Winter Lawn Guide
Addressing the weeds, like annual bluegrass, in your lawn will be your top priority during winter months. (Photo by MSU Extension)
The new year is a great time to start learning about topics you don’t know much about. Our curiosity is at peak, and we have a desire to take on new projects around the home. Let 2024 be the year you learn how to properly care for your home lawn!
How to care for and manage home lawns is one of our most popular topics. Let’s face it, almost everyone has to do it! There are many factors to consider in maintaining the turfgrass at your home. Where do you even start? We’re here to help! This year, we will post a quarterly maintenance calendar for you to follow. There are a handful of tasks to complete for each season.
Without further ado, here are your tasks for the winter season (December 21–March 19):
- Winter weeds can be a nuisance! To control the existing winter weeds in your lawn during January, February, and early March, there are three things to do:
- Use a postemergence herbicide to kill any existing weeds.
- Keep your lawn mowed closely at recommended heights for your type of grass.
- Make plans to use a preemergence herbicide next fall to kill winter weeds before they emerge. It’s better to be proactive than reactive!
- Wait until March to fertilize lawns with warm-season grasses. If you fertilize in January or February, it will encourage rampant weed growth and seed protection, and we don’t want that! In fact, warm-season grasses don’t grow in January and February, so there’s no need to fertilize!
- Now it’s time to tackle summer weeds! Use a preemergence herbicide in late winter to control annual summer weeds that will be sprouting.
And that’s it for winter! Addressing the weeds in your lawn will be your top priority. Grassy and broadleaf annuals in dormant turf often become aggressive and rampant by early March, so be sure to control them. Nobody wants unsightly weeds in their lawn!
The spring checklist will be released in late March! If you have any questions about caring for your lawn, your Extension Office is a great place to go. They’ll be able to help you!
To learn more about caring for your lawn, check out Extension Publication 1322, “Establish and Manage Your Home Lawn.”
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