A structured lawn care calendar is the best way to ensure your grass stays bright green and healthy throughout the seasons. Following a detailed lawn maintenance schedule will also keep your grass resilient and vibrant so it can withstand fluctuations in temperature while guarding against potential pests or weeds.
At Lawn Pride®, our lawn care service professionals know exactly how to keep your lawn fresh and healthy so it looks its best all year long. Check out our month-by-month lawn care calendar for warm and cool-season grasses for expert tips and guidance to stay on top of essential lawn tasks.
Lawn Care Schedule: Month-by-Month Guide
A well-organized lawn calendar lays out a clear, actionable plan for each month of the year. From spring through winter, knowing exactly when you should fertilize, mow, or protect your lawn keeps it healthy and makes the upkeep even easier.
Spring Lawn Care Tips (March - May)
Spring lawn care is essential because it sets the stage for the rest of the year. During spring, focus on improving soil, feeding your grass, and preparing it for the growing season.
As the temperatures warm up, dethatch and aerate your lawn. This involves removing a thick layer of organic matter that could prevent the grass from taking root while also breaking up any compacted soil so the roots can actually get the nutrients they need.
Once you’ve prepared the soil, you can follow a spring lawn fertilizer schedule to supplement any nutrients that might be missing after the winter dormancy. After choosing a balanced fertilizer, apply some pre-emergent herbicides to stop weeds like crabgrass before they sprout in your yard. Staying proactive during the prime growing season is the best way to prevent weeds.
Summer Lawn Care Tips (June - August)
Stay on top of a consistent mowing schedule, and keep your grass between three to four inches high for cool-season grasses. Keeping your grass high helps it retain the moisture better and offers shade to the soil so it doesn’t dry out. Warm-season grasses should be kept between two and two and a half inches to prevent weeds, maintain soil, and shade the soil line.
Speaking of moisture, you need to water your grass carefully to avoid over or underwatering it. Water it deeply but less frequently. For most areas, you can give your grass an inch of water once or twice a week, or you can water before sunrise to reduce evaporation and allow the grass to soak in as much as it can.
Fall Lawn Care Tips (September - November)
Come fall, it’s time to strengthen your lawn’s root system and repair any damage the summer may have caused. Provide nutrients your grass needs to strengthen its roots with a slow-release fertilizer that is high in potassium.
If the summer heat stressed out your grass and left bare or dead spots, autumn is the perfect time to overseed your lawn and fill in these patches for your cool-season turf. The cooler temperatures and higher rainfall totals make it the ideal environment for new grass seeds to start growing.
For warm-season grasses, your lawn will gradually go dormant as the temperatures start to cool, so you should avoid aeration and heavy fertilization. Instead, apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent winter weeds.
As autumn approaches, make sure you also pick up any leaves that fall onto your grass. When left on your lawn, they can grow mold or fungal diseases while also blocking sunlight and trapping moisture in your grass’s roots.
Winter Lawn Care Tips (December - February)
Winter lawn care is all about minimizing the amount of damage rather than encouraging the grass to grow. If you live in a mild climate or have cool-season grasses, you can apply a winter fertilizer. This helps the grass green up faster come spring.
However, if you live in a colder climate that sees a lot of snowfall, remember that grass is more susceptible to damage in the winter months. Avoid walking on your lawn as much as possible, and don’t shovel snow onto your lawn. Compaction can make it harder for your grass to grow back in the spring.
Custom Lawn Care Plans Tailored to Your Needs
While these expert tips will help most homeowners, every lawn is unique and should be treated as such. If you have cool-season grass, overseeding in the fall promotes healthy growth, and you should aerate and fertilize your warm-season grass in the summer. Whether you have warm or cool-season grass, following this calendar will set your lawn up for long-term success.
Lawn Pride offers customized lawn care plans tailored to your specific grass type, climate, and maintenance needs. Our local service professionals factor in your grass type, soil health, and environmental factors to create the perfect lawn care schedule, and our Neighborly Done Right Promise™ backs all our work.
With Lawn Pride, your lawn maintenance schedule will stay on track regardless of what season it is. By adhering to our customized and structured lawn care calendar and understanding the challenges each season brings, you’re setting your lawn up for long-term success.
Contact Lawn Pride today to request your free estimate!
This article is intended for general guidance only and may not apply to every situation. You are responsible for determining the proper course of action for your property and your situation. Lawn Pride is not responsible for any damages that occur as a result of any advice or guidance derived from blog content. For the most accurate guidance, contact an independently owned and operated Lawn Pride for more information and a professional on-site assessment.