6 Landscaping Tips to Prepare Your Commercial Property for Winter

Ontario winters are tough on commercial properties. If you want your trees, water features, and lawn to still look great in the spring, you need to take steps to prepare before winter arrives in full force.

Fortunately, Peel Exterior Maintenance can help. Contact us today to learn about our commercial landscaping and winter maintenance services. You can also follow the six tips listed in this blog.

1. Aerate the lawns

Aerating your property’s lawns prepares the grass for winter, helping to ensure that it survives the coldest months and comes back thriving in spring. A beautiful, lush, and vibrantly green lawn in the spring begins with proper preparation in autumn. 

Dead grass, roots, moss, and other organic material build up on your commercial landscape during the fall. This layer is called thatch, and it can suffocate your lawn if you’re not careful.

Water, oxygen, and nutrients cannot penetrate the thick thatch. Slowly, the grass below begins to die. When spring rolls around, you’re left with a mess and a lot of ugly, dead grass.

The aeration process includes churning the soil, breaking up thatch (and integrating it into the landscape), and planting grass seeds. As a result, vital nutrients, fertilizer, oxygen, and water can reach the grass more easily. It keeps your grass healthy throughout the winter months and ensures a fantastic lawn come spring.

Peel Exterior Maintenance offers lawn and turf care as part of our commercial landscaping services. Our experienced team takes care of dethatching, aeration, fertilization, and seeding. 

2. Remove dead leaves

If your commercial property has trees, it’s important to remove all those dead leaves quickly. Otherwise, your lawn is in for a rough autumn and an even tougher winter. Autumn’s fallen leaves block sunlight, causing the grass to thin and stalling fresh growth. Eventually, all those leaves decompose and become part of the thatch layer that prevents nutrients and oxygen from nourishing the lawn. 

Removing dead leaves in autumn is a crucial part of good lawn care, and it’s an important step in getting your commercial property ready for winter.

3. Trim and wrap trees

As temperatures drop, trees enter a period of dormancy lasting through winter. When their leaves turn colour and begin to fall, that’s a sign that the trees are getting ready for a long winter’s nap. Typically, the dormant months run from November to March (depending on the weather). This is the ideal time to trim your trees.

Winter trimming doesn’t stress the trees. Since they’re in a dormant state, they do not deplete any energy trying to regrow. Once spring returns, however, the trees recover quickly with new growth to look better than ever before.

Furthermore, trees are able to heal from pruning cuts faster before the warmer weather hits. Warm weather brings destructive insects and pathogens, which can damage your trees and cause disease to run rampant. 

Conversely, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and insects are either dead or dormant during winter. This makes it safer to trim your trees in winter rather than summer. Plus, it’s easier to evaluate the tree structure in winter. Since there are no leaves, you can identify dead, dangerous, or unsightly branches without any obstructions.

4. Prepare water sources 

You must properly prepare water sources for winter before things start to freeze. Otherwise, you may have to pay for some expensive repairs come spring.

Subzero temperatures cause the water in pipes, sprinkler systems, and hoses to freeze. Water expands as it freezes, which can cause the pipe or hose to rupture. You will have to replace the burst pipes and potentially deal with a flood on your commercial property.

Winterizing all water sources is critically important. Make sure all hoses, pipes, sprinkler systems, and fountains are properly drained to prevent damage when temperatures drop.

You should also clean gutters, so there isn’t a risk of standing water freezing and bursting the drainage system. With these simple steps, you can avoid costly repairs in the springtime.

5. Sharpen landscape edges

Once the snow begins to pile up on your property, you will rely on snow plow operators (like those from Peel Exterior Maintenance) to keep your commercial property clear and safe. You can make the lives of snow plow operators a bit easier by ensuring that all landscape edges are well-marked with sharp edges.

Sharpen the edges along paths, sidewalks, roads, lots, and driveways before the snow starts falling. This will help snow removal personnel clearly see their area of operation and prevent damage to your landscape during the snow-clearing process.

Snow removal is frequently performed during extreme conditions, like at night or during storms. Visibility is low and the site lines are likely already completely blurred by snow. Therefore, it’s a good idea to exaggerate the edges.

6. Plan for snow removal and ice management

There will be no shortage of snow in Ontario. Consequently, you need to have a robust plan for snow removal and ice management. Peel Exterior Maintenance is ready to help. We offer commercial snow removal and ice management services to businesses throughout the GTA.

Our approach to winter maintenance is collaborative. We work with you to develop an effective plan for prompt, safe, and effective snow removal and de-icing. Every member of our crew is trained, dedicated, and highly reliable. Furthermore, our services use a live dispatcher with around-the-clock monitoring, even during storms. 

We suggest designating a few areas on your property for snow collection. These snow stockpile areas should not hinder the movement of plows and other snow-removal equipment. Choose areas that can handle the heavy weight of a snow pile, such as hardy grass or mulch. Delicate plants will get crushed.

Invest in Commercial Snow Removal, Ice Management Services, and Small Engine Repair From Peel Exterior Maintenance

Peel Exterior Maintenance has served the GTA for over 30 years. We are a landscape supplies, construction, and seasonal maintenance company specialized in commercial properties. In addition, we provide small engine repair and small machine repair to help DIY homeowners care for their own homes.

We are proud to be a leading commercial snow removal and ice management provider in Ontario. Our collaborative approach ensures you get the service you need to keep your property operational and safe throughout winter.

To learn more about commercial snow removal in the GTA or our small engine repair services, call Peel Exterior Maintenance at 1-905-873-8988 or contact us here.