Key takeaways
- Leaves first. A thin layer can be mowed into the lawn; a thick, matted one has to come off before the snow.
- Cut back the sick, leave the healthy. MSU Extension says to remove hosta, daylily and peony foliage, and to leave healthy standing plants for birds and pollinators.
- Last mow one notch lower, about half an inch, once the grass has stopped growing. MSU Extension says it cuts vole and snow mold problems.
- Work back from your last yard waste pickup, not the calendar. In most of Macomb County it is late November to mid-December; the median first two-inch snow at Detroit Metro is December 12.
- Finish at the driveway. Hoses, decorations and anything a plow could catch come off the edges, and driveway markers go in before the ground freezes.
On this page
What does a fall cleanup include?
The core of it is short:
- Leaves off the lawn. Blow or rake them out of the turf, along fences and out of corners, or mow a thin layer into the grass.
- Leaves out of the beds. Pull them from under shrubs and along the foundation, where wet leaves hold moisture against siding and give mice and voles cover.
- Perennials sorted. Cut back the plants that carry disease and pests over winter; leave the rest.
- Annuals pulled and spent containers emptied.
- A final mow once the grass stops growing.
- Leaves out the door in paper yard-waste bags or a marked can before your community’s last pickup.
- The yard made ready for snow.
When should you start?
After most of the trees on and around your lot have dropped, and before your community’s last curbside yard waste pickup. At Detroit Metro Airport, the official station for the region, the median first 32°F low over the last 30 falls was October 29 and the median first 28°F hard freeze November 8; the median first snow of two inches or more is December 12. See when to do a fall cleanup in Macomb County for the full timing and the community pickup dates.
Leaves: mow, bag or leave?
MSU Extension research found that a mulching mower can chop up to about 6 inches of leaves into a lawn in one go, depending on the mower, and that oak and maple leaves mulched this way did not hurt the turf. A thicker layer, or one that is already wet and matted, has to be raked or blown off. Leaves left in a mat over winter smother the grass under them and raise the risk of snow mold. Details in mulching leaves versus bagging them.
Which perennials to cut back
MSU Extension’s advice is that perennials can go into winter without being cut back at all, with a few exceptions: remove the leaves and stems of plants such as hosta, daylily and peony, which reduces the disease and the insect and slug eggs carried into spring. Healthy seed heads and hollow stems are worth leaving, because birds feed from them and some bees overwinter in them. See what to cut back in fall.
The last mow
Keep mowing at your normal height, which MSU Extension puts at about 3.5 to 4 inches, while the grass is growing. Once it stops, drop the deck one notch, about half an inch, for the final cut; MSU Extension says that reduces problems with voles and snow mold. Scalping the lawn short in one go stresses it going into winter.
What not to do
- Do not rake leaves into the street. It is an ordinance violation in Mount Clemens and Center Line, and leaves in the gutter clog storm drains that run toward Lake St. Clair.
- Do not use plastic bags. Every Macomb County community with curbside yard waste rejects them.
- Do not burn leaves unless your community allows it; most of the county bans it. See leaf pickup and yard waste rules.
Get the yard ready for the plow
The last step of a fall cleanup is the first step of winter. Put hoses, planters, decorations and solar lights away from the driveway edge, and put driveway markers in before the ground freezes so the plow can find the edges in a foot of snow. See getting your yard ready for snow plowing.
Sources
- MSU Extension: it’s not too late to mulch fallen leaves into lawns — up to 6 inches of leaves mulched at a time, depending on the mower
- MSU Extension: mulch fallen leaves into your lawn (fact sheet) — oak and maple leaves with no harm to turf; fewer dandelions and crabgrass over time
- MSU Extension: fall perennial care, less is more — remove hosta, daylily and peony foliage to cut disease and pest carryover; leave standing plants for birds and pollinators
- MSU Extension: October gardening tips (2022) — once growth stops, lower the mower one notch, about half an inch, to reduce vole and snow mold problems
- University of Illinois Extension: preventing winter damage to lawns — snow mold, leaves left on turf and fall mowing
- MSU Extension: turfgrass fall wrap-up and snow mold — a leaf mat smothers turf, slows spring green-up and may mean more snow mold
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers, ACIS daily records for Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), falls of 1996 to 2025; our count of the first 32°F and 28°F lows each fall
- MCL 324.11514 (Part 115, NREPA)
- Macomb County Public Works: Drain Dos and Don'ts
Written by the Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions team in Macomb Township, Michigan. We do fall cleanups and lawn work near our routes, and plow and salt homes and businesses across all 26 Macomb County communities, November 15 to April 15. Published October 15, 2026. About us · How we research these guides · How our dispatch works