Lawn Weeds and Pre-Emergent Timing in North Alabama
From the lawn and property care guide.
Lawn and property care guide · North Alabama
The North Alabama lawn care year
What matters in each season here, from dormancy and pre-emergent timing through green-up, summer stress and fall cleanup.
How to read this
Soil temperature, not the calendar
Almost everything below happens when the soil says so rather than when the month does. A warm February and a cold one are two different years, and a lawn responds to the ground it is in.
This matters most for the two pre-emergent windows and for spring feeding, where being a fortnight late changes the job entirely. It matters less for cleanup and pruning, where a few weeks either way is of no consequence.
The seasons below are therefore described by what is happening to the lawn rather than by dates. Somebody standing on the property in the week in question is a better guide than any calendar, and that is part of what a regular maintenance schedule buys.
Late winter into spring
Green-up, and the first pre-emergent window
The spring pre-emergent goes down before summer weeds germinate, as the soil warms through the mid-fifties. Everything else waits for the lawn to genuinely wake up.
Spring is also when winter damage becomes visible, and when a lawn that greened up unevenly shows which parts of it are struggling. Circular areas that simply do not come back in Bermuda are worth looking at properly - the disease and pests guide covers what that can be.
Watering usually needs very little attention in spring. The soil is still holding winter moisture and the grass is only starting to move.
- Spring pre-emergent, timed to soil temperature rather than to a date. Late is the same as not at all
- Deliberate scalp on dormant Bermuda or zoysia, if the dead top growth needs clearing before green-up
- Soil test now if you have never had one - the recommendation arrives in time to act on
- Do not feed warm-season grass yet. Wait until it is mostly green and has been mown once or twice
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they flower, not before, or you are cutting off the blooms
Summer
Height, water and watching for trouble
Through the hottest weeks the useful work is mostly restraint: raise the mowing height, water deeply and early, and keep an eye out for damage that spreads.
Summer is also when a dry spell turns a lawn brown, and it is worth knowing that this is usually dormancy rather than death. Bermuda and zoysia will hold in dormancy for several weeks and green back up when water returns. The drought and dormancy guide covers how to tell that from real damage.
- Raise the deck a notch. Taller leaf shades its own soil and holds moisture longer
- About an inch of water a week, rainfall included, in one or two deep soakings
- Watch for armyworms from late summer. They can strip an area in days rather than weeks
- Feed warm-season grass through its growing season, following what the soil test recommended
- Aerate warm-season lawns now if they need it - while the grass can heal the holes
- Warm-season sod and plugs go down now, into warm soil, so they root quickly
Fall
The busiest season, and the one people underestimate
More of next year is decided in fall than in any other season. The second pre-emergent window, fescue seeding and the leaves all land within a few weeks of each other.
Burweed - the sticker weed that hurts bare feet in April - is a fall job. It germinates now, grows quietly through winter looking harmless, and forms its spines in spring. By the time anybody notices it, the useful window was months earlier.
Leaves are the other fall reality. A heavy layer left on turf blocks light, holds moisture against the crowns and mats down after rain, and what comes out from under it in spring is thin or gone. Most properties want a pass while leaves are still falling and a final one once the trees are bare.
- Fall pre-emergent, as soil cools back through the mid-fifties. This is the one that decides how many winter weeds you have
- Seed tall fescue in September or October, so it has a winter and a spring before its first Alabama summer
- Feed fescue now. It runs on the opposite clock to the warm-season grasses
- Stop feeding warm-season grass well before the first frost
- Cool-season flower changeover goes in
- Book leaf removal early. Everybody in the county wants the same three weeks
Winter
Dormancy, and the work that is easier with the leaves off
A dormant warm-season lawn wants almost nothing. Winter is for the jobs that are easier when you can see the bones of a property.
Winter is also when the difference between dormancy and damage is easiest to misread. Dormancy is even across the whole lawn. Damage has edges. If part of a lawn is a different color from the rest of it in January, that is worth a look rather than a wait.
- Warm-season grass is brown and dormant. That is normal, and it is not dead
- Almost no watering. Never run irrigation during a freeze - ice on walks, and split lines and heads
- Structural pruning on plants that flower on new wood, while the shape is visible
- Gutters cleared once the leaves are down. This is the important one of the year
- Pressure washing - our humidity grows algae on shaded concrete through the winter
- Christmas lights installed, maintained through the season, taken down and stored
Answers
Questions about seasonal calendar
When should pre-emergent go down in North Alabama?
Twice a year, both timed to soil temperature. The spring application goes down as soil warms through the mid-fifties, before summer weeds germinate; the fall one as it cools back through the same range.
When should I seed tall fescue?
Fall - September or October. It gives fescue cool nights and warm soil, plus a full winter and spring to establish before its first Alabama summer.
When should I book fall leaf removal?
Most properties want a pass while the leaves are still coming down and a final one once the trees are bare. Book early, because everybody in the county wants the same three weeks.
Is it normal for my lawn to be brown in winter?
Yes, for Bermuda, zoysia, centipede and St. Augustine. Dormancy is even across the whole lawn; damage has edges.
When is the best time to aerate?
While the grass is actively growing, so it can heal the holes. For warm-season lawns here that is late spring through summer; fescue is aerated in fall.
Read next
Related reading
Leaves, Fall Cleanup and Winter Lawn Preparation
From the lawn and property care guide.
Fertilizer, Lime and Alabama Soil Testing
From the lawn and property care guide.
Leaf Removal and Seasonal Cleanup
A service HRH Lawn Care handles.
HRH Lawn Care Services
Not sure what your property needs?
Call and ask. We would rather come and look at it than guess over the phone, and it does not cost you anything either way.