Fall (Sept.) is the time to over seed burned out lawns and plant shrubbery. You have 'til Oct. 12th. in CT. this year for overseeding lawns.If your like most of us in the CT. Valley, your lawn may look like mini dried up hay fields due to the lack of rain and hot weather months of this past summer. Don't worry though; most lawns will begin to reassert themselves and start growing again in the cooler temperatures of fall. If you wish to, now (Sept.) is a great time to over seed your yard. You may want to repair the burned out areas or just fill in a sparse lawns with more seed; which will give it a better weed protection. The thicker the lawn, the less chance weeds have of finding a soft bare area to germinate into. The seed will have plenty of time to germinate before the winter snows, and you can apply a time release Starter fertilizer or a Winter fertilizer to it this fall after you see some germination happening. Next spring, jump right into a Fertilizer with weed preventer; since your lawn has already begun germination, the weed preventer will not harm your new seed and will stop weed seeds from germinating into your lawn.
If you had a summer that was harder then most, you may have noticed some of your shrubbery burned out as well as your lawn. This year was a bad one for shrubs that may have been under stress for any number of reasons. Besides the lack of rain and extreme temperatures; shrubs can be stressed due to the fact of being newly planted; insect damage; or decease. Most times these go unnoticed 'til it's too late or severely damaged. Check the plant by snapping a Woodie twig off the plant and look for any signs of green still in the plant. You can save a plant by cutting it back some if it still has life in it; or you may just decide that it is better replaced then cut down smaller then the rest of your landscaping. Either way, now is the time to do this before you have to start raking leaves and pruning back perennials. It's coming faster then you think, so start now with the repairs if needed and get a jump on a healthier looking lawn in the spring.
