Removing leaves from your lawn
can
help prevent future problems in your landscape.
Autumn in New England is beautiful. The colors on the trees are a highlight of the season, but the leaf drop that follows can be more than just a nuisance. Leaves left on the lawn over the winter can be detrimental to the health of your lawn, and may also cause potential damage to the trees and shrubs from which they fell.
Cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass are actively growing during this time of year, and a dense covering of leaves will shade this sun-loving grass and reduce its growth now, leaving it weaker for next spring.
Leaves, under the weight of snow, can smother a lawn and also create areas where disease organisms such as gray snow mold can shelter and grow, causing injury to the lawn. Oak leaves in particular may cause damage when left on a lawn due to their high levels of acidity which can reduce the pH of your lawn; furthermore, decreasing the levels of vital nutrients.
Those leaves can also be home to various diseases that afflict our trees; such as tar spot, apple scab, powdery mildew and various types of rusts. By not removing these leaves, you are providing a ready source of disease for the new leaves next spring. If you have trees that have these or other foliage diseases, you should practice good sanitation and remove them from your property. Most homeowner compost bins do not reach a high enough temperature to kill these organisms, so it is best to have them taken from your property if possible.