2025 Atlanta Lawn Care Schedule: Your Essential Year-Round Guide
No one just “happens” to have a well-kept lawn. It takes year-round time and effort. From fending off weeds to keeping pests and diseases at bay, your lawn needs the right care at the right time to thrive. Whether you have Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass, Tall Fescue, or another type of grass, adjusting your lawn care by the season is incredibly important to keep it healthy and green. Keep reading as we uncover the do’s and don’t’s of year-round lawn care in Atlanta.
Winter Lawn Care
As winter settles in Atlanta, lawn care routines shift to adapt to the cooler temperatures and dormant grass. Preparing your lawn during this season is important to maintain its health so it can have a vibrant return in spring. When it comes to winter lawn care in Atlanta, planning ahead is key to ensuring a lush landscape once warmer weather returns.
Soil Testing: The best time to do a soil test is during the winter. During this time, you can get a clearer idea of the current nutrient level and soil pH, so you’re ready to apply the right type and amount of fertilizer in the spring.
Limestone: A lime application is also a great idea for winter lawn care, as it helps balance the soil pH. Lime is best applied in cooler, wet conditions, and should be done annually as a general lawn maintenance practice for healthy soil.
Debris Cleanup: Clear away any fallen leaves, branches, or other clutter to reduce the risk of diseases and let your grass get the air circulation it needs. Leaves block water, oxygen, and sunlight, which your grass still needs during the dormant season.
What to Avoid in Winter
To keep your Atlanta lawn in top shape during winter, it’s important to be mindful of certain practices that could cause damage.
Heavy Foot Traffic: It’s fun to play on your lawn in the spring and summer. But since your lawn is dormant in the winter, heavy foot traffic can cause stress to the lawn, resulting in thin or bare patches.
Fertilizing: There’s no sense in fertilizing during the winter. It’s ineffective and is likely to cause more harm than good – Especially for warm-season grass types. Learn more about Winter Lawn Care.
Early Spring Lawn Care
As early spring arrives in Atlanta, lawns begin to wake up from their winter idleness, bringing fresh opportunities for growth and care. This season is the perfect time to jumpstart lawn maintenance practices that will set the foundation for a healthy, thriving yard. Taking proactive steps is key to revitalizing your Atlanta lawn. There are a few effective practices to help your grass recover from winter and flourish as the season progresses.
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: Apply pre-emergent herbicides to stop winter weeds like crabgrass before they get a chance to germinate (start growing).
Sharpen Your Mower Blades: Make sure those lawn mower blades are sharp so they cut cleanly and don’t tear the grass blades, which can lead to disease and discoloration.
Fertilization: Give your lawn a light “feeding” with fertilization to support its growth as it starts to wake up from winter. Make sure you are actively watering after applying fertilizer if there’s no rain in the forecast.
Spring Overseeding for Cool-Season Grasses: If you have a struggling tall fescue lawn and are planning to skip pre-emergents, you may consider spring overseeding to give it the last boost of growth and repair before summer stress begins. The fall is always the ideal time for fescue overseeding but spring is a good section option, although you may struggle against weeds down the road.
What to Avoid in Early Spring
Avoiding certain practices in early spring is just as important as knowing what to do. Being mindful of these common pitfalls can help protect your Atlanta lawn and ensure healthy growth as the season unfolds.
Scalping Your Grass Too Soon: You might think that cutting your grass low gives you more time before cutting it again. But it can actually cause serious damage if done incorrectly or too soon. Scalping is beneficial for Bermuda grass in the spring as a one-time practice, before resuming the normal recommended mowing heights for the rest of the year. The best time to scalp your grass is after the lawn has started waking up from dormancy and the threat of frost has passed.
Heavy Fertilizing on Dormant Grass: Heavy fertilizing won’t help dormant warm-season grasses and could lead to nutrient runoff, wasting your effort and causing more harm than good.
Late Spring Lawn Care
As April and May arrive, the warming temperatures and longer days are indicators that your lawn is entering a phase of active growth. This is the ideal time to fine-tune your lawn care approach to encourage healthy, resilient grass that can withstand the summer heat. During late spring, taking the right actions can help your lawn build strength and liveliness. From fertilizing to strategic seeding, these practices will prepare your grass for the upcoming demands of summer.
Aeration for Warm-Season Grasses: Warm-season grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia benefit from core aeration, keeping them thick and lush year after year.
Fertilize Warm-season Grasses: If you want your warm-season lawn to grow healthily, you’ll need to fertilize it as it first enters its growing season.
Mowing and Watering: Begin regular mowing and watering if you haven’t already to stimulate the lawn as it greens up. Make sure to avoid watering late in the day. Bag your clippings after the first mow of the season.
Summer Lawn Care
As summer settles in Atlanta, the hot and humid conditions create challenges for maintaining a healthy lawn. Understanding how to adapt your lawn care practices during this season will help keep your grass green and resilient during the intense Atlanta heat. From barbecuing with friends and family to kids running through sprinklers to cool off, you’re more likely to be out enjoying fun in the sun during the summer. Performing certain actions can help your lawn withstand the heat and heavy use.
Mowing Regularly: Mow often to keep your lawn healthy, but keep make sure you’re mowing at the recommended height for your grass type. You should be mowing often enough too adhere to the One-Third Rule, which means you never cut more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.
Water Wisely: Give your grass about an inch of water each week, preferably early in the morning, to prevent drought stress.
Insect and Disease Control: Professional pest control can help you deal with grubs and other pests while preventing common summer lawn diseases that can ruin your lawn. Summer is also a great time to start protecting your family with Atlanta Mosquito Control.
Post-Emergent Herbicides: Stubborn weeds can absolutely destroy your lawn’s beauty, including your flower beds. You can stop them from taking over by applying herbicides shortly after targeted weed control efforts.
What to Avoid in Summer
There are certain common mistakes that can weaken your grass or cause damage. But knowing what to avoid during the peak summer months can make all the difference in maintaining a rich lawn.
Mower Stress on Your Lawn: Not mowing often enough will result in cutting the grass too short in one session, causing mower stress. This appears as discoloration because you’re essentially “cutting out the green”. Make sure to mow around once a week during summer and avoid mowing wet grass.
Overwatering: Overwatering can lead to root rot and even encourage hungry lawn pests to make your lawn their home. Learn How to Keep Your Grass Green in The Summer.
Early Fall Lawn Care
As the cooler temperatures of early fall arrive in Atlanta, you can expect your lawn to enter a period of recovery and preparation. This transitional season is an important time to focus on nurturing your grass and getting it ready for the colder months ahead. Early fall presents the perfect conditions for strengthening your lawn and stimulating healthy root development. Performing key lawn care tasks during this time will set the stage for lush growth come spring.
Fescue Lawn Care: If you have a fescue lawn, it’s best to overseed and fertilize it so you can be sure that you get thick growth before winter hits.
Fertilize Warm-season Grasses: Keep fertilizing warm-season grasses to help them stay healthy as they prepare for dormancy.
Pre-Emergent Weed Control (Again): Stop pesky winter weeds from taking over by applying pre-emergent pesticides at the right time during fall. If you’re planning on seeding a fescue lawn, you’ll want to skip preventative weed control.
What to Avoid in the Fall
Avoiding these common mistakes will help keep your lawn healthy so it can stay strong through winter.
Pruning Trees and Shrubs: Heavy pruning may seem like great lawn maintenance, but it’s not as helpful as it sounds. It can encourage new growth that won’t make it through winter.
Late Fall and Early Winter Lawn Care
As late fall transitions into early winter, Atlanta lawns start to prepare for cooler temperatures and reduced growth. This is the time to finalize your lawn care efforts and prepare your yard for the dormant season ahead. During late fall, there are certain maintenance tasks can help your lawn stay healthy and ready for the colder months. Focusing on these activities now will help your yard stay resilient and primed for the next growing season.
Winterizing Fertilizer: Encourage food storage and healthy root growth by applying winter fertilizer to your lawn while it’s dormant.
Continue Fescue Care: Tall Fescue lawns might still need some attention, such as mowing, watering, and light fertilization, to get ready for winter.
Let the Professionals Handle Your Complete Lawn Care Schedule
Keeping up with a year-round lawn care schedule can be a handful. From soil testing to pest control to comprehensive year-round lawn care, All Turf Lawn Care offers a range of services throughout the greater Atlanta, Georgia area, including:
- Winder
- Loganville
- Suwanee
- Hiram
- Tyrone
- And more
Learn more about our lawn care programs, and let us help you through every season. Contact us today for a free quote!
