Existing Lawn Care: Keep it Going

  • Continue to mow, edge and water as needed.
  • The best time to mow is in the evening when the grass is dry and temperatures have cooled.

Raise the Blade….to raise your mowing height!

  • 2-3 inches for Fescue & St. Augustine
  • 1-2 inches for seeded Bermuda
  • 0.5 – 1.5 inches for sodded Bermuda & Zoysia.
  • After the last cut, clean down the lawn mower and – if necessary – sharpen the blades or book it in for a service for some time before February at your local mower repair specialist.

Let it Breathe!

  • Aerate the soil if it has been heavily trampled over the summer months
  • Then top dress the soil.

To Fertilize or Not to Fertilize?

  • Fescue should be fertilized towards the middle of the month with a Pike Lawn Fertilizer
  • Bermuda will benefit from a “winterizer” fertilizer applied six weeks before you estimate the first frost. (Do Not fertilize Zoysia, Centipede or St. Augustine grasses.)

Plant Fescue seed.

  • As with other plants, sowing fescue seed in the fall allows the grass to root in and become established before the stressful heat of summer returns.
  • Reseeding creates a denser lawn, and helps prevent broadleaf weed growth.
  • Use 6 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet and mulch with wheat straw to hold soil moisture and protect the seed from birds.
  • To reseed use a broadcast spreader and apply at the directed rate.

Apply a pre-emergent

  • To control winter weeds such as poa annua (annual bluegrass), henbit, chickweed and others, apply a pre-emergent Pike Crabgrass Preventer to your Bermuda or Zoysia lawn around mid-month.
  • Do not apply to a fescue lawn if you plan to sow seed in the fall. Not only will it prevent weed seeds from germinating, but it will also prevent the grass seed from germinating.