It may not feel like it yet, but Spring is right around the corner. As your lawn begins to respond to nature's wake-up call, prepare your new home in Birmingham for a year of healthy growth with the lawn care it needs. The lawn’s beauty will easily add to the value of your home and having the perfect landscape plan before you start will ensure your lawn gets what it needs. By tackling a few simple chores this spring, your yard will be thriving all summer long.

1. Apply fertilizer and pre-emergent herbicide

By applying pre-emergent herbicides, you’ll keep the seeds that dropped last year from germinating. Fertilizers supplement the nutrients found in your lawn's soil and keeps grass growing thick and lush.  It’s important to know the type of grass you have and to apply the proper fertilizer at least twice a year during the peak growing seasons. Cool-season grasses should be fertilized during early spring and at the onset of fall. Use fertilizer with higher nitrogen concentrations when fertilizing in autumn to ensure the survival of the grass. Warm-season grasses flourish during the summer months. A nitrogen-rich fertilizer should be spread in the spring, when the lawn shows its first signs of vibrancy. Fertilize again in late summer. 

2. Clean the landscape

Start by raking all lingering leaves and blades of grass that didn’t survive the winter time to allow new growth. Avoid raking when then ground is soft or muddy, as you could pull up healthy grass crowns from underneath. Trim dead and excess growth off of trees and shrubs in your yard. Dead limbs could be an indication that disease is spreading to the rest of the shrub. Always remove any tree limbs that extend precariously over driveways, walkways or any place in that yard where people tend to gather. These can be become a hazard if they fall. The best way to stop this from happening is to get a trimmer and prune your trees once after every three years. Just remember to do this at the beginning of the spring time rather than the winter. Pruning promotes healthy growth by eliminating parts of the shrub that are dead, infested with harmful insects or damaged by weather. It also allows you to shape the growth of the tree or shrub, resulting in a more aesthetic appearance.

3. Start mowing

As soon as the ground is dry enough and the grass is long enough to cut, it’s time to start mowing. Keeping your lawn well-trimmed will help grass grow at a healthy rate and give it a neat and manicured appearance. Try to mow your lawn every five days for the first six weeks of spring. Then, mow about once a week. This will help prevent pests and accidents while ensuring a thicker, lusher lawn. Different grass requires a certain cut, so research to determine how short you should cut yours. For a reference, try to keep grass height between 2.5 to 3 inches. During peak summer, however, allow the grass to grow about a half inch longer. This helps the grass provide shade and retain moisture. If you cut the grass too short, it will allow the sunlight to reach the soil, encouraging weeds to grow in place of the grass. Make sure you give your lawn mower a checkup before bringing it out of winter hibernation. Dull blades should be sharpened, tires should be inflated and there should be enough oil in the motor.

4. Consider adding mulch

Mulch is a great way to control weed growth and prevent too many from poking through the greenery and native plants in your yard. By blocking sunlight from reaching the weeds, they won’t be able to grow into a real threat. In addition, mulch absorbs water, so it provides an extra moisture barrier on top of your native plants. This is especially important during warm months when the hot sun can do a great deal of damage to plants that are not hydrated properly. Mulch can cause pest problems if it is too close to the foundation, so if you are unsure check with a local lawn care expert.

Now you have all the basics to get your lawn ready for spring. Follow these tips, and you’ll have a beautiful, lush, and green yard, with healthy trees and shrubs throughout the warm months. For more information on keeping your yard lush and healthy, contact your local lawn care experts or visit our website https://harrisdoyle.com/blog for more yard tips.