When it comes to lawns, in our area we grow warm season grasses. They should probably be called hot season grasses, because they grow so fast when it’s hot outside and they have plenty of water either from rain or an irrigation system.  During these dog days, my dogs love to run and play in the grass. I have to remember to cut it every week or it gets so tall that they can hide in the grass.  Forget about the snake in the grass, where did those dogs disappear to?

A healthy warm season grass will be growing fast this time of the year. Fast growth means it is using a lot of nutrients from the soil so don’t forget to fertilize. St. Augustine and Zoysia lawns need ½ a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet around mid-August. Bermuda lawns need 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet to keep the grass growing vigorously until frost. Centipede lawns don’t need to be fertilized in August.

Why fertilize if the grass is growing so fast? Because the grass needs the nutrients so it can outcompete the weeds this fall. A healthy vigorous lawn will be able to shade the weed seed, preventing them from germinating. This means fewer winter weeds to control this fall and winter.