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- Learn More About How To Best Maintain Your Lawn Thru Each Treatment -
Treatment one
January 1 - February 28
Lawns should not require much maintenance during this period unless leaves were not removed or mulched during December. If leaves are removed during this period with a mower, do so with the blades as high as possible and avoid scalping. Leave the cutting height high during this time of cold temperatures to insulate the soil and help with erosion issues from constant rains. Shown are pictures of dormant warm season grasses such as Bermuda and Zoysia. If a combination of grass is present, Zoysia may have some green at the base and will have more of a yellow tint than dormant Bermuda grass.
Treatment tWO
March 1 - April 15
Lawns should be waking up from winter during this time and starting to green. Lawns may begin to green and then be hit with a frost turning it back to brown temporarily. The time of green up will vary depending on several factors. Some grasses in our area start to green in mid-March as others will be delayed into May. The specific cultivar of grass that you have in your yard will influence this greatly. Hybrid Bermudas such as Celebration and TifTuf Bermuda grasses are genetically improved for early spring green up. Soil temperature is the main factor determining green up of grasses. Bermuda grasses typically green up when the soil temperatures reach 65 degrees. This would usually occur when nighttime air temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees. You can help increase your soil temperature during this time by scalping and removing the brown dormant grass. Ideally this would be done roughly April 1st when the threat of frost and cold temperatures begins to decline. Cut as low as possible without cutting into the soil. It is important to remove these clippings by raking or bagging with a mower. Failure to pick up the clippings will cause issues from excessive thatch.
Treatment three
April 15 - May 31
Now is the time to start a regular mowing routine. Mowing weekly would be ideal but during this period 10–14-day intervals would suffice. The most important thing to remember when mowing is to not scalp and remove too much leaf surface. Grass should remain green after cutting and should be cut often enough to not remove more than 1/3 of the leaf surface. For a residential lawn, a cutting height of 2-3 inches is preferred. Depending on the weather irrigation might be required. 1 inch of irrigation every 7 days during the first half of the growing season is appropriate. Most of the time this is acquired by rainfall. If irrigation is needed, water once per week heavily in the early morning. This should total 1 inch of water. Placing an aluminum pie pan in your yard while running sprinklers is a great way to measure. Do not water in the evenings. This will keep the leaf surface wet over night and promote disease.
Treatment four
June 1 - July 15
Mow! Grass will be growing fast now and will need to be mowed at least weekly. Maintain a mowing height at 2-3 inches and mow frequently enough to not scalp and cause a brown look to your lawn. Scalping the lawn will cause excessive thatch, damage to turf, and cause openings in the grass canopy. All these factors will promote weed growth. Most likely irrigation will be needed. Irrigate in the early morning hours. Ideally a lawn will need 1 inch of water by either rain or irrigation every 5 days now. Placing an aluminum pie pan in the yard while running sprinklers is a great measuring tool. Do not water in the evenings. This will keep the leaf surface wet overnight and promote disease.
Treatment five
July 15 - August 31
Mow! Grass will be growing fast now and will need to be mowed at least weekly. Keep mowing height at 2-3 inches and mow frequently enough to not scalp and cause a brown look to the lawn. Scalping the lawn will cause excessive thatch, damage to turf, and cause open areas in the grass canopy. All these factors will promote weed growth. Raising the mowing heght ½ inch in shaded areas will help prevent damaging these areas. Plan to raise the overall mowing height ½ inch during the month of September. Most likely irrigation will be needed. Irrigate in the early morning hours. Ideally, a lawn needs 1 inch of water by either rain or irrigation every 5 days now. Placing an aluminum pie pan in the yard while running sprinklers is a great measuring tool. Do not water in the evenings. This will keep the leaf surface wet overnight and promote disease.
Treatment six
September 1 - October 15
The timing of this spray is very important and the products need to be watered in to activate. However, we often receive little rainfall. There is a good chance irrigation will be needed. If rainfall has not occurred within 14 days be sure to water with ½ -1 inch of irrigation to be sure the products are washed into the soil. Irrigation of grass is also important during this period as the lawn prepares for dormancy. A lawn that enters dormancy healthy without battling factors such as drought is likely to be healthier during the spring with less chance of winter damage issues. Mowing should still occur regularly but less frequently as the temperatures begin to cool. Growth of grass has slowed so scalped grass during this time frame that is turned tan from mowing will most likely remain tan for several weeks or the remainder of the season. Raise the mowing height a bit now to be sure grass remains green after a cut. The first frost typically occurs in early November. This will cause lawns to turn brown. During this process unusual patterns will be left green.
Treatment seven
October 15 - November 20
Grass has finished growing and is preparing for dormancy so cutting the grass should not be needed. Leaving warm season grass higher during the winter months will help serve as insulation as the temperature drops. Normal frost occurs around the first of November and will change the color of the lawn from green to brown. A week after the first frost a camouflage pattern of green and brown will be noticed. This is normal and nothing to be concerned about as the lawn will turn all brown shortly. Leaves will fall during this time and should be removed or mulched regularly.
Treatment eight
November 20 - December 31
Grass should be dormant and should not need attention. Leaves will need to be removed or mulched regularly as they fall. You should keep your mower blades high enough to only remove the leaves and keep the grass uncut.