3 LAWN CARE TIPS FOR SPRING

By Valerie Smith

With the onset of spring, warmer weather signals plants to come out of dormancy and start flourishing again. If you have a warm season lawn, your turfgrass will come out of dormancy, and if you have a cool season lawn, snow in your area will start to melt and you’ll enjoy a greener environment.

Spring Mowing

Grasses come out of dormancy at different times, depending on the environment and temperatures of your area. Generally speaking, mid-March is about the time for you to begin your regimen for spring green-up and mowing. Mowing heights vary for each grass type, but a good rule for all of them: Never remove more than a third of the leaf blade length at any time.

The first mow of the spring should not take place while warm season grass is still dormant, so wait until you see green. A good tip for spring is to make sure your lawnmower blades are sharpened so they neatly slice through the grass instead of ripping it. If the grass blades aren’t cut neatly, the ragged tears in the leaves become susceptible to disease.

Spring Watering

Dormant, warm season turfgrass doesn’t need much water until the active growing season kicks in, but it will still need some watering. Once your grass starts to green up from winter dormancy, you should resume watering your lawn with about one inch of water per week including rainfall.

If you’re a homeowner who lives far enough south, and your warm season grass doesn’t go dormant during the winter, you may continue to regularly water your lawn in the winter. However, if you live in South Florida, for example, you may turn your irrigation off completely during the winter and during the months of June–August when it rains a lot. The atmosphere in South Florida doesn’t usually evaporate much water, and the grass isn’t using much during the winter, so frequent irrigation isn’t needed.

Spring Fertilization

Spring is one of the most important times of the year to use a fertilizer. Warm season grasses are coming out of dormancy, so you will want to promote healthy roots and the return of green leaf blades. However, you should typically wait until the last frost has hit. If you fertilize your lawn and another frost hits, your grass will go right back into dormancy, and you’ll have a harder time getting it to green up again. This does more harm than good. The date of the last frost varies from location to location. Refer to the Farmer’s Almanac to figure out the last frost date for your area in 2023.

Look for a granular lawn fertilizer with a 29-0-5 formulation that features a slow-release mixture of nitrogen which feeds the grass over a longer duration of time. Also available are liquid fertilizers that are applied with a garden hose according to a monthly schedule.

Note: If you have a warm season lawn and notice spots of brown or straw-like grass while the rest of your lawn comes out of dormancy, this is usually a sign of disease. Do not apply fertilizer to a lawn with disease because the nitrogen in the fertilizer will feed the disease and promote its growth. Apply a systemic fungicide first, and then wait several weeks before following with a fertilizer application.

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