Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist for Oregon

Fall is the most important cleanup of the year in the Willamette Valley. What you do in October and November decides whether your lawn comes back green in March or comes back thin, mossy and patchy. The rain is the reason. Once it settles in, anything left on the ground stays wet for four months.

This checklist covers everything a proper fall cleanup should include for yards in Canby, Portland, Salem and along the I-5 corridor, in the order it makes sense to do it. You can do all of it yourself. If you'd rather not, it's exactly what a seasonal cleanup visit covers.

The short version

1. Get the leaves off the lawn before the rain flattens them.
2. Keep mowing at normal height until the grass stops growing.
3. Feed the lawn once in fall.
4. Clear every drain, gutter and catch basin before the first big storm.
5. Cut back the right plants, and leave the spring bloomers alone.
6. Top up bark dust on bare beds.
7. Walk the hardscape and fix small problems before winter makes them big.

1. Leaves: early and often

A thin layer of leaves on the lawn is fine. A thick wet mat is not. Once leaves get rained on and pressed flat, they block light, hold moisture against the grass and give moss and mold the conditions they love. Patches that sit under a leaf pile all winter are usually the bare spots you see in spring.

• Clear the lawn every week or two while the trees are dropping, not once at the end. Dry leaves blow and rake in a fraction of the time wet ones do.
• Mulch light layers with the mower. If you can still see grass through the leaves, mowing over them chops them into small pieces that break down into the lawn.
• Don't forget the beds and corners. Leaves blow against fences and into planting beds, then rot there. Clear them out of drains and gravel too.
• Artificial turf needs the same treatment: blow leaves off before they decompose into the infill. See our turf care guide.

2. Mowing: don't stop too early

Grass in western Oregon keeps growing well into fall, slower but steadily. Keep mowing on your normal schedule until it stops.

• Keep your usual height.Don't scalp the lawn short for winter. Longer grass handles the cold and shades out moss better.
• Mow when it's dry. Wet grass clumps, tears instead of cuts, and ruts soft ground. Pick the dry afternoons.
• Sharpen the bladebefore you put the mower away, so it's ready for spring.

3. Feed the lawn once in fall

For the cool-season grasses that make up most lawns in the Portland metro and the valley, fall is one of the best times of year to fertilize. The grass uses it to build roots over winter instead of pushing top growth. Use a fall lawn fertilizer and follow the rate on the bag. More is not better, and anything you over-apply washes out in the rain.

Fall is also a good time for dethatching and aeration while the grass is still actively growing, ideally in early fall. If your lawn feels spongy underfoot or water sits on it after rain, it probably needs one or both.

4. Drains, gutters and low spots

This is the step people skip and regret. The first heavy storm of the season finds every clogged drain on your property.

• Clean the gutters and downspouts, and check the downspouts discharge away from the house, not against the foundation.
• Clear grates, channel drains and catch basins of leaves and silt. A blocked grate turns into a puddle at the worst possible spot.
• Check French drain and dry creek outlets are open and flowing.
• Watch the yard during the first big rain.Wherever water pools or runs toward the house is where you have a drainage problem. Take a photo. It's the most useful thing you can show a contractor.

Our drainage maintenance guide covers each type of system in more detail.

5. Cut back the right plants

• Cut back perennials that have died down and gone mushy, like hostas and daylilies. Soggy foliage left over winter harbors slugs and rot.
• Ornamental grasses and seed heads can stay until late winter if you like how they look. They give birds food and cover, and protect the crown of the plant.
• Don't prune spring bloomers now.Rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, lilacs and forsythia have already set next spring's flower buds. Prune them in fall and you cut off the flowers. Wait until right after they bloom.
• Remove dead, broken or diseased branchesfrom any shrub or tree. That's fine at any time of year, and better done before winter wind and snow load.

6. Beds and bark dust

Weed the beds one last time, then put down a fresh layer of bark dust where the old layer has thinned and soil is showing. A couple of inches is plenty. It insulates roots, holds back winter weeds and stops rain splashing soil onto paths and siding. Keep it pulled back a few inches from tree trunks and from the house.

7. Walk the hardscape

Winter rain and the odd freeze find every weak spot in patios, walls and fences. A ten-minute walk now saves a repair later.

• Pavers: sweep leaves off before they stain, and look for sunken pavers or washed-out joints. Moss in the joints is normal in the Pacific Northwest. Our paver patio care guide covers how to deal with it.
• Retaining walls: look for leaning, bulging, new cracks or water coming through the face. Those usually point to a drainage problem behind the wall, and they get worse through a wet winter.
• Fences: push on each post. A wobbly post in October is often a fallen section after the first windstorm.

Things to avoid in fall

• Leaving leaves piled on the lawn “until they're all down.”
• Scalping the lawn short for winter.
• Mowing or driving equipment across a saturated lawn.
• Pruning rhododendrons, azaleas and other spring bloomers.
• Piling bark dust against trunks or the side of the house.
• Assuming drains are clear because they were in spring.

When to call us

• You'd rather have one crew do the whole list in a day
• Water pools in the yard or runs toward the house in heavy rain
• A retaining wall is leaning, bulging or leaking
• The lawn is more moss than grass
• You want a maintenance plan so fall and spring cleanups just happen

Site visits are free and we cover Canby, Portland, Salem and the cities in between. Call 503-984-1670 or use the contact form.

Frequently asked questions

When should fall cleanup happen in Oregon?

Start in October, once the leaves begin to drop, and plan a final pass in November after most trees are bare. Two visits work better than one big one at the end.

Is it bad to leave leaves on the lawn over winter?

A light layer you can mow into the grass is fine. A thick layer that gets rained on and matted down will weaken the grass underneath and invite moss. In our climate, clear them.

Should I fertilize my lawn in the fall?

Yes. Fall is one of the best times to feed cool-season lawns in western Oregon. Use a fall formula at the rate on the bag.

Why is my lawn full of moss?

Moss is a symptom, usually of shade, poor drainage, compacted soil or thin grass. Killing the moss without fixing the cause means it comes back. Aeration, better drainage and thicker grass are the long-term fix.