Lawn | Orange County Master Gardener Volunteers

2 minute read

Our tips are for cool-season lawns like bluegrass and fescues.

Lawn calendar

Routine Care

If you forgot to fertilize in February, apply 1 lb nitrogen per 1000 square feet before March 15. Fertilizing later will only stress the turf. Roots decline with the arrival of hot weather and cannot support the added top growth.

problems

Check for white grubs.

Consider a pre-emergent.

tips

Cool-season lawns need to rest for the summer, so use a pre-emergent that does not contain fertilizers. Products containing dithiopyr also provide post-emergent control for young crabgrass.
Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium) germinates before most other weeds. Application timing is challenging because germination is based on soil temperature, which varies from year to year. Normally, apply pre-emergent in early March. If spring is early, do so in late February.
Apply the first round of crabgrass prevention in late March–early April. Because spring weather varies, use flowering as your cue. The most effective period begins when forsythia is blooming and ends when dogwoods are blooming. Apply a second round about 6 weeks later.

Preemergent control
NCSU recommendations for stiltgrass control
Crabgrass prevention

Special Tasks

Wait until September to aerate. Aeration should happen when turfgrass roots are actively growing to speed recovery.

Wait until fall to seed or renovate your lawn. Lawns seeded in the spring don’t last through the summer because their roots don’t establish before hot weather arrives.

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		Jan		Feb		Mar		Apr		May		Jun		Jul		Aug		Sep		Oct		Nov		Dec
soil test
aerate
topdress

fertilize
lime

seed
mow
water

annual weeds
perennial weeds
grubs
disease