Lawn Care by the Month
Bluegrass and Fescue
March. Apply preemergent to your lawn. Barricade™ and FTN Solutions are the pre-emergent of choice. Our product has a slow release nitrogen to help wake up your grass, and Barricade™ will keep weeds from growing for 5 months They also prevent the broadleaf weeds spurge and purslane. Dimension is also a very good preemergent lasting 3 to 4 months; Dimension will kill very young crabgrass and prevent some broadleaf weeds.
Spray broadleaf weeds. It is much easier to kill weeds when young. Use Weed Free Zone to kill broadleaf weeds.
April. Now is the time for preemergent if you did not get it on in March. Spray broadleaf weeds as they come up. Weed Free Zone is a good product for this.
May. There is still time for preemergent if you did not get it on in March or April. Remember, crabgrass germinated all summer so preemergent is very important. Spray for broadleaf weeds. This is where a tank sprayer comes in very handy. Mix a gallon of Weed Free Zone with Spreader Sticker and spend 10 to 15 minutes spraying weeds each week. Do this all summer and your weed problem will be minimal, or use Weed Free Zone if fertilizing is necessary.
Mid to Late May. Time to put on Imidacloprid or Mach II for grub control. Imidacloprid and Mach II are normally one-time applications.
Late May. Time for a late May fertilizing. This product should be something slow release such as Classic Lawn Food from Fertilome, Bradfield Alfalfa Fertilizer or Milorganite. These are slow release products, which will feed over a long period of time without excessive top growths. If using Bradfield, another application in July would also be helpful to your lawn.
June. Time for Infuse: this systemic fungicide will help prevent dollar spots and brown patch in your lawn, two of the most prevalent disease problems in Kansas City. F-Stop will help control other fungus in the yard also. Reapply in 30 days. There is still time for Grub Control if you did not put it on in May. Actually, Grub Control can be put on until late July with good control of grubs. Deltamethrin would also be a good insecticide to put on now for control of fleas, ticks, and chiggers. Slow release fertilizer would be good now if you did not get it on in late May. Milorganite or FTN Solutions.
Spray for broadleaf weeds as well as some grassy weeds. Use Sedge Hammer for nutgrass. Be sure to use Spreader Sticker. Nutgrass and all weeds will continue to pop up all summer so keep on spraying.
July. Keep spraying for weeds. Apply FTN Solutions or Milorganite if you missed the May or June application. Put on Imidacloprid if you have not. Put on your second application of F-Stop.
We have not talked about watering your lawn yet. Bluegrass and Fescue require approximately one inch of water per week. Set your sprinkler and put a rain gauge out there and water. See how long it takes to put an inch of water down and water that long each week. Water your lawn in the early morning and NEVER water at night. It is better to water during the heat of the day than at night. Also, it is better to water deep and less frequently than it is to water every day for 10 minutes. Watering deep promotes deep roots for your grass and helps prevent disease.
August. This is the month that you really need to prepare for seeding in September. Take care of spraying all the weeds now; this is really your last chance until after the new grass has been mowed twice. Wait 3-4 weeks after spraying weeds to apply seed. Keep an eye out for grub damage. There will be brown areas that lift up like carpet when you grab a clump of grass. At this time, Dylox will be the insecticide of choice. Also spray Enviromax or Earthright late this month, to help soften the soil for verticutting your lawn for seeding. Disease could still be a problem and using Infuse is your best weapon and will not harm seed.
September. Best month for seeding (see handout on seeding lawns) and DO NOT apply any weed killer until after new seeds have been mowed twice. Apply Family Tree Nursery Fall Rejuvenator + Seed Starter. The Fall Rejuvenator gives the lawn a high dose of nitrogen with an added boost of micronutrients and root stimulator.
October. Put Family Tree Nursery Winterizer down in mid-October. With cool air temperatures and warm soil temps, quick release nitrogen in the Winterizer encourages thick root growth without lots of top growth.
November. Apply another round of Family Tree Nursery Winterizer in late-November. A total of 3 applications throughout the fall season are recommended.
December. You are done for now!
Natural/Organic Fungicides:
Spray broadleaf weeds. It is much easier to kill weeds when young. Use Weed Free Zone to kill broadleaf weeds.
April. Now is the time for preemergent if you did not get it on in March. Spray broadleaf weeds as they come up. Weed Free Zone is a good product for this.
May. There is still time for preemergent if you did not get it on in March or April. Remember, crabgrass germinated all summer so preemergent is very important. Spray for broadleaf weeds. This is where a tank sprayer comes in very handy. Mix a gallon of Weed Free Zone with Spreader Sticker and spend 10 to 15 minutes spraying weeds each week. Do this all summer and your weed problem will be minimal, or use Weed Free Zone if fertilizing is necessary.
Mid to Late May. Time to put on Imidacloprid or Mach II for grub control. Imidacloprid and Mach II are normally one-time applications.
Late May. Time for a late May fertilizing. This product should be something slow release such as Classic Lawn Food from Fertilome, Bradfield Alfalfa Fertilizer or Milorganite. These are slow release products, which will feed over a long period of time without excessive top growths. If using Bradfield, another application in July would also be helpful to your lawn.
June. Time for Infuse: this systemic fungicide will help prevent dollar spots and brown patch in your lawn, two of the most prevalent disease problems in Kansas City. F-Stop will help control other fungus in the yard also. Reapply in 30 days. There is still time for Grub Control if you did not put it on in May. Actually, Grub Control can be put on until late July with good control of grubs. Deltamethrin would also be a good insecticide to put on now for control of fleas, ticks, and chiggers. Slow release fertilizer would be good now if you did not get it on in late May. Milorganite or FTN Solutions.
Spray for broadleaf weeds as well as some grassy weeds. Use Sedge Hammer for nutgrass. Be sure to use Spreader Sticker. Nutgrass and all weeds will continue to pop up all summer so keep on spraying.
July. Keep spraying for weeds. Apply FTN Solutions or Milorganite if you missed the May or June application. Put on Imidacloprid if you have not. Put on your second application of F-Stop.
We have not talked about watering your lawn yet. Bluegrass and Fescue require approximately one inch of water per week. Set your sprinkler and put a rain gauge out there and water. See how long it takes to put an inch of water down and water that long each week. Water your lawn in the early morning and NEVER water at night. It is better to water during the heat of the day than at night. Also, it is better to water deep and less frequently than it is to water every day for 10 minutes. Watering deep promotes deep roots for your grass and helps prevent disease.
August. This is the month that you really need to prepare for seeding in September. Take care of spraying all the weeds now; this is really your last chance until after the new grass has been mowed twice. Wait 3-4 weeks after spraying weeds to apply seed. Keep an eye out for grub damage. There will be brown areas that lift up like carpet when you grab a clump of grass. At this time, Dylox will be the insecticide of choice. Also spray Enviromax or Earthright late this month, to help soften the soil for verticutting your lawn for seeding. Disease could still be a problem and using Infuse is your best weapon and will not harm seed.
September. Best month for seeding (see handout on seeding lawns) and DO NOT apply any weed killer until after new seeds have been mowed twice. Apply Family Tree Nursery Fall Rejuvenator + Seed Starter. The Fall Rejuvenator gives the lawn a high dose of nitrogen with an added boost of micronutrients and root stimulator.
October. Put Family Tree Nursery Winterizer down in mid-October. With cool air temperatures and warm soil temps, quick release nitrogen in the Winterizer encourages thick root growth without lots of top growth.
November. Apply another round of Family Tree Nursery Winterizer in late-November. A total of 3 applications throughout the fall season are recommended.
December. You are done for now!
- Natural /Organic Fertilizers we recommend: (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium)
- Corn Gluten 9-0-0
- Milorganite 6-2-0
- Earthalizer 4-1-5
- Coop Poop 5-3-2.5
Natural/Organic Fungicides:
- Serenade-Lawn Disease Control
- Natural/Organic Herbicides:
- Pharm Solutions-Weed Pharm* (NON-SELECTIVE Herbicide)