Spring comes at least a month early here in Central Texas. As temperatures rise and your grass prepares to end its dormant season, you can help your lawn prepare for a green spring with some grass care strategies. In this blog, you’ll learn some great tips to encourage your lawn towards a beautiful green-up!
1. Mowing
To help your grass grow back healthy and strong, you can switch your lawnmower to a lower setting and deep-cut your grass for one time only. This is also called “scalping”. If you bag the clippings, your newly trimmed grass will have room to breathe and absorb sunshine and nutrients!
2. Aeration and Topdressing
Here at Emerald Lawns, we always recommend yearly aerations. Liquid aeration creates tiny pathways in the soil to allow air, moisture, and nutrients to feed your grassroots. By aerating before the Texas heat arrives, you can encourage deeper, stronger root growth which helps your lawn fight drought stress and other summer challenges.
We also recommend topdressing your lawn with compost once every couple of years. Emerald Lawns uses a mixture of turkey compost and graphite sand for topdressing. This recipe feeds your grassroots with vital nutrients to jump-start growth. Many homeowners opt to have their lawns aerated and top-dressed with compost at the same time, taking advantage of double benefits!
3. Pre-emergent
For lawns with Bermuda or Buffalo grass, pre-emergents can build a barrier in your soil against new seed germination. Appling pre-emergent will help your lawn build up resistance to new weed growth!
4. Fertilizer
As grass regains its green color, applying fertilizer can ensure its successful growth in the warmer months. Emerald Lawns applies fertilizer treatments in the spring, especially for lawns with St. Augustine or Zoysia grass. These grass types don’t work well with pre-emergent spreads.
5. Debris Removal
Raking up debris from the dormant season, such as fallen leaves and sticks, will help your lawn recover quicker and maintain a healthy appearance. This will also clear your grass to receive the benefits of regular watering, mowing, and airflow!
6. Water
As temperatures rise, so will your lawn’s need for added moisture. Here are some tips to help you increase watering:
- Be sure your sprinkler system is in working order. If you need help getting your sprinklers in shape, Emerald Lawns can recommend a sprinkler maintenance or installation company.
- Water your lawn about 1 inch every five to seven days during spring growth. You can test the water height by using small containers, such as empty tuna cans, to measure volume.
- Water in the early morning, so that less water is lost to evaporation.
