Your Checklist of Essential Lawn Maintenance Tasks for a Beautiful Commercial Landscape

Lawn Maintenance Tasks: Keeping Your Green Space Pristine

A well-maintained lawn sets the foundation for an attractive commercial property. It’s one of the first things people notice, and when it’s cared for properly, it enhances curb appeal and makes a great first impression. But keeping your turf looking its best requires more than just an occasional mow.

Lawn Mowing, Trimming, and Edging

Regular mowing is essential for maintaining a polished, professional landscape. Letting the grass grow too long before cutting can cause stress on the lawn, while mowing too short, especially in the fall, can leave it vulnerable to damage. Ideally, commercial lawns should be mowed on a consistent schedule, with care taken not to remove more than one-third of the grass height at a time.

For businesses looking for a low-maintenance, eco-friendly option, robotic mowers are a great investment. These mowers keep grass at an optimal height with frequent, gentle trims, reducing the stress on the lawn while ensuring a consistently neat appearance.

Along with mowing, trimming grass around buildings, sidewalks, and other hard surfaces keeps your property looking neat. Edging every other week ensures a crisp, defined look along walkways and driveways, preventing grass from creeping in where it shouldn’t. Be sure to blow any grass clippings off sidewalks or out of landscape beds to keep things looking tidy.

Of course, irrigation plays a critical role in keeping your grass healthy. Even with the best mowing practices, a lawn without proper watering will struggle in dry periods. Ensuring your irrigation system is functioning correctly and providing adequate water throughout the growing season is key to maintaining a lush, green landscape.

Delaying lawn care can quickly make a property look neglected, sending the wrong message to customers and visitors. By staying on top of mowing, trimming, and edging, you show that your business values attention to detail, starting from the outside in.

Must-Do Mowing Related Task Checklist

• Mow weekly throughout the growing season
• Edge bi-weekly throughout the growing season
• Trim and blow grass clippings weekly
• Program your irrigation system to water grass as needed according to the weather

Lawn Fertilization

Think of fertilization like it’s your lawn’s favorite meal–full of the nutrients it needs to grow thick, green, and healthy. If you’re managing a commercial property, you don’t just want your lawn to survive–you want it to thrive. That vibrant green color? That’s not just good luck. It’s usually the result of a solid fertilization plan working behind the scenes.

When a lawn isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, especially nitrogen, you’ll notice it. The grass can start to look thin, patchy, or pale, and that’s not exactly sending “ we take pride in our property” vibes to your customers and tenants.

A professional fertilization schedule ensures your turf gets what it needs, when it needs it. In Northern Michigan, that typically means multiple applications throughout the growing season to keep things green and growing strong.

Beyond aesthetics, proper fertilization also improves the lawn’s health and resilience. That means better drought tolerance, improved root growth, and an increased ability to fight off diseases and weeds.

If you’re working with a landscape maintenance company, they’ll take care of the timing and application for you. If you’re keeping things in-house, make sure your team knows when and how much to apply–and isn’t just throwing down fertilizer without a plan.

Must-Do Fertilization Task Checklist

• Apply fertilizer at the key time during the growing season (especially fall)
• Choose the right blend for your turf and soil conditions
• Monitor signs of nutrient deficiency
• Avoid over-fertilizing
• Combine with a smart watering schedule to help nutrients absorb effectively. Check out this watering guide-as water is key to healthy lawns.

Weed Control & Lawn Pest/Disease Treatments

Weeds have a way of showing up uninvited, and left unchecked, weeds can take over fast, choking out the healthy turf you’ve invested money into.

The best way to fight back? A combination of pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control. Pre-emergents stop weeds before they even sprout, while post-emergents tackle the ones that manage to sneak through. A proactive approach keeps your commercial lawn looking clean and professional.

Unfortunately, in Northern Michigan, weeds aren’t your only enemy. Lawn diseases and pests love to take advantage of stressed or underfed turf. From grubs eating away at the roots to dollar spot fungus creating ugly dead patches, these issues can quickly make a once-beautiful lawn look like it’s seen better days.

Identifying and treating these problems early is key. A good lawn care provider will know the difference between disease damage, insect activity, and other common turf issues–and will treat them quickly with the right products. If you’re managing things in-house, make sure your crew knows what to look for and has a plan for safe, effective treatment.

Must-Do Weed, Pest, & Disease Control Task Checklist

• Apply pre-emergent weed control in early spring
• Spot-treat visible weeds with post-emergent herbicides as needed
• Keep an eye out for signs of lawn disease and treat as needed
• Watch for lawn pests and treat as needed

Aeration and Overseeding

If your commercial lawn is looking a little tired and worn out by the end of the season, fall is the perfect time to give it a refresh. That’s where aeration and overseeding come in–a dynamic duo that helps your lawn bounce back stronger and thicker for next year.

Aeration is basically giving your lawn a deep breath. It involves pulling out small plugs of soil to relieve compaction and allow water, oxygen, and nutrients to get down to the roots where they’re needed most. In high-traffic commercial areas where the turf gets trampled regularly, this is especially important.

Right after aeration is the ideal time to overseed. The holes left behind create the perfect seedbed for new grass to take root, helping to fill in bare spots and thicken up your turf.

And yes, fall is the best time to do both. The cooler temps and consistent moisture help new grass seed establish without the stress of summer heat.

Must-Do Aeration and Overseeding Task Checklist

• Schedule aeration in early fall
• Overseed immediately after aeration for best results

Partnering with a Commercial Lawn Maintenance Partner in Traverse City, MI

Lawn maintenance is just the beginning. If you’re managing a commercial property, you know there’s so much more to consider–like seasonal cleanups, plant health care, flower rotations, property enhancements, and snow management that keep your landscape looking fresh and vibrant year-round.

A beautiful, functional landscape isn’t created with just a mower and a watering schedule. It takes experienced professionals who understand how to care for trees, shrubs, and perennials, who can spot problems before they become costly issues, and who know how to fertilize at the right rate and identify lawn diseases before they take over.

And frankly, it’s too much for a busy property manager to juggle alone, or to piecemeal out to multiple vendors. What you really need is a one-stop shop that can handle everything your landscape needs.

At TruNorth Landscaping, we offer full-service commercial landscape maintenance with skilled and licensed crews. We also offer all the other services you need, from snow management to landscape enhancements.

Ready for a commercial landscaping partner that can deliver? Get started by filling out our contact form today.