It’s time to focus on lawn health. If mother nature has kept you our of the yard, it’s not too late to get started. A little work now, will yield a beautiful lawn later in the season.
If you want to scalp your lawn, now isn’t the time. Scalping should be done in March when you can remove the most non attached material. But if you would like to aerate the lawn now is a good time.
For the folks that didn’t apply pre-emergent in February or March, you missed the “bang for the buck” benefit. I blame it on Mother Nature not cooperating. The later part of April is also a good time to apply pre-emergent for crabgrass. Now is the time to apply post emergent herbicides. The days are warm and plants are actively growing. Read and follow the label directions.
The only reason to apply a grub control product in April is if you have armadillos feasting on the grubs in your yard. Grub control products should be applied at the end of June or the first of July. They are more effective when the grubs are young and feeding.
If you are watering the lawn in the evening, stop. This applies to all types of grass but is especially important for St. Augustine lawns. All watering should be done in the morning after 5:00 am. In the spring and fall, night time temperatures are cool and the water provides a good environment for fungus growth. When our night time temperatures are in the 80’s it makes little difference when you water. Remember to keep an eye on local water restrictions.
If you do find a fungus in the lawn, the first step is to alter the way you water. Next is trying to identify the fungus. Some, like mushrooms, are easy to identify and require little or no action from you. Early detection and treatment is required to keep grass loss to a minimum. In most cases an application of broad spectrum fungicide will eliminate the problem.
Proper mowing height is one of the important factors in lawn care. Optimum mowing height for Bermuda is 1.5 inches and St. Augustine is 2.5 inches. The rule of thumb is to never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade at any one time.
And lastly, if you haven’t fertilized now is the time. Stop by Wells and pick up a bag of our own lawn fertilizer, specially blended for lawns in this part of Texas!
