Spring Lawn Care Steps: Essential Tips for Lawn Maintenance

As spring returns, the soil warms up, essential microbes stir, and dormant grass is ready to wake up and grow. Learn the essentials of spring lawn care and landscape maintenance from the pros at Lawn Pride^®, and you (and your lawn) will be ready for the new season.

At Lawn Pride, we don’t consider full lawn reseeding a part of spring lawn care. Instead, we recommend waiting until fall to seed your lawn. This is for two reasons. First, when seeding in the spring, your lawn can’t have any weed control or pre-emergent applied until the new grass has germinated and grown tall enough to be mowed twice. Young grass cannot handle weed control and will die if it is applied too soon.

The second reason is that since weed control cannot be applied, your new grass will have to fight for room to grow with faster-growing weeds.

Let’s face it: seeding your lawn isn’t cheap. You want the best results possible when you spend your hard-earned money on seeding. The only exception to waiting on seeding is when your lawn has less than 50% grass. In that case, any green is better than dirt!

Of course, reseeding targeted locations is an ideal way to repair brown or bare spots in the lawn.

Seeding Techniques

Aerate (break up the soil) before seeding. This allows for better seed-to-soil contact, increasing the likelihood of good germination.

New seeds need to stay moist for proper germination. If you don’t have sufficient rainfall, water the seeds lightly each day.

Tackle Bare Spots: Seed Types and Timing

Reseeding helps you fill in bare spots. Stick with the grass seed blend of your existing lawn for a uniform look. Cool-season grasses can be reseeded to repair bare patches all spring, but late spring to early summer is better for warm-season grasses.    

The tips and tricks for optimal mowing are essential pieces of the lawn maintenance puzzle. Getting the mowing right is critical to your lawn’s health.

Mowing Recommendations: Frequency and Height

Depending on the type of grass, set the mower to about 3 to 4 inches. There are many benefits to mowing tall. It promotes deeper root growth, improving drought tolerance. Tall turf also provides better shade for the root system, helping to conserve water and block out the growth of unwanted weeds. Additionally, longer grass produces more food for the roots through photosynthesis, reducing the need for fertilizer.

Alternate your mowing direction with each new mow. Always mowing the same pattern encourages your grass to grow in the direction you mow. Varying the direction promotes straighter blade growth, which makes your grass stronger and more resilient at the same time.

When mowing, follow the one-third rule and remove only the top third of your grass blades. If you cut much shorter than that, you risk damaging, weakening, or even killing your grass. In spring, lawn care may require mowing weekly or even more often to keep up with your grass growth.

When to Mow

Knowing when to mow the lawn in spring will increase your chances of successful seasonal maintenance. For general lawn maintenance, it is best to mow after the morning dew has evaporated but before the hottest time of day. Mowing wet grass can cause the cut grass to form clumps. If clumps are left on the lawn, they will block the sunlight, causing the grass below the clumps to turn yellow. Mowing slick, wet grass is also hard on your lawn mower, causing a ragged and torn grass leaf rather than an even cut. Wet, stuck-on grass also causes corrosion damage to the lawn mower.

The Importance of Sharp Mower Blades

Whether your lawn mower is new or old, your mower blade should be sharpened often. A sharp blade produces a clean cut, is less damaging to the lawn, and does not overburden the engine, thereby lengthening the functional life of your mower. Also, you should replace the blade when it develops any nicks, bends, or other damage.

Lawn Clipping Management: Mulch or Remove?

Grass clippings are one of the easiest and most effective ways to feed your lawn. As grass clippings break down, they return nutrients to the soil. Only do this when the grass is dry because wet grass clumps together and can kill the growing leaves beneath it.

Troubleshooting Common Spring Lawn Problems

Spring lawn care and landscape maintenance are complex. When you run into questions, your local Lawn Pride experts have the answers you need for a lush and healthy lawn.

Request a Free Quote for Lawn Care Services Today

If you don’t have the time for the spring lawn care and landscape maintenance you need, call on the pros at Lawn Pride. Let our professional lawn care services turn your grass into the lush green lawn that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

We take pride in our work and your lawn. You can count on being pleased with our service because the Neighborly Done Right Promise^® backs everything we do. We get the job done right the first time.

Request a free quote or contact us today. Let’s make yours a lawn you’ll be proud of.