Lawn Care Guide

St. Augustine: we generally mow at 3 to 4 inches. Taller grass shades the soil, which helps in Texas summer heat. Texas A&M AgriLife's range for St. Augustine is 2 to 4 inches.

Bermuda: it's kept shorter, at 1 to 2 inches.

Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife, St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management; AgriLife Bermudagrass Calendar

Often enough that you never remove more than one-third of the leaf height in a single mowing. That's the rule Texas A&M AgriLife gives for St. Augustine.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

Leave them. We mow with a Toro TimeMaster, a mulching mower. It chops clippings fine and returns them to the lawn, where they break down and put nutrients back into the soil. Texas A&M AgriLife says returning clippings is a good way to recycle nutrients.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, Bermudagrass Home Lawn Management Calendar

St. Augustine grows best in warm temperatures, around 80 to 95°F. In winter it goes dormant and turns brown or off-color. That's normal for a warm-season grass.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management

Texas A&M AgriLife says St. Augustine's nitrogen needs can be met with 1 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet a year. The right amount depends on the length of the growing season, your soil and your grass variety.

Fertilize only when the grass is actively growing. The first application of the year comes once you've mowed at least twice in spring, which shows new growth. A soil test from Texas A&M's testing lab tells you what your lawn actually needs.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management

Thatch is a layer of undecomposed stems and roots between the green grass and the soil. It's likely to form on St. Augustine lawns that are heavily fertilized and watered, and a thatchy lawn is prone to drought and insect damage.

If the layer is more than ¾ inch thick, it can be removed gradually with a vertical mower or by scalping in April or May, when the grass is healthy and actively growing.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

St. Augustine is considered the most shade-tolerant warm-season grass. Texas A&M AgriLife points to St. Augustine or zoysia where shade is a concern, and a few Bermuda varieties, such as Celebration and TifGrand, do adequately in moderate shade.

In shady lawns, St. Augustine is best kept a little taller, at 3 to 3½ inches.

Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife, St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management; Bermudagrass Home Lawn Management Calendar; Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

Several problems cause brown patches in St. Augustine, and the fixes are very different, so work out the cause before you treat.

• Drought stress: a dull, bluish color, rolled or folded leaves, and footprints that don't spring back.
• Chinch bugs: expanding, irregular patches with a yellowing halo, usually in hot, sunny spots.
• Brown patch fungus: circular or semi-circular patches, often after over-watering or unusually wet weather.
• White grubs: grass that pulls up easily with few roots.

If we notice patches on your lawn, we'll text you photos.

Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife, Chinch Bugs in St. Augustine Lawns; Collin County Master Gardeners, St. Augustine Grass Care; Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

Find out which bug you have first, then remove what draws it, and treat only if you need to.

• Mow regularly and cut back or spot-treat weeds. Tall, weedy grass gives bugs cover.
• Seal your trash cans. If one is cracked or won't close, ask whoever collects your trash to replace it.
• If you still need a treatment, use a granular lawn insecticide labeled for your pest, applied with a broadcast spreader.
• Follow the label exactly: rate, timing and watering-in. Keep pets and children off until it's watered in and dry. Check the label for rain and drain restrictions.

ReedMow doesn't apply insecticide. If we notice damage on your lawn, we'll text you photos so you can act early.

The southern chinch bug is one of the most important insect pests of St. Augustine in Texas, and it does the most damage in the Gulf Coast region.

What to look for: expanding, irregular patches of dead or stunted grass with a yellowing halo around the edge, often in hot, dry, sunny spots. It can be mistaken for drought or brown patch (brown patch is usually circular), so finding large numbers of the insects is the best proof.

Repeated, broad insecticide applications can reduce the insects that eat chinch bugs, which can lead to more of them. If you treat, follow the label.

Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife, Chinch Bugs in St. Augustine Lawns; Chinch Bug Management in Lawns

White grubs are beetle larvae that feed on grass roots. The damage shows up as irregular patches of dead grass that can look like drought. In severe cases, the turf rolls up like a carpet. In Texas, most damage happens in summer and fall.

To check: dig up a small section at the edge of a dying patch. If the grass pulls up easily with few roots, and you find 5 to 10 grubs or more per square foot, treatment may be justified. Some lawns never have grubs, and others have them year after year.

ReedMow doesn't apply insecticide. If you treat, follow the product label.

Sources: Texas A&M AggieTurf, White Grubs; White Grubs in Texas Turfgrass (E-211)

Texas A&M AgriLife's preferred method is the Two-Step Method.

• Step 1: broadcast fire ant bait over the whole yard. Ants carry it back to the colony. In the Houston area, the best times are late April or May, and late September or October, when ants are foraging. To test, put a small pile of bait next to a mound. If ants find it within 30 to 60 minutes, it's a good time.
• Step 2: treat the individual problem mounds with a mound drench, granule, bait or dust.

Follow the product label.

Sources: Harris County AgriLife Extension, Red Imported Fire Ants; Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project

Texas A&M AgriLife says the best weed control is a healthy, dense lawn. Beyond that:

• Hand removal works for weeds in the lawn and in beds.
• Spot treatment with herbicide is for weeds hand removal can't handle. Treat only the weeds, and follow the label.
• Pre-emergent herbicides stop summer grassy weeds like crabgrass as the seeds germinate. In Houston, that's around late February.

Our weed control works this way: hand removal, with herbicide spot treatment when necessary.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

Heavy clay is common in our area. It packs down and sheds water instead of soaking it in, so less reaches the roots. Core aeration opens it up.

Source: UMass Amherst, Compaction and Cultivation. It says low infiltration in compacted soil causes water to pool and run off, leaving less for the root zone.

• Water pools or runs off instead of soaking in. That's what compacted soil does.
• The screwdriver test: push a screwdriver into moist soil. If it's hard to push in, you may need to aerate. Test moist soil, since dry soil is harder to penetrate.

If it does, core aeration is best in spring and early fall, and it's for weekly and biweekly customers. See core aeration.

Sources: Clemson Extension, Aerating Lawns; UMass Amherst, Compaction and Cultivation

Spring and early fall. Aeration is for weekly and biweekly customers, and compost is a separate add-on priced by your yard size. See core aeration.

It's a good pairing. Iowa State University Extension says spreading a thin layer of fine compost, about ¼ inch, along with core aeration is one of the best ways to apply it. The compost settles into the holes and works down toward the roots.

Compost is a separate add-on for aeration customers, priced by your yard size. See core aeration.

Source: Iowa State University Extension, Core Aeration of Lawns

First find out why the spot went bare (see "Why does my lawn have brown patches?"), or the new grass can fail for the same reason.

Then small areas can be repaired with sod pieces or plugs. Sod roots fastest when the grass is actively growing. For Bermuda, St. Augustine and zoysia, that's spring, late summer and fall. Keep it moist while it roots. See sod installation.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Turfgrass Establishment for Texas

Texas A&M AgriLife's advice for St. Augustine is to water only when the grass needs it. When you do, wet the soil to a depth of 6 inches. Then wait until the grass shows drought stress: a dull, bluish color, rolled or folded leaves, or footprints that don't spring back.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife, Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns

A layer of 2 to 3 inches suits most beds. Keep it several inches away from tree trunks and plant stems. Mulch helps keep soil cool, hold moisture and cut down on weeds. See mulch installation.

Source: San Antonio Water System, Mulch Matters

A rough Houston-area calendar, from Texas A&M AgriLife sources:

• Late winter (around late February): pre-emergent herbicide for summer grassy weeds like crabgrass, if you use one.
• Spring: fertilize after you've mowed at least twice. Remove thick thatch in April or May if needed. Put down fire ant bait in late April or May. Aerate.
• Summer: water only when the grass shows drought stress, and watch for chinch bugs in hot, dry weather.
• Fall: aerate in early fall, put down fire ant bait in late September or October, and clear thick leaf cover.
• Winter: St. Augustine goes dormant and turns brown or off-color. That's normal.

Sources: Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns; St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management; Harris County AgriLife, Fire Ants; Chinch Bugs in St. Augustine Lawns

• Mow tall. We generally mow St. Augustine at 3 to 4 inches, which shades the soil.
• Water when the grass needs it, then soak. Look for a dull, bluish color, folded leaves, or footprints that don't spring back. Then wet the soil to 6 inches.
• Watch for chinch bugs. They do the most damage in hot, dry, sunny spots, and the damage can look like drought.

Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife, Maintaining St. Augustine Grass Lawns; Chinch Bugs in St. Augustine Lawns

Ordinary leaf fall: our Toro TimeMaster is a mulching mower. It chops leaves into small pieces that filter into the turf and break down more easily, returning organic matter to the soil.

Thick or wet leaf cover: a heavy layer of whole leaves smothers grass by blocking the light it needs, and deep or wet layers may need to be raked or bagged. That's what our heavy leaf cleanup covers.

Sources: Purdue Turfgrass Science, Keep Mowing to Mulch Those Tree Leaves; Purdue Extension

Heavy layers of leaves have to come off the lawn, but they don't have to go to the curb. Purdue's turf specialist says leaves can be composted or used as mulch on garden beds. Chop or mow them into small pieces first, and don't apply more than a 3-inch layer.

Our heavy leaf cleanup bags leaves. Hauling them away is an added cost.

Source: Purdue News, Layer of leaves can damage lawns

• When: sod can be planted nearly year-round, but it roots fastest when the grass is actively growing. For Bermuda, St. Augustine and zoysia, that's spring, late summer and fall.
• Watering: keep it moist while it roots. Sod that dries out soon after planting can shrink and separate, leaving gaps where weeds can grow.
• First mow: wait until the grass is a third to a half taller than your mowing height.

See sod installation.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Turfgrass Establishment for Texas

Keep grass from growing at the base of the tree. Mower blades, mower decks and string trimmers often damage trunks and roots, and string trimmer damage all the way around a trunk can girdle a tree. Mulching around the tree to stop grass growth helps prevent it. See tree rings.

Source: Texas A&M Forest Service, Lawn care around trees