It’s fall, and you’ve cleared your landscaping to-do list: perennials have been cut back, annual containers are empty, and leaf clean-up is complete. You and your landscaping are ready to settle in for a long winter’s nap.

Not so fast! Did you know that your hardscapes, namely your paver patio, should be winterized, too? You’ve likely made a significant investment in your paver patio, and protecting that investment during winter takes just a few simple steps.

Remove Heavy Items: While it may not be practical to relocate all of your patio furniture, storing other heavy items, such as ceramic pots, can protect your patio from the shifting caused by winter’s ongoing freeze/thaw/refreeze cycle.

Patio angle.

Fill Paver Joints: If your paver patio isn’t brand new, you may notice a bit of settling. Now is a great time to add more polymeric sand. When the surface is dry, dump a small pile of this sand and sweep it around to fill in cracks. This will help to reduce weed growth in the cracks of your patio and keep ice from forming in between pavers below the surface.

Empty patio.

Carefully Remove Snow: While you don’t have to worry about this just yet, keep it in mind for the inevitable first snow. We recommend using plastic shovels without metal blades, and do not use snow blowers or ice choppers. If you need to melt the snow on pavers, use a product with the active ingredient of calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), as traditional salt will corrode pavers.

Reduce the Odds of Ice Damage: If your downspouts are causing water to flow onto your paver surfaces, try to re-direct them. Keeping ice from forming on your paver patio will not only keep your home’s exterior safer, it will also preserve the life of your pavers.

Unfurnished patio.

Trim Shrubs: If you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, you’ve already done this! This is your final reminder to get it done before we enter a long stretch of 30 and 40 degree days. Overgrown shrubs can impede your patios’ usable space and can cause moss to grow, which means more clean-up in the spring. Do yourself a favor and take care of the trimming now.

Want to talk paver patios with our team of landscape design experts? We’re taking appointments throughout the fall and winter. Schedule online now, fill out our contact form, or call us at (402) 677-7652.

Clear Creek Landscaping is an Omaha landscaping company comprised of experienced landscape design professionals. Whether you’re looking for backyard design in Omaha, an Omaha patio builder, an Omaha paver patio designer, or custom landscape design in Omaha, the team at Clear Creek Landscaping has the experience and knowledge to handle it all.