March Tips

Reviving Your Lawn

March is typically the month where you begin to revive your lawn from its winter slumber. There are some very important things you need to do to insure that your lawn greens up healthy and strong.

Raking

Raking your lawn will promote air flow through the grass blades. This discourages diseases like snow mold. You also want to remove all old leaves that have fallen from your trees. Next on the list is core aeration. This also promotes good air flow, but will also help loosen the soil and help the ground absorb water easier. Aerating also stimulates root growth and promotes dense turf. Finally, you will want to apply the first fertilizer of the year. Even though your lawn may still be dormant, this application will strengthen and stimulate the grass roots. Your local garden center can recommend some quality spring time products, or check our website for recommended professional tree and lawn care companies.

Power Raking

Although power raking lawns has declined over the years, some lawns may require a good spring dethatching. If a company has a property that has heavy thatch build up, they will want to dethatch it while the grass is still dormant.

Mowing

Proper mowing is one of the most important facets of lawn care. Proper mowing promotes deeper roots, prevents water loss, and thickens the turf. This in turn allows the lawn to be healthier and reduces weed activity. When mowing, you never want to remove more than 1/3 of the blade of grass at one time. Typical mowing height in Colorado for our Blue Grass lawns is between 2 1/2”-3 1/2.” As summer heat approaches, the mowing height should increase towards the 3 1/2” mark. Commercial and residential mowing companies will want to sharpen their blades at least once a week to ensure a clean blade tip cut. Dull blades can cause injury to the blade tip making the grass susceptible to disease and cause a decrease in overall appearance.