Lawn Care

You can create a lush, green healthy lawn that adds beauty and value to your home.  Watering, fertilizing and mowing are the keys to fostering the vigorous development of the turf grass you desire.  Each of the major turf grasses requires similar but different care.

Watering

Warm-season grasses like Bermuda and St. Augustine should receive, at minimum, the amounts of water shown below. These minimum amounts promote the best growth and make management of your lawn easier.  Amounts include possible rainfall.

Spring-1 inch per week

Summer-2 inches per week

Fall-1 inch per week

Winter-1/2 inch per week

New seed, sod and plugs require frequent light watering.  Established  lawns need less frequent but deep watering to develop deep root systems.  Morning is the best time to water.

Fertilizing

Begin fertilizing in Spring for a healthy lawn this year. First application should be late February for Houston and March for our Dallas/ Fort Worth market. Repeat every 8-10 weeks during the growing season. Use a complete fertilizer such as Calloway’s Premium Lawn Food with an analysis of 21-5-10. It provides both a  quick greening and a slow release feeding. We also have Calloway’s Organic Fertilizer for our organic gardeners. Apply either when the lawn is dry, then water thoroughly.

Mowing

Mowing is essential to the health of your lawn.  Mowing causes the grass to spread laterally.  This spreading tends to block out weeds and develop that plush, deep green cushion we admire.  A clean cut is important.  Don’t let the grass grow unusually high before clipping on low setting.

Mowing Heights for Texas Turf grasses

Common Bermuda-cut at 3/4″ - 1 1/2″

St. Augustine-cut at 2″ - 2 1/2″ in sun, 3″ in shade.

Fescue-cut at 2″ - 2 1/2″

Mowing at the correct height will help protect your lawn against summer scorch and wilting.

Weed Control

Good maintenance-watering, mowing, fertilizing is the best way to control weeds.  Yet weeds spread from other lawns, fields, parks and woodlands.  We recommend pre-emergent treatments in spring and fall.

Preemergent

Apply a preemergent now to prevent the broadleaf and grassy weeds.  Preemergent herbicides control weeds by forming a barrier that prevents the seed from germinating.  Preemergents become more effective with each application.  Water these products in well.  For the organic gardener, apply Corn Gluten Meal.  As a weed suppressant, it inhibits seed germination by drying out a seed as soon as it cracks open.

Post-emergent

Post-emergent weed control kills weeds that are visible, but does not prevent weed seed from germinating. This is used for Broadleaf weed and Grassy weed control.  Certain post emergent weed control products cannot be used on St. Augustine lawns-read the label.

Download the Lawn Care handout.