All lawns are susceptible to losing at least some of their dark green color and health throughout the winter months. This is due to the grass entering a condition of semi-dormancy during this time. The lawn cannot continue to grow and maintain a healthy green state or repair itself due to the poor growth rates experienced during the cold weather.
Once winter sets in, there isn't much that can be done to improve the health of our lawns. Many of these issues, however, can be successfully solved with meticulous lawn care preparation before Winter.
St. Augustine Winter Grass Care
In the same way that other lawn species lose some of their dark green color and health throughout the Winter, St Augustine grass does. Many Saint Augustine lawn owners have the problem of their grass becoming excessively pale when Winter approaches if it isn't adequately cared for during the year.
Preparing Saint Augustine Lawn for the Winter
Our lawn care throughout the year results in green and lush Saint Augustine grass in the Winter, temperature permitting.
The ultimate goal is to maintain good lawn care practices all year long, resulting in the best lawn health in the Fall before the arrival of Winter as well as wintering your lawn.
Let's face it, with everyone's hectic schedules these days; it's challenging to stay on top of everything we need to accomplish in our lives, including lawn care. These simple lawn care ideas should help us understand the basics of winter lawn care so that we can all keep our Saint Augustine lawns green during the colder months.
Lawn Care Fertilizing Tips For The Winter
One of the most general mistakes we make is forgetting to fertilize our lawns regularly. Lawn fertilizers provide the food and nutrients that our lawns require, just as we do.
It is critical to implement a year-round solid fertilizer program for our Saint Augustine grass. This entails typically applying a decent grade fertilizer every 2-3 months (or much less frequently for delayed-release lawn fertilizers), as well as a winter fertilizer one month before Winter arrives and another 2-3 months later in the middle of the season (or in Spring for slow-release fertilizer).
Iron Treatments For St. Augustine Lawns
The iron content of Saint Augustine grass is slightly higher than that of other lawn kinds. All good-grade lawn fertilizers should contain iron, which is a trace element. Iron contributes significantly to the maintenance of a healthy dark green hue in lawns.
During the active growth seasons (not Winter), an Iron supplement or a mix of Trace Elements may be applied once, twice, and in some instances a few times per year to use in the Fall before Winter.
Weather Conditions Affecting St. Augustine Lawns
Suppose watering is still necessary for the Winter. In that case, lawns on corner blocks or other locations prone to high winds should have their watering monitored to ensure sprinklers aren't wasting water that would otherwise be blown into the street. Evaporation of the grass soil will be more than typical in high-wind areas. This problem will be solved by increasing lawn watering times.
Lawn Mowing Before the arrival of Winter, increase lawn mowing heights to allow the longer green leaf to produce more photosynthesis during the low light levels of Winter.
If you live in a place that does not frost over, lawn mowing should be done regularly right up until the start of Winter and then less frequently in the Winter.
Even if only a few clippings are removed during each lawn mowing service, regular lawn mowing stimulates lawns to produce more green leaf, which will considerably assist the Saint Augustine lawn remains green and healthy during the Winter.
If there are muddy conditions on the grass, don't mow it.
Other Lawn Care Techniques for St. Augustine Lawns in the Winter
Green, healthy Saint Augustine lawns are entirely reliant on year-round lawn care. There are many benefits to hiring a lawn spraying service company. We can substantially improve your winter lawn care and have a beautiful Saint Augustine lawn throughout the year by following excellent lawn care regimens and correcting problems such as clay, water-resistant, and soil nutrients throughout the growing seasons.
