Grasses - Care Tips for Spring

As the world outside changes seasons once again, it’s time once again to pay attention to your lawn. Spring is a sensitive time for your yard and the weather is unpredictable. But summer is harsh and dry. Your lawn will thank you for being attentive at the right time of year. Here’s how to go about taking care of your lawn in the spring and winter.

Understanding the type of grass you have and its peak growing season will help you address lawn care tasks at the correct time.

There are a few things you can do during even the harshest winter that can ensure a beautiful, lush yard once spring rolls around again.

Fertilizing For Winter
Late fall or early winter are the best times to fertilize cool season grasses. Before the first freeze, give your lawn a thorough fertilizing to replace all of the nutrients that were lost during the hot summer months. 

Mowing Strategies
During the last month of the summer you should gradually lower the cutting base of your lawn mower each time you mow the lawn. Slowly cutting your grass shorter will allow it to winter well.  Short grass protects any new growth that may be more fragile near the end of the growing season.

Avoid Excessive Lawn Traffic
When the grass is brown and short it can be easy for people to forget that it shouldn’t be walked on. Try to prevent excess foot traffic on your lawn. 

Spring

Clean Up – Gently!
Avoid heavy yard work in the spring until the soil dries out – foot traffic and hard raking can compact or disturb soggy soil and damage tender, new grass shoots. Once the soil is good and dry, give your lawn a good spring cleaning to encourage grass growth and discourage pests and diseases. 

Controlling Weeds
Spring is the best time to prevent weeds by using pre-emergent weed control. Both cool-season and warm-season lawns benefit from weed prevention in the spring. Pre-emergent herbicides work for about three months, so plan on a second application during the summer.

Seeding and Planting
In the spring, gardeners have to choose between weed control and lawn seeding. Pre-emergent herbicides prevent grass seed from sprouting too, so you can’t do both.

If your focus this spring is on filling in bare spots or establishing a new lawn, time your activities according to the type of grass.

Fertilizing
The type of grass you have also influences when and how you should fertilize your lawn:

Cool-season grasses: don't heavily fertilize your lawn in the spring. Spring feeding encourages rapid tender growth that will struggle to survive the heat of summer, particularly in drought-prone areas.

Warm-season grasses: Fertilize in late spring as soon as the lawn “greens up” and begins actively growing. This is usually in April to May.

It doesn’t matter to us whether you want lush lawns, desert landscaping or some type of landscaping in between, we can help you make your commercial property beautiful.  To find out how give us a call at 623-848-8277.

Presented by:
Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
greenskeeperllc@cox.net