Should You Leave the Leaves Alone?

It looks like summer finally gave way to fall and the leaves are really dropping.  Leaves end up everywhere including the roof, gutters, walks, flower beds, and the lawn.  In some cases they can get pretty thick depending on the surrounding trees.

The question is what is the proper thing to do with all those leaves?  Are they beneficial or harmful? It depends. The leaves are a good source of carbon and can help enrich soils as they break down and feed all the little soil microbes.   When the accumulated leaves reach a point where the lawn or flowers are completely buried, or worse yet, wet and matted, then you risk thinning and damaging the plants below.  Extended periods of low or no light will result in yellow, thin, and elongated leaves.  You see, they need light to carry out photosynthesis and make green chlorophyll.

How should you manage the leaves then?  I would suggest that leaves be allowed to accumulate and decay in flower beds if you are okay with the look.  It can help build healthier soils, reduce weeds, and retain soil moisture.  Green plant material should not remain covered for more than a week and perhaps shorter in the case of wet, matted, leaves.  For cool-season lawns that do not go dormant, I would recommend mulching the leaves into the lawn with a mulching mower when the lawn and leaves are dry enough to do so.  If the leaves are too thick, they may need to be raked off.  Another solution during leaf fall is to mow more frequently to allow the mulching mower to effectively mow the grass and leaves without leaving piles of debris.  If clippings pile up during the mowing process the accumulated clippings could be mowed again, raked, or blown, to distribute the piles and keep the turf healthy.  Dormant lawns should have the leaves mulched in or raked off during the winter prior to spring green up.

While leaves can be good for soils, they must be managed.  Do not let them form a dense mat on desirable plant material like flowers or lawns as they can cause thinning, yellow leaves in lawns and flowers.  Removal or mulching are your best two options and must be done regularly during heavy periods of leaf drop.