling the recovering lawn, so it should be put off until it's dry. Wet grass blades don't cut cleanly, and mowing could further damage beaten-down grass. Consult with your landscapers about how long to wait before resuming a mowing schedule.
5. Observe Drainage. This is a good time to examine your yard for drainage issues, especially by a professional with a trained eye. Water that remains long after the general rain puddles have soaked into the ground is a potential source of rot, mildew, and pest infestations. Rearrange soil and take other short-term measures to boost drainage. And think about what you can change to help reduce problems in future downpours.
Where to Start
Want more tips for helping your yard to recover from a torrential rainstorm? Start by meeting with an experienced local landscape service. They will work with you to identify the best ways to clean up, promote a speedy recovery, and weatherproof your yard for the next storm.
For more information, contact a landscaping contractor near you.
Share4 April 2023
When my husband and I bought our house years ago, we thought it would be our "starter" home and we would move in a few years. We soon had two children, and we then decided against moving since we live in a great school district and we love our neighbors. However, I was growing very tired of the appearance of our home. We painted it a different color, and it still seemed like the "same old house" that we were tired of. We finally deciding that maybe good landscaping would "do the trick" and make our home more enjoyable to use again. We were right, and I now love our home! I now love spending time in our yard and just enjoying the scenery. I have such a passion for landscaping now I decided to create a blog about it. I plan to share many landscaping tips, so come back!
