The leaves that fall from the trees growing in my yard get mulch mowed back into the soil they came from to feed the soil the trees are growing in. I pick up leaves on excursions to town to shred for mulching my planting beds and to make compost. As justaguy indicated whole leaves tend to matt together and make a somewhat impervious barrier to plant growth and if possible you should shred those leaves some way. A rotary mower is a fairly good machine to use for that if some simple precautions are taken first. You do need a fairly solid stand for the mower, blocks ot keep the mower from moving without interfering with raking the leaves under the mower deck. A means of catching the leaves as the mower mulches them, a cage of some kind, or a bag on the mower so you can pick them up as you mow so you need not rake them.

Try changing soil to gritty mix. I had same issue this year with my orange trees. Have them under T5 lights. So I decided to repot in gritty mix 2 weeks ago ( I know, don't repott in middle of winter). Did the "soak the rootball in water and shake" and I put them right away under my lights again. Totally amazed, have not lost 1 leaf since then and tree is replacing leaves and growing already. That mix really does help! thanks to all in this forum for all info

PKponder, fun topic. I am thrilled to read about so many member either composting their leaves, returning them to the woods or donating them to urban compost. Leaf mulch and leaf mold are gold. Before we had a mulching/bag mower, I would rake our many leaves (we're in a clearing in woods) and transfer them to a 10x10 tarp, then drag the tarp to the edge of the property where we had our various leaf and compost piles. Now we have a push-power walking mower that can mulch or bag. I like the way the mower shreds them -- I can get more leaves into the ba attachment. I walk the mower down back, then empty the full bag of choppedhardwood leaves into an ad hoc "leaf corral" -- a 6 ft. Tall haphazard enclosure of cattle fencing that stay upright. By late spring, the leaves have flattened down to about 1/3 the volume. I also mix/layer some of the mulched leaves into the garden/kitsch vegetable waste compost pile. I can use the broken down leaf waste or compost for mulch and or turn it over into my garden soil. The worms appreciate that. Years ago recall (circa 1966) people in suburban areas burning piles of raked leaves. October football games on the radio and the fragrance of slow burning Leaves -- there's a few memory locations for that. Environmentally, not good to burn leaves. Thanks to the organic gardeners, Rodale and mulching enthusiasts, then the environmentally cluey. We also have a large revolving brush pile over our banking. The cottontails, snowshoe hares and opossums relish that. Lots of stone walls, but the chipmunks, deer mice and deer ticks are a bit of a pain in the butt -- too many deer ticks.

It snowed here, a different part of Chicago Suburbs, off and on. Theres a first time for everything. About a dozen Jr High age kids all in costume and very polite traveling in groups of 2-5. Also 2 little girls with parents who live a few houses away.