What To Do With Your Lawn During Spring

The temperature is warming up and you look outside at your lawn and wonder, "What happened?" You are not alone. Winter can do things to turn your beautiful lawn into a quite a mess. Let's go over what you can do to get your lawn looking its best again.

How to get rid of broadleaf weeds from my lawn?
Your lawn most likely has a lot of broadleaf weeds, including white clover, thistle, Carolina geranium, dollarweed, dandelion, and more. These should be easy to take care of using weed control products you can find at your local hardware store. Important: Make sure you are aware of your grass type and focus on the temperature restrictions for the product you choose. They can be the difference between dead weeds and a dead lawn.

How to get rid of annua poa from my lawn?
The best way to get rid of annua poa is to use a pre-emergent during the previous late October to November. Since we didn't do that, you can use a weed control product containing atrazine. Be sure to follow the label as there are restrictions based on time of year, grass type, and state.

How do I prevent weeds from growing in my lawn?
Apply pre-emergents now to stop summer weeds before they start. Pre-emergents are usually cheaper than controlling weeds after they grow. Read the label for your pre-emergent to see if it controls the weed you are having trouble with. Common summer weeds are purple nutsedge, spurge, dallisgrass, goosegrass, Virginia buttonweed, and crabgrass (crabgrass pre-emergent should be started in November to December in the prior year).

How to stop fungus from damaging my lawn?
Fungus is active during cool nights and warm days (read as spring and fall). Apply a preventative fungicide just as the the weather is favorable for these conditions. If your lawn already has a active fungus, you will need to use a curative fungicide. Some curative fungicides recommend combining with a preventative. Read the label to be sure. 

Fungi also enjoys a nitrogen rich environment. This means it is a terrible time to add a lot of nitrogen to your lawn. A small amount of nitrogen should be okay if it comes paired with a soil additive, just be cautious since it can turn a small fungal problem into a big fungal problem.

What to do about low spots in my lawn?
Low spots in your lawn hold water which damage the grass roots and lead to weed patches. If you have low spots, top dress them with sand or compost. You can choose to sod over these spots or to let nature do its thing and have the grass slowly grow.

Test irrigation coverage and problems
Setup your irrigation time to operate for spring. Run a full cycle on your irrigation system. Check for obvious leaks (giant geysers) and for full coverage of your lawn. Changing a few tips now will keep your lawn well irrigated when the weather heats up. 

Clear clogged drains
If you have drains that aren't draining, it is time to clean them. Sometimes this requires a call to a professional drain cleaner since it requires special equipment. Older, poorly maintained drainage may require a complete rebuild.