Winter lawn care in most of the US means that your lawn will go dormant during cold weather, so not much happens with lawns during this time. However, South Florida is a different story because moderate year-round temperatures mean that keeping your lawn green and vibrant during the winter can be a little tricky for most homeowners. A lot of proven practices and treatments go into developing your lawn to its full potential, even in the winter.

Winter lawn care

Preparation for a beautiful winter lawn begins in the fall by fertilizing in late September through early November while the lawn is still actively growing. Keeping the grass growing strong and maintaining a healthier lawn in the warmer months will help prepare the lawn for the cooler winter months when it is not growing as actively and may even go dormant. Other concerns for your winter lawn include:

· Watering – This is where it gets tricky! Because the rate of water evaporation slows down in the cooler months, overwatering or irrigating in the winter causes water to stand on your lawn and invites fungi and diseases to develop. Once fungi or diseases get started on your lawn, it can be frustrating and time-consuming to return your lawn to a healthy state. Watering your lawn every couple of weeks works for most South Florida lawns in cooler seasons. Overwatering prevents your grass from developing deep roots. If your grass is forced to reach deeper for water, it will grow healthier and stronger each year. You may need to adjust your watering cycle if your grass appears blue or gray in places, if more than half of your lawn’s grass blades fold in half or if your grass doesn’t spring back when stepped on, leaving footprints.

· Mowing – Cutting your grass too short and cutting too often during cool months can stress your lawn and make it vulnerable to disease and harmful insects, as well. Make sure to mow your lawn to remove debris, weeds, and fungi before overseeding your lawn.

· Irrigation systems – Ensure your irrigation system is functioning well. The cooler months provide a good time to get your irrigation system serviced, so it’s ready to go in the spring.

· Coloring – If your dull lawn is stressing you out, several tricks of the trade that golf courses and other sports venues use to enhance the color of their lawn involve turf colorants consisting of paint and dye applications that make your lawn look greener but they do not take the place of watering and mowing your grass properly. This usually involves calling a professional and can get rather expensive.

· Overseeding – This does not pertain to the vast majority of St. Augustine grass lawns in South Florida as seed is not used on these grasses. For other types of grasses and lawns, particularly up north, you certainly can and should overseed your lawn with grass seed that grows during the winter to keep your grass green. Feel free to get carried away and put out a lot of seed. Ryegrass provides winter grass that is relatively inexpensive, widely available, and grows fast. This winter grass will die out in the spring and be replaced by spring and summer grass in the warmer months.

Professional care for your lawn and shrubs

Here’s the good news! If you want to take the guesswork out of caring for your lawn and shrubs, professional pest control companies such as Petri Pest Control Services can keep your lawn and landscape plants healthy all year long. We offer several lawn care programs in addition to spraying shrubs and small trees less than 10 foot tall that surround your home. In South Florida, ornamentals and shrubs are susceptible to aphids, mealy bugs, scale, whiteflies, and other pierce-sucking insects, in addition to chewing insects, such as beetles and caterpillars. Petri Pest Control Services recommends spraying plants in your yard, as well as your lawn regularly, along with treating overwatered plants for fungus conditions, if necessary.

Lawn Care Programs

We offer two programs for your lawn care.

· General Lawn Program

This program is ideal for homeowners that are seeking assistance treating their lawns in the fight against disease and insects that are common issues for South Florida lawns.

o Utilizes a power spraying method to apply an insecticide that works to eliminate and prevent common lawn pests, including chinch bugs, sod webworms, armyworms, and fire ants.

o Our trained and licensed service technicians will also check your lawn for brown patch and gray leaf spot, as possible fungus conditions that we treat with a fungicide.

· Total Lawn Program Plus (TLP)

Our all-inclusive lawn treatment program protects your lawn from harmful insects and lawn diseases in addition to providing fertilization and broadleaf weed control. We will thoroughly inspect your lawn during nine scheduled visits per year to determine the treatment or application it needs to grow stronger, healthier, and greener. We also advise our TLP Plus customers on proper mowing and watering practices, as well as address other issues that can affect the health and appearance of your lawn (i.e., shade in your yard, high traffic areas, etc.). Our technicians are trained in identifying and correcting lawn conditions typical for South Florida Saint Augustine turf. As a Total Lawn Program Plus customer, based on the time of year and your lawn’s needs:

o During each visit, we apply a specifically selected treatment, formulated to continuously feed your lawn.

o Perform broadleaf weed control from November through March.

o As a TLP Plus customer, you can choose to add flea and tick protection in additional areas of your yard.

Both lawn care programs guarantee free retreatment for covered pests in the event any pest activity occurs between our regularly scheduled visits. With our lawn care programs, Petri Pest Control Services will leave a door hanger and post a sign following each visit service, in addition to emailing you a service report detailing the service performed during our visit, including pests and conditions we observed, along with suggestions for a greener, stronger, and healthier lawn.

Petri Pest Control Services, a family-owned, full-service pest control company has been proudly serving South Florida since 1956. Maintaining and enhancing South Florida’s luscious lawns and landscaping plants from our Pompano Beach and Boynton Beach locations, connect with Petri Pest Control Services as your lawn care company, for a lawn that will be the envy of your neighborhood – contact us today!