If you have cool season grasses like bluegrass, fescues or rye grasses, fall is a great time to prepare your lawn so that it is lush in the spring. University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Rhonda Ferree says the key is to do the necessary work early in the fall while the grass is still active and growing for turf to recover before the onset of winter.

• Check soil Ph: If a soil test shows excess acidity, apply lime. If your lawn’s alkalinity, needs to be reduced, apply sulphur.
• Rake leaves: Letting the leaves remain can smother the grass, preventing it from breathing properly. Raking also helps loosen the soil and dethatch the lawn.
• Aerate: As simple as walking through the lawn with spiked shoes, this is the process of poking holes in the soil, which allows air, water and nutrients to channel into compacted soil. For lawns that require more, you may need to provide core aeration with a machine that removes plugs of soil.
• Fertilize: For those who fertilize only once a year, fall is the time to do it, Ferree said. Apply 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. However, if you have warm-weather grasses, use fertilizer in the summer.
• Weed control: If you hope to keep the dandelions from pocking your green grass with their yellow blooms in the spring, now is the time to apply the herbicides. This also is a good time to tackle buckhorn, broadleaf plantains, and ground ivy, each of which is preparing to go into dormancy for the winter.

Fall is a time to renew a lawn by seed or sod if normal maintenance is not enough. Weeds tend to go dormant at this time, therefore leaving less competition. Hiring a lawn professional also is an option. Be sure to get three estimates; check references, insurance and bonding, and licensure when hiring a highly rated tree service.