While winters stay a little warmer than the national average, the temperature change is still enough to impact your landscaping. Your lawn in particular is very sensitive to the cold weather, so it’s important to prepare it for the winter. With a little extra effort toward lawn winterization, your grass will have the best possible chances of surviving and thriving when the weather warms up again.Winterization can be complicated, which is why the experts at are here to help with customized lawn care services and plans to suit your needs. Read on to learn more!
Your Lawn’s Changing Needs
In order to keep your lawn good-looking and healthy for as long as possible, there are a few steps to consider. Some can be handled with a DIY approach, but others are best handled by a lawn care professional.
Aeration is, put simply, poking holes in your lawn to break up the thatch and let in fresh nutrients and water. This is best done during fall to give your lawn a chance to absorb the sustenance it needs.
Planting different grass that is more resilient against cold weather is a great way to keep your lawn beautiful year-round. Rye and bluegrass are excellent choices.
Changing your mowing habits can help keep your lawn healthy, too. Leaving it a little longer than usual gives the roots a little extra insulation. Don’t simply stop mowing, though; bugs and other pests might think an overgrown lawn is a great place to hide.
Changing your watering habits is also important. Water less frequently than usual, but keep it up. Your grass needs less water during the cold season.
Using fertilizer during fall and early winter will give your lawn a little extra strength to survive through the cold season. It can also make it look better when spring returns!
How to Water Your Lawn During Winter
As we mentioned before, it’s important to make some changes to how you water your lawn as the weather cools down. Here we’ll go into a little more detail on what that means. lawns should be watered about once a week during the winter, but this will naturally vary from yard to yard. Keep an eye on your lawn’s signals; if it starts to look crispy and brown, water more. If it starts to get swampy, cut back.
What Time of the Day Should You Water Your Lawn?
The ideal time to water your lawn is always in the early morning, before the sun comes up. Florida nights don’t usually reach freezing temperatures, but in the event that they do, watering as the air begins to warm will prevent the water from freezing before your lawn can drink it. Likewise, getting water in the ground before the sun rises will minimize evaporation.Keeping your lawn healthy with the appropriate amount of water goes a long way toward making it look its best.
Pests and Other Problems for Florida Lawns
Even during the winter months, pests and plant diseases are a real danger to your lawn’s health. Below you’ll find a few things to keep an eye out for:
Fire ants build distinctive mounds that can damage your lawn – not to mention lay waste to other insect populations. Their goal is to spread their colonies as far as they can, and they don’t care how much damage they cause to your lawn as they go. Luckily, professional pest control service can take care of them before they get out of control.
Brown patch fungus is a fungal disease that shows up most often during mild weather. Since winter temperatures stay right in its comfortable range, this fungus can truly thrive in your lawn. It appears, as the name suggests, as a brown patch in your green lawn. It could be confused with dead grass, but don’t mow it; it can easily spread to other parts of your lawn through mechanical means. Read more about it here.
Weeds are a constant concern. They steal water and nutrients from your lawn and make it look shabby. Wherever your lawn has a bare patch, weeds will try to invade.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to keep an eye on when it comes to lawn care. Luckily, the team at is up to the task!
Arrow Service: Florida’s Go-To Choice for Lawn Winterization
Even though winters are mild here in , your grass will still need a little extra help to stay healthy as the weather cools down. Make your lawn care concerns a thing of the past; count on our years of experience to keep your lawn looking healthy no matter what time of year it is.Give us a call to schedule a free inspection today! Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Spring is the quintessential time for gardening in the US and for residents of Florida, that holds even more true. The sunshine state is famous for its beautiful weather year-round, but spring is when things come fully into bloom and make your yard and garden shine. Your yard is the first impression of your home. Getting it in shape for the springtime early is vital in making sure you're not playing catch up for the rest of the warm seasons. With these tips, you can get the edge on even the most driven HOA president and make your lawn a verdant gem in your neighborhood with ease!
Lawn Fertilization
Fertilizing your lawn can be a tricky business. Depending on what region of Florida you live in, the grass in your lawn will grow at different rates throughout the year, and you only want to fertilize your lawn when the grass is actually growing. Fertilizing outside of the growth period will result in the grass not absorbing the fertilizer.
Typically the ideal time to start is 3 weeks after the last frost deposits occur. Once the weather turns nicer, your grass will begin growing, and become ready for fertilizer. This is the ideal time to do a soil test to determine what nutrients your soil needs most.
Next, calculating the amount and type of fertilizer you need is also a vital part of spring lawn care. In accordance with Florida laws to protect the environment, it’s recommended you use only 1 lb of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of turf max. Depending on the results of your soil composition test, however, you can tailor your fertilizer to your lawn's needs.
Make sure to stick with only grass fertilizer as crop or flower fertilizer will have higher levels of phosphorus, magnesium, and other soil supplements that are either unhelpful or detrimental to the growth of grass.
Helpful Fertilizer Tips To Remember:
Avoid Fertilizing During Rainy Periods: Fertilizing your lawn right before a rain storm will cause it to get washed away, leaching nitrogen and other soil supplements into the water supply.
Clean Up Extra Fertilizer: Sweep up any spills on the sidewalk or excess on the lawn. A responsible lawn caretaker is a happy one!
Don’t Over Fertilize: During summer months your grass may turn a lighter shade, and while this can be caused by a lack of nitrogen in your soil, you still MUST adhere to local ordinances. Utilize chelated iron or iron sulfate as a supplement.
Professional Florida Lawn and Pest Care
If all of this sounds like a headache to deal with, don’t worry! At Arrow Environmental Serviceswe’re ready to help! Not only are we an excellent pest control service provider but also lawn care professionals. Our lawn care will ensure not only a beautiful pest-free yard but a perfect emerald yard year-round for Florida residents.
