With Spring upon us, your lawn will begin to emerge from its cold weather slumber as the temperatures begin to rise. We are now applying your first “green up” (N + Fe with micro nutrients) to initiate turf color, growth, and density. The lawn will begin to feed as the soil temps rise and the air temperatures begin to be consistently above 75 degrees. Cold spells, soil conditions, shelter, sun exposure, and water retention may cause some areas to green up before others, but do not be alarmed … the entire lawn will become consistently green as we move further into Spring/Summer.
Spring and the first nitrogen fertilization of the season also cause virtually everything in the soil to
“spring up” ….including unwanted weeds. Scientists have discovered that there can be as many as 40,000 weed seeds in just one square foot of soil! While pre-emergent weed control products do a great job of minimizing weed seed germination, Spring is notorious for a temporary weed surge. We are treating weeds on every visit to minimize weed populations in your lawn through-out the year. It is especially important to begin your summer mechanical maintenance routine including mowing, trimming, and edging. Make sure your mower blade is sharp and you mow your St. Augustine grass at the highest cutting height available on most home mowers. (3.5 – 4-inch height recommended) Zoysia can be cut about 2 – 2.25 inches initially to help reduce thatch, then raise height to approx. 2.5 inches for the remainder of the growing season. (See included mowing height card). Dull mower blades are common but should not be underestimated. A dull blade will encourage insects and disease in your lawn creating a vicious cycle of unnecessary turf issues. Thatch and winter damaged grass can be raked out to speed up recovery from the cold temps, but it is not necessary in many cases. The newly emerging grass blades will sprout through the old “straw-like” remnants and simply wither away as we move on into the growing season. That said, many of you need core aeration to reduce soil compaction and thatch build up. If you are interested in our core aeration service, let us know as we are scheduling aeration routes now. The Dept. of Agriculture recommends core aeration at least once every 2 years for homeowners.
Watering: A little extra water at this time will go a long way in helping your lawn recover from its semi-dormant state, but keep in mind, this is a balancing act. Try to water more heavily immediately after our next 2 services. That will help the lawn green up, grow, and become thicker to help discourage weed growth. Once you see the color and growth begin to improve, try to limit your watering to “only when grass blades are folding vertically” (folding like a book) … which indicates drought symptoms. Water for longer periods ( 45 min) .. .infrequently … to draw turf roots deeper into the soil. Remember that one good weekly rain shower producing 3/4 -1 inch of water will typically be enough water for your lawn without supplemental irrigation, but this depends on your soil profile, air temperature, and turf condition. A weak, thin lawn will require more water until the health and density recover, while a healthy lawn will typically rebound from stresses quicker with less water.
As a state licensed pest control company, we are also highly focused on pest prevention at this time. We are applying insect control products for targeted control of turf damaging insects and nuisance pests including chinch bugs, webworms, billbugs, grubs, spittlebugs, beetles, aphids, scale, mole crickets, ants, fleas, ticks, termites, mosquitoes, and many more! If you have any concerns about your lawn, its condition, or our services … let us know immediately. We are here to help you have the best lawn possible and provide the best service experience available. Please remember to tell a friend or neighbor about us if you have the chance … we always appreciate the referrals 🙂 Let’s keep it growing!