Yard cleanup after the snow melts

This guide is part of our Montana Winter Property Guide and covers the first pass after melt. For the full spring list, see our spring yard cleanup checklist for the Bitterroot and spring lawn and landscape startup. The advice draws on Montana State University Extension, Missoula County and named extension programs elsewhere.

When can you start cleaning up after the snow melts?

Start looking right away, and start working when the ground will hold you. North Dakota State University Extension advises delaying raking if a lawn is still muddy, and that is the right instinct for most yard work. If your boots sink or leave a track full of water, walk on hard surfaces and make notes instead of wheeling a heavy cart across the lawn.

There is no calendar date for this. Melt timing here depends on the winter, elevation and which way the slope faces, so the south side of a house may be ready weeks before a shaded north-facing corner. Clean up in stages rather than treating it as one weekend.

What should you check first?

Hazards. Look up before you look down. Broken limbs hung up in a crown, split trunks and leaning trees are the first priority, particularly over a driveway, walkway or play area. Our guide to signs a tree is about to fail lists what to look for. If anything is touching or near a power line, stay away and call 911 and your utility, as our emergency tree and storm response page explains.

Then look at the walking surfaces and structures. Melt-and-refreeze keeps building ice long after the snow looks gone: see black ice on driveways and walks. Check for heaved steps and trip edges too, and look at snow damage to fences, walls and patios for what else to walk.

Where is the water going?

Watch it while it is running, because this is the one time a year the yard shows you. Look for water moving toward the foundation, pooling on walks or sitting on the lawn for days. Missoula County's Office of Emergency Management lists grading your yard for proper drainage as a step to reduce flood damage, and our guides to grading a yard away from the foundation, downspout extensions and standing water in the lawn help you act on what you see. Take photos, since the evidence will be gone by May.

Keep an eye on the river if you live near one. Missoula County says flooding typically happens every few years in mid- to late spring, and that there is typically a 30-day waiting period on flood insurance after you apply and pay the premium, with some exceptions. Ask your agent now rather than when the water is rising. The county also warns that vehicles can be swept away in 12 inches of water and adults can be swept off their feet in 6 inches.

What about branches and storm damage?

Pick up what has fallen and deal with what is still attached. MSU Extension forestry specialist Peter Kolb notes that cottonwoods, poplars, willows, green ash and Chinese or Siberian elms are particularly susceptible to snow and wind breakage because of soft and brittle wood, though no species is risk free at high enough loads. He says that this damage rarely heals well by itself, which makes prompt pruning important if the tree is to be saved.

Kolb says a jagged break heals slowly, while a smooth cut lets new bark cover the wound much faster. He warns against leaving a stub long enough to hang a coat on, since it dies back and lets in decay. On anything you cannot reach from the ground safely, hire it out. Our tree services cover storm-damaged limbs, and dormant pruning is still possible until buds begin to swell. If you are unsure whether a damaged tree can stay, our ISA Certified Arborist, Justin Johnson (RM-8889A), offers tree health and risk assessments.

What does a lawn usually look like after the snow?

Rough, and mostly recoverable. Three things appear most often. Matted patches are often gray snow mold, which MSU says shows up just after melt as a white, webby mass in patches a few inches to a few feet across, disappears as temperatures warm and recovers faster with raking. Winding bare trails are usually voles, which University of Minnesota Extension says rarely cause permanent damage. Scraped strips along the driveway are usually plow scars.

Our guides to what happens to a lawn under snow and vole trails and winter lawn damage help with diagnosis. Rake lightly once the lawn is firm enough, and wait to see what greens up before reseeding anything. NDSU says snow mold rarely kills turfgrass crowns, so most of it will come back on its own.

How do you clean up plow damage and gravel on the lawn?

Wait until the turf edge is firm, then rake or shovel the gravel back onto the drive before you mow. Gravel left in the grass damages mower blades and smothers turf. Lift torn sod back into place if it is still alive, and top up scraped spots with soil and seed when the grass is growing. If it happens every year in the same place, the answer is usually better marking or a different plan for the snow, as our snow plow damage prevention guide explains.

Our guide to plowing a gravel driveway explains how that gravel ended up there, and gravel driveway maintenance covers reshaping the surface. Reshaping is best left until the drive has firmed up.

How do you deal with de-icing salt in spring?

Keep it from sitting around plants. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension says salt applications in late winter or early spring cause the most damage, because roots are actively taking up water as plants break dormancy. So use the last applications of the season carefully. Wisconsin says diagnosing salt injury can be difficult, and that a soil or foliar test is needed to confirm it, with soil samples collected in early spring before rain leaches salts out of the sampling area.

Sweep up leftover salt and sand from hard surfaces rather than letting it wash into beds. Damage shows up along walks, parking areas and entrances that receive frequent applications, and on the side of a plant facing the road. Our guides to how de-icing salt damages plants and concrete and salt-tolerant plants cover what to do if it keeps happening.

When should you clean out garden beds?

Once beds have drained enough that you are not compacting them by standing in them. Remove matted leaves, plow debris and broken stems. If you used winter mulch against heaving, as Wisconsin suggests for perennials, bulbs and groundcovers, pull it back gradually as things start to grow. Look for perennials that have been pushed partly out of the soil and firm them back in.

On evergreens, resist the urge to prune brown foliage immediately. University of Minnesota Extension says to wait until mid-spring on winter-burned plants, because buds often fill in. Our guide to winter burn on evergreens explains how to tell what is dead. Also remove any ties and wraps you put on shrubs for winter: Minnesota notes ties should come off in spring to prevent girdling, and that wraps come off in spring after the last frost. See spring garden bed prep for what follows.

What should you look for on young trees?

Check the base of young trunks for chewed bark. MSU says vole damage is usually on the lower eight to ten inches of the trunk, where it is protected by snow. Check higher up for jagged browse from deer, which can happen up to six feet high according to MSU, and for shredded bark from antler rubs.

Look on the south and southwest side of young, thin-barked trees for sunscald too. University of Minnesota Extension describes it as elongated, sunken, dried or cracked dead bark, usually on that side, and lists cherry, crabapple, honey locust, linden, maple, mountain ash and plum among the susceptible trees. Our guide to deer browse in winter covers what to do next, and spring tree care covers the rest.

Do you need to wait to turn the sprinklers on?

Yes. The system comes last on this list, because the ground needs to thaw and the freeze risk needs to pass. When you do start it, pressurize slowly. Colorado State University Extension says to close test cocks and ball valves first, then open the ball valves slowly once the supply is on to prevent water hammer damage.

Our guide to frozen backflow preventers and irrigation damage tells you what to watch for, and we handle spring sprinkler repair if something split over the winter.

What can you do with all the debris?

Bag what is small and chip or haul what is not. Check rules before burning anything: our guide to burning tree debris and burn permits covers that, and firewood and wood chips after tree removal covers what can be reused. Keep debris away from the house and out of fire-season fuel, as our Montana wildfire guide explains.

If you would rather hand it off, our seasonal clean-ups cover debris, beds and lawns across Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. Our guide to one-time cleanup or a seasonal plan can help you decide what you need, and our snow and 24-hour storm services handle a late storm. Call (406) 215-7319 or request a free estimate.

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