THE MOST IMPORTANT LAWN TREATMENTS

Fall lawn maintenance is an important time of the year to help your lawn recover from summer stresses. Turfgrasses shift a good deal of their energy from shoot growth to root, rhizome or stolon growth. This physiological change means that lawns that are thin will increase in density and those with weak or damaged roots will regenerate roots. If you have a thin or weakened lawn, this is the time of year to initiate cultural practices to take advantage of this change in growth habit. Management practices done properly in the fall are our best insurance of high quality turf next spring.

Yard aeration can be done now. Favorable moisture and temperatures along with decreased weed competition make fall the ideal time for yard aeration.

It is also a good idea to fertilize your lawn in the fall to provide the nutrients the lawn needs to recover from summer stress. Proper fall fertility helps increase turf density and takes advantage of increased root development. Nitrogen is the most important element in a fall lawn fertilization treatment. Care should be taken, however, not to over apply nitrogen fertilizer in the fall as high rates of nitrogen have been shown to decrease root growth.

This is also the time of year for broadleaf weed control. Just as with grasses and trees, weeds are translocating and storing nutrients in their roots for the fall and winter. When herbicides are applied they are also absorbed and moved to the root system. When the weather is cool and the weed is growing slowly you may not think the herbicide is working because the leaves aren’t curling, but the plant is taking the herbicide into its root system and you won’t see this weed next spring.