Lawn Care Maintenance for New Lawns

Your new lawn is like a newborn baby—it needs food and water in order to grow and thrive.  The following list will help you establish your newly seeded lawn into a healthy, plush plot of turf.

Between 30 and 45 days after a lawn is seeded, it is a good time to apply another application of starter fertilizer.  An application of a starter fertilizer such as 18-12-6 or 12-22-10 will help feed your grass.

Water Lawn

Keeping your lawn moist is the most important element in establishing a newly seeded lawn.

• Do not over water because this will cause erosion and puddling
• Do not let 1/8”- 1/4” of the soil get dried out for any length of time.  The bare soil will dry out quicker than mulched soil.
• Cracks in the lawn are a sign of not enough water
• Once grass is ½” to ¾” in height, soak longer so the roots will go down into the soil

Maintenance of a New Lawn

Mow

• Once grass has reached a height of 2“- 3” to allow light to reach the slower germinating grasses
• Mower blades should be freshly sharpened every spring to prevent tearing and ripping new seedlings out of the ground by dull mower blades
• Only remove ¼” of top growth (mow high, never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade in a single mowing)
• Mowing short causes stress and dries out the lawn
• Do not leave clumps of grass clippings on lawn

Seed

• Touch up thin or missed spots with new seed

Fertilize ***Please see our 4-Step Fertilization Program***

• Once mowed, this is a good time to apply another application of starter fertilizer
• DO NOT use a Weed-N-Feed

Never apply crabgrass or broadleaf weed control products to newly seeded or reseeded areas until it has been mowed at least 3 times.

Water

• Follow above guidelines

Patience

• A good, healthy lawn takes a year of maintenance