Cut Shorter Grass

• Short grass is the way to maintain your lawn during the harsh winter temperatures and conditions. Starting at the end of fall and the very beginning of winter, you want to gradually cut your grass shorter and shorter to curb extra growth at the beginning of the season. This growth can use up nutrients stored in the blade during fall and dry out the roots. Dry roots in winter mean dead grass come spring.
  
  Do not drastically change the height of your lawn, because this can do damage to the blades and damage or destroy the grass, which means you will have to reseed come spring. Over four or five mows, drop the cutter height a little each time to give your lawn a buzz cut.
  
  

Clear Your Yard

• Don't forgo lawn maintenance just because your grass does not grow a lot in the winter. Make sure you maintain the upkeep of your lawn by moving any late, falling leaves, rotting stumps, logs, debris and seasonal yard decorations from your yard. When snow falls on these items, it creates a air-tight blanket that smothers your yard and does major damage to both the blades of grass and the roots of your lawn.
  
  Moving the debris from your yard allows the grass to breathe and undergo photosynthesis. Although the major growth of your lawn will happen in the fall, the early months of winter are when your grass ramps down into a more dormant state. That being said, grass still needs sunlight to stay healthy during the harsher conditions.
  
  

Fertilize

• Lawns enter a semidormant state and slow growth during the winter so they can keep nutrients intact and make it through the season. Fertilizing your lawn with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer during the first weeks of winter will allow the grass to absorb and maintain slight growth throughout the season.
  
  When you are fertilizing, only use 1/2 of the suggested amount. You do not want to toss your yard into growth, because that will effectively kill your grass. Evenly distribute the fertilizer over your grass so the grass can absorb the nutrients into the root systems and store them for winter.