Plant Selection Lawns Trees What To Do This Month in the Garden FAQs GDD

Lawns

Cool-season grasses have a long growing season and provide green winter color. Tall fescues dominate the home lawn market in Henrico County, though fine-leaf varieties are also used. Fescues are commonly mixed with Kentucky Bluegrass in seed and sod. To plan maintenance activities, refer to the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Maintenance Calendar for Cool-Season Grasses in Virginia. For good turf maintenance tips specifically designed for Henrico County, click here. Generally:

Cutting height is 2″ – 3″; Raise cutting height in mid-May
Fertilize in Fall – late September, October, November
Establish new lawns in September, October
Consider lawn aeration in early Fall. More …

Warm-season grasses, such as Zoysia or Bermuda, go dormant after the first hard frost and stay brown throughout the winter. They are very drought-tolerant and spread by rhizomes and stolons. They are usually established from sod, sprigs or plugs. Bermuda grass is often used in athletic fields and golf course fairways. To plan maintenance activities, refer to the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Maintenance Calendar for Warm-Season Grasses in Virginia. Generally:

Cutting height is 1″- 2″; Raise cutting height in early September
Fertilize in Spring – April, May, June
Establish new lawns in May, after soil is warm
De-thatch / aerate periodically

For help with your lawn, Henrico residents can request an analysis and recommendations from a team of Master Gardeners as part of the County’s SMART Lawns program.

What you can do with leaves to promote economy and biodiversity (and save time and money in the process!)

It’s that time of year when many of us look forward to the beautiful leaves adorning the trees in our yards. Looking forward to all of those leaves falling onto our lawns? Not so much. Instead of raking, bagging or trying blow the leaves away, there are other things you can do. Here are some things you can do with those leaves to do the most good and save you the most time and money. More …

Fall armyworms attack lawns, golf courses in Virginia

By Tom Kuhar, Alejandro Del Pozo and Sally Taylor
Recently, some Virginia County Extension (VCE) agents as well as golf course superintendents in the northcentral and southwestern counties of Virginia have reported fall armyworm outbreaks on lawns and golf courses. This outbreak is earlier than usual and potentially could lead to one of the heaviest pest problems that we’ve experienced from this pest in Virginia. Some lawns have been completely destroyed by these voracious feeders. More …

For cool-season grasses:

Apply broadleaf weed control; Don’t fertilize in Spring

Adapted by Vickie Bell from article by Gil Medeiros, Fairfax Master Gardener
Early April is the right time to apply a pre-emergent product to control crabgrass or a post-emergent product to suppress many of the broadleaf weeds that sprouted in the winter. Many weed-control products are packaged with fertilizer, and that’s a problem. So, why is that a problem? Because its not the right time to fertilize your lawn. You may have to go to a garden center to find weed control products without the fertilizer. Many big-box stores carry only weed-and-feed. Resist the temptation to apply a weed-and-feed product.

Lawn care companies, big-box stores, your next door neighbors, your mailman…they all tell you to fertilize your cool-season lawn in April. The advertisements of nationally marketed fertilizers and the splashy promotions in the big-box stores are correct for some parts of the country. But not here in Virginia! More …