Caring for the grounds in a condo association is something that needs to be done year-round—but when the harsh weather and cold temperatures of winter begin to fade, there's a lot of work to be done to get things prepared for spring.

The snow, ice and wind of winter makes it by far the toughest season of the year in terms of wear-and-tear on landscape and grounds. Rain, snow and cold temperatures invariably take their toll on everything and it's important that managers have a plan in place for dealing with the problems and getting their grounds looking both beautiful and healthy for residents wanting to take a stroll on the nice days ahead.

There are a number of steps and measures that managers can take to prepare to repair winter damage and clean up debris so that the property is ready for spring again.

Take Responsibility

Depending on the homeowner association, it is usually up to the manager to make the initial steps in arranging for proper grounds care. Once they have all the information, the board must agree on hiring someone to do the work.

"Part of the manager's role is to create the specifications for what the job entails," says Gary Wilkin of the Wilkin Management Group. "Figure out the weekly cuttings, how often they are going to weed, use chemicals, weed control, shrub pruning and those types of things and how often they are going to be performed. That should be agreed upon by the board."

Once that's established, they usually go out and take those specifications to two or three landscapers, and the manager's job is to advise the board on what's happening in the bidding process.

"Some landscapers are better at larger properties than smaller properties and vice versa," says Wilkin. "You need to know what the resource of the landscapers are. Once you match all that up you collect bids and you compare apples to apples."

Most managers will do a walk-through of the property in March and make a checklist for themselves so they know what needs to be done.

"We need to do an evaluation of the grounds and see how the landscaping has weathered the winter season," says Robin Habacht, property manager of Monticello Management in Leonia. "We do our walk-through to see which plants survived the winter season and which haven't. We do an initial walk-through ourselves so we have points of interest to then discuss with our landscaper. We do a second walk-through with the landscaper, and then we evaluate the condition of the common areas for landscaping."

Plan Ahead

One of the most important things to remember about preparing for spring is that you can't just decide in March or April that it's time to look into hiring a landscaper.

"With most of that stuff, the contract should be selected and secured no later than November of the prior year for the coming season," says Wilkin. "I think you want at least 90 to 120 days minimum to have your contract secure before any potential work starts."

Some years, there's a good break in the weather and some landscapers like to get out as early as possible and get their crews going. Spring cleanups can start as early as February, although because of possible snow threats in March, only the initial stages of cleanup are begun.

"It's usually best to start in the beginning of April because in March you can still get some storms," said Ryan Herold, president of Herold's Landscaping in Flanders. "Basically you have to assess what damage is done. Most of the time there will be some lawn damage. You might have to put some new topsoil down, rake off any grit or sand. Re-seed it. If there's any shrub damage from the plows you either have to trim it back—or replace it with a new shrub if it looks like it's something that didn't survive."

Those early days also aren't the time for planting. A manager will have a list of the things that need to be done and the landscaper will sit down with the manager to make sure there is a basic understanding of what needs to be done.

"Initially what's done is simple cleaning up of winter debris," says Wilkin. "Collecting small branches that are lying on the ground, starting to clear out leaves that didn't get cleaned up, or putting down the weed control in the beds. Start raking out lawn, and do any patching up that needs doing."

Snow, Thy Enemy

Although a sparkling clean blanket of freshly-fallen snow might look beautiful when you look at the grounds on a winter morning, those white flakes can do some heavy damage to many areas of the grounds.

"Heavy piles of snow can obviously damage some shrubbery," says Wilkin. "Also depending on a harsh winter, if you get a lot of snow and heavy snow, you can get a mold which is a fungus that appears in the turf and you get a lot of brown spots on the lawn."

Snow plowing can also damage the edges of the grounds and a lot of seeding and re-sodding might be necessary.

Spring Flowers

New Jersey HOAs usually design their landscaping with a northern climate in mind so the plants and trees that are selected for the grounds are usually appropriate for the harsh weather conditions that can arise.

"We had some very warm days in the middle of a cold season this year and that actually disrupts the plants," says Habacht. "They hibernate, and you need to check them for their health because you can be throwing them off schedule. In March it's much too early to plant. You need to wait for the plant life to come out of hibernation, and that's when you get to see what survived and what is healthy and what isn't."

Although some people wait until late spring or the fall to plant, according to Herold, planting in early spring is best because you get a lot of rain and the temperatures are cooler, so there's less watering and pruning maintenance to keep up with.

"With annuals, you do it more towards May because they aren't good in cold weather—unless you do something really hearty, like daisies," he says. "Annuals die ever year and you have to replace them. Perennials die off in the winter and come back in spring. April is a little early for them, too."

Tree Care

One area that you might not think of checking are the trees on an association's grounds. The harsh weather can do just as much damage to them as they do the plants and grass.

"Usually you can physically tell if any have been uprooted or leaning from storm damage," says Herold. "A lot of times they have to be staked if they're out of the ground to keep them straight. If any branches are broken, you just trim them back properly to the trunk."

Most landscapers can handle this type of work, but there are specialists that can be hired as well.

"We bring in a tree doctor to check our trees and see to the health and conditions of our trees," says Habacht. "It's important not to forget that there can be things that happen to them and they are very expensive to replace if something were to happen."

Don't Forget

It's not just plant life and grass that needs to be cared for. Things like gutters, sprinkler systems and driveways need to be checked and looked at for any damage that may have occurred under all the ice and snow.

"One of the major items is of course the sprinkler system—which needs to be reopened and checked," says Habacht. "For landscapers, the sprinkler system is a major concern. They have to be opened up and made sure to be in proper order."

Snow plowing can also do some damage along the driveways and curb areas and they might need to be patched or fixed.

"What is a concern for me this year is that we had very cold, icy weather, and then we had the very unusually warm days. When you get another cold day, you're talking about water getting frozen into cracks," says Habacht. "And if it warms up and freezes again, it causes serious damage to driveways and sidewalks if they're not sealed properly. So this is going to be a very interesting spring, because I do anticipate a lot of damage from the unusual weather."

Habacht says that having a long-range plan in place to get your grounds looking their best is very important for any manager and board so that when spring comes around, they can concentrate on the immediate task at hand.