IT’S time to gear up for fall, and that means raking the leaves and preparing the lawn.
The Grounds Guys’ lawn care experts have shared their gardening tips to keep the grass as full as possible into the next year.
They explained that specialized care is key to a healthy and green lawn, whether you’ve planted warm-season or cool-season grasses.
“Warm-season grasses are most often found in warmer areas of the United States, like the southern states and the southern portion of California,” they explained.
“These grasses peak in summer and go dormant in the fall.”
Cold-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, normally found in the Midwest, the Northeast, and Canada, typically peak in the fall.
Those with warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda or Centipede, can stow their mower away for the remainder of the season.
Cold-season lawn owners, however, have much to gain in the fall.
“Consider increasing your mower height to half an inch or a full inch,” the experts at Grounds Guys urged.
“As daylight hours recede, grass with more leaf area will be able to absorb more sunlight. As winter approaches, cut your grass shorter again to help avoid fungal diseases.”
To prevent a brown landscape in the fall for warm-season grasses, homeowners can overseed their lawns with cool-season grass, such as ryegrass.
Similarly, cool-season lawn owners can also overseed as a preventative measure to keep bald patches at bay.
The trick, however, lies in the timing.
“Just make sure to overseed at least 45 days before the frost,” Ground Guys explained.
“This will give your seeds time to establish roots.”
As the summer heat can cause soil to harden and become compacted through the months, fall is an opportune time to loosen soil.
Cool-season lawn owners may greatly benefit from an aeration session. This procedure pokes holes in the soil to allow for the proper distribution of water, oxygen, and nutrients to the grassroots.
Warm-season lawns will benefit the most from aeration done in the spring.
Fertilization can also boost cold-season grass to prepare for the winter cold properly.
Once again, the devil lies in the details.
“For most cool-season lawns, the best time to fertilize is about six weeks before the frost, which usually means October or November,” experts explained.
“No need to fertilize your warm-season lawn in the fall. Wait until the spring to bust out your favorite fertilizer.”
