As the autumn leaves begin to fall and summer flowers fade, it is important to clear them out of your rental property’s garden and yard before winter drives away the warm summer days. While it may be tempting to leave the leaves on the ground, that really isn’t a good idea. So that the lawn and garden of your rental home stay healthy and also to encourage strong roots that will aid your plants in withstanding winter temperatures, your best bet is to remove old growth and fallen leaves each fall.
Clearing dead leaves, flowers, and old-growth from the yard of your La Crescenta rental property is more than just a show of neatness. Cleaning up a home’s exterior affects more than just its mere appearance. There are property owners that think it’s a good idea to imitate nature by leaving fallen leaves and old-growth on lawns and in gardens to decompose over the winter. They wrongly assume that because it’s natural, therefore it’s good. The trouble with this approach is that layers of dead leaves and other debris can smother lawns and other plants, preventing air, light, and essential nutrients from penetrating the ground below. Healthy landscape plants and grass rely on a healthy root system, which in turn relies on abundant access to water, air, and light.
Having a healthy garden or yard is already a very compelling reason to clear your rental property’s fallen leaves and dead garden plants, but there are still additional reasons to do so. One of them is that uncleared leaves and dead flowers can result in common plant diseases that can ruin an otherwise healthy yard. As the debris piles up, it covers the grass and other plants, trapping moisture underneath. This can result in damaging mold growths and other issues. After a while, these diseases will kill your existing plants. There is yet another problem that usually comes with uncleared dead leaves. That is the increase in insects and other pests. Many kinds of roaches, spiders, and small mammals flourish in layers of rotting foliage. As the population of these pests explodes outdoors, they would start to infest an increasingly greater area and would likely reach the inside of your rental home. You’re exposing your rental home to great risk. This is the reason why dead flowers, plants, and fallen leaves, have to be removed from the yard before winter arrives.
Some property owners feel that this responsibility falls on the tenant but that may not be a good idea. Owners should not rely on their tenants for autumn landscaping clean-up. Tenants may not fully comprehend how important it is to remove dead leaves and flowers. It’s also possible that they just don’t know how to do it properly. Tenants may also be exposed to danger. If you have tall trees in your property and they shed leaves onto the roof or other elevated surfaces, it would be a very bad idea to ask your tenant to get on a ladder to trim tree branches or clear the fallen leaves away.
You don’t have to pick up after every leaf that falls. That would be too much. But large leaf falls are another story. These must be addressed in a timely manner to prevent damage to your rental property’s landscaping, foundation, and even the roof and gutters. There is more than one way to get the job done efficiently. What some do is rake fallen leaves onto the lawn and then use a mulching mower to shred them into fine particles, which will sift down into the soil and fertilize the grass. There are some property owners that like to do it this way. Others would source it out and hire a professional company to step in and do an annual clean-up. This method could actually be more efficient and economical.
Whichever way you want to do it would most likely be fine. What’s important is that you take care of your rental property’s yard without putting your tenant at risk. If you’re not too busy and have the time, you can be the one to do the job. But, for real estate investors, time is valuable. That is why Real Property Management East San Gabriel Valley takes care of important seasonal maintenance tasks for property owners that value their time. Our top-notch property management services will make sure that your La Crescenta rental property is cared for properly and will be ready for whatever the winter season brings. Contact us online or call at 626-600-2884 to get started.
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