Spring Lawn Care: Master the Preseason

There are a few things you should consider doing before taking out your mower for the warmer months. Here, we asked the experts for their top five tasks to get your lawn ready so that you and your family can enjoy it to the fullest.

1. Lawn Debris Removal

When temperatures start to rise and the soil is not too wet, get out and rake away leaves, twigs, and any debris that’s found its way onto your lawn. If you left leaves around flower beds to serve as winter protection—and the danger of frost has passed—now’s the time to go ahead and rake them away. This is also a good time to replenish mulch around trees and shrubs.

2. Thatch Removal

Thatch is the layer of living and dead plant stems and roots that accumulates between the living grass in your lawn and the soil surface. A thin layer of thatch is beneficial, helping the soil retain moisture and fortify the grass so it can hold up to foot traffic. But if the layer of thatch becomes more than one-half inch thick, it can lead to problems that will end up hurting your lawn.

You may notice that your lawn requires more frequent watering or that pesticides and fertilizers seem ineffective. This may be because the layer of thatch is restricting their flow. If you see a thick layer of thatch, you’ll want to mitigate it before the season progresses. Core aeration can help (see No. 3) but you can also use a tow-behind dethatcher or a vertical mower.

These dethatching machines feature revolving blades that cut through the layer of thatch and bring it to the surface. You can adjust how far the blades penetrate according to the depth of the thatch layer that has accumulated. Run the dethatcher across your whole lawn in one direction, then make a second pass that’s perpendicular to the first. After that, rake and remove the debris.

3. Lawn Aeration

Soil compaction can lead to several issues that can do a number on your lawn, such as water runoff, soil erosion, and thatch buildup. You can head these off with annual lawn aeration (inserting hollow spikes into the ground or removing plugs of soil), which helps grass access more water and nutrients, improves drainage, and, by boosting the health of the roots, can even make your lawn more drought resistant.

The type of grass you have will determine when you should aerate the lawn. (Check out our explainer for a more in-depth look at whether you should aerate your lawn.) If you have cool-season grass like Kentucky bluegrass or a tall fescue, fall is a great time for aeration, although it can also be done in early spring. If you have warm-season grasses, such as zoysia grass, centipede grass, Bermuda grass, or St. Augustine grass, late spring and summer is ideal.

4. Overseed Lawn Bare Patches

As winter turns to spring, you may notice bare patches of grass from salt or deicing agents around sidewalks or driveways or in heavily shaded areas that didn’t get enough sun last summer. They could use some overseeding, which just means sprinkling some new seed on existing turf.

Fall is a smart time to overseed cool-season grasses, but it can also be done in early spring. You can also fix bare patches in warm-season grasses in the early spring, though if you have St. Augustine grass, purchase sod or plugs rather than seed. Before overseeding, remove any areas of thatch that built up to half an inch or more as explained in No. 2.

Once the thatch is removed, you may as well aerate the lawn. This step will help ensure that there’s good solid seed-to-soil contact, providing the seed access to the water it needs to germinate. If you only have a small area to overseed, you can use a rake to rough up the soil and then lightly tamp down the seeds after spreading.

Before you overseed, make sure any existing grass is no more than 1½ to 3 inches tall and the soil is moist. After sowing, keep the soil moist for several weeks, as seeds germinate and grass gets established. Light, frequent waterings are best. Plan on watering well during the summer months too since the root system won’t be well established yet and the grass may not survive drought.

When you overseed, you can apply a starter fertilizer to help give your new grass a boost and even apply a layer of mulch when you overseed to help the soil stay moist and protect the seeds from birds.

5. Prune Trees and Shrubs

Have you noticed that an overgrown shrub is impinging on your lawn or a tree has begun to block out so much sun that your lawn is now suffering? Late winter or early spring is ideal for pruning many deciduous trees since you’ll be able to see the tree branches better before they leaf out. An added benefit: Pruning before the growing season begins can also decrease the risk of infections like oak wilt. You can also prune summer-flowering shrubs in late winter and early spring; wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until right after they have stopped flowering.