Spring Yard Maintenance Checklist

It is that time of year when you should start preparing  your lawn and landscape for the upcoming growing  season. 

If you are wanting to get your landscape in shape for the upcoming growing season, there  are some areas and services that you should be focusing on before the heat of summer  starts to kick in.  

1. Clean up and preparations (pruning and shrub bed care) 

2. Equipment maintenance 

3. Soil amending & mulching 

4. Early season fertilizer and pest control 

5. Irrigation

When Exactly Does Spring Begin?

If you are looking at a calendar and you go by the dates, the spring equinox is Thursday March 20th, 2025, at 5:01am. Good luck explaining that to your lawn and  landscape! Mother nature does not go by our calendars and could care less about  any deadlines and dates. She is going to do whatever she feels like! 

The spring equinox marks the time when day starts to become even with the night.  Our hemisphere begins to see longer days as we get closer to summer. Plants do  respond to this shift in daylight hours; however, there are other factors that affect  our landscape. 

Air temperature and soil temperature play a large part in the spring transition. As  these temperatures rise, we start to see more activity in growth and nutrient flow in  plants. This starts the “wake up” process, which can be like our alarms in the  mornings to start our day. Of course, not everyone has an alarm, and we may wake  up at different times. There is no universal alarm for everyone, just like in our  landscape. Your neighbor’s lawn may green up faster than your lawn, and that is  perfectly normal. 

Moisture availability is also a factor. The saying “April showers bring May flowers”  has some validity. Plants do need water to begin movement and cellular processes;  however, not all plants need the same amount. Watering alone will not start the  green up process in your landscape, and you can even drown your plants if you are  not careful.

Clean Up and Preparations

Starting around late February and early March there are preparations that should  start so that your landscape is ready for the upcoming spring growth. The first step is  to clean up your lawn and shrub beds.  

Lawn Scalping

During the winter season it is recommended to allow higher-than normal grass coverage. This can help protect root systems during severe cold  temperatures. As we get closer to spring and the chances of severe frosts begin to  drop, we should start getting the grass closer to proper mowing heights. The process  of scalping is especially important for Bermuda and some Zoysia grass types. 

Scalping helps to remove the dead, unwanted clippings and debris that may build up over the winter. It is extremely important to remove all this debris before the growing season. This should be performed over multiple mowings, and you must bag all your clippings.

This helps to set the proper height for mowing during the growing season. A rule of thumb for mowing during the growing season is only cut up to 1/3 of the total leaf. By scalping your lawn early this helps you to start off the season low and slowly.

Shrub Pruning and Shrub Bed Clean Up

During the winter months, a lot of people leave their shrub beds alone. Bad idea! If you continue to keep your beds cleaned and prepped, this is one less problem to deal with come spring. We strongly recommend bed maintenance services year-round.

The beds should also have their edges redefined for a clean crisp edge. You should also be doing bed expansions around trees that are growing outside their tree rings.

Pruning and “right sizing” of your shrubs should be done during this time as well.

This helps the plants start to fill in and form their shapes during the spring growth spurt.

Also, trees should be pruned to help improve air flow, sunlight and clearance for lower ground covers and grass.

Equipment Maintenance

You need to get your equipment in proper working order to handle the upcoming growing season. Follow your manufacturer’s recommendations for equipment care and servicing or you can take your equipment to a shop for maintenance as well. You want your equipment in proper working order so that you do not damage plants and turf during the season.

Be sure to have sharp blades on your mower and sharp edges on any pruners. It is a good idea to replace the mower blades and keep an extra set handy. Always cut your grass with sharp blades for reduced damage to leaf tissue.

Soil Amending and Mulching

Prepping our soil for the upcoming growing season is an important step in the spring. Aeration, top dressing and mulching are the primary services we are talking about. You can also start pH adjustments and “soil loading”. Soil loading is when you add specific nutrients based on soil reports. Aeration – this is the process of breaking up soil compaction and thatch layers. It also improves air and water flow while promoting root growth as well. There is mechanical and chemical aeration available, and each one has advantages to consider.

Make it stand out

Mechanical aeration involves using a machine to poke holes all through the lawn. It can be a messy and time-consuming task. You must be careful of irrigation systems, cables and other hazards that may be buried under your turf. This is the best method when dealing with heavy soil compaction. Bermuda and zoysia lawns can start aeration typically in April, while centipede and St Augustine should wait until May to start. Your lawn will go through a shock and recovery period after this process.

Liquid aeration is relatively new to the market. This process uses chemicals and microbes to open the soil to air, water and nutrients. For properties that do not have a lot of soil compaction or heavy thatch build-up, this process could be a better option. Liquid aeration can be applied multiple times throughout a growing season with relative ease.

Top dressing is the process of adding a manure organic mix to your lawn and landscape.  This product adds readily available nutrients and beneficial microbes to your soil.

Over time, if you top dress on a regular basis you can start to see higher organic numbers in  your soil report. This is much better than our current sandy soil! If you are going for just the  soil amending aspect of top dressing, you can top dress anytime during the growing  season. This is a great way to load several different nutrients into the soil all at one time.

Top dressing is also great for repairing damaged turf and weak areas. For spot topdressing you will need to make multiple applications throughout the growing season. You should typically add more after each mowing.

Mulch and pine straw is an effective way to help prevent weeds and helps to hold moisture  in as well. There are lots of different types and styles of mulch available on the market  today. Make sure that you have done the bed clean up and pruning first. Since this material can break down in our environment, you may find the need to apply more throughout the year. Mulching can add the extra pop to the appearance of your landscape while providing  numerous benefits.

Early Season Fertilizer and Pest Control

As our lawns and landscapes start to wake up, we need to make sure we have some fertilizer already in the soil available for uptake. Timing this application can be tricky. Bermuda and zoysia lawns can be started in April while centipede and St Augustine should wait until May. We need microbes to transform fertilizer into materials that the plant can use. Soil temperatures need to be 50 degrees and rising for this to start. Shrubs can be fertilized in March due to the breakdown rate of the fertilizer.

Generally, in the spring you want higher nitrogen and

phosphorus levels in your fertilizer. However, it

depends on your soil analysis that you should have

performed late fall/early winter last year.

Centipede lawns do not require as much nitrogen. A higher iron content is recommended for centipede.

Our typical blend for Bermuda and zoysia is a 25-5-11 or 24-0-5.

Weed and Feed combination products sound like a great idea. However, if you are using pre-emergent weed control the timing is off. A good weed management program should include 2 rounds of pre-emergent material. Typically, your first treatment should be from January to March, with a follow up round in April to June. You may not need nitrogen fertilizer during these times, and you can potentially over fertilize. Fertilizer should be applied separately from weed management liquids for post emergent control.

Liquid weed management sprays should be applied by a trained professional to ensure the proper coverage and rates.

April is also when you should start spraying for diseases. A good disease management program should be applied around every 30 to 45 days throughout the growing season for optimum protection. Various diseases become active during different temperature ranges and moisture levels.

You can also start insect management sprays as well as growth regulator programs as more of your lawn starts to green up.

As your lawn transitions from dormant to active, you may need to provide irrigation if rain fall is not present. Some grass types may respond favorably to watering while some may not. Zoysia can be drowned if overwatered in the spring, while Bermuda will not be bothered at all. Knowing when to start your irrigation system during this time can be confusing to say the least. We typically would recommend that at least 75% of your lawn has greened up and temperatures remain consistently at 70 during the day or 60 at night. In April, you may only need to water twice per week if there is no rainfall.

You should be doing an evaluation on your sprinkler system to make sure it is operating correctly and getting proper coverage. Any repairs or adjustments needed should be performed before the heat of summer kicks in. Be sure that your system is programmed correctly and watch for puddling or excessive wet areas for run time adjustments. Gear drives and nozzles wear out overtime and should need replacing. If your system has been off for a while, debris may clog your system during the first few waterings. Start testing the system early before irrigation technicians get booked up during the spring rush!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this information has helped you start the spring checklist. It is always helpful to plan and keep up with tasks year-round. We are here to help you! We have many programs available to take the worry and time out of your lawn and landscape needs. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Thank You!

• Routine maintenance – weekly lawn care and mowing

• Details crew – shrub bed maintenance and seasonal plantings

• Lawn and shrub care – Chemical, fertilizer and specialty soil amendments

• Irrigation repair – evaluations and service

• Enhancement – mulch, pruning and basic landscape services

Contact our office at (803) 648-3592 or email me at chris.clement@coldcreek.net