Page 24 - Lawn & Landscape Guide AL

October
Centipede, St. Augustine, & Zoysia
Mowing: Temperature fluctuate this time of the year. Higher mowing heights will help the lawn keep good color and less stressful. Lower mowing heights would have to be offset with more frequent mowings and irrigation to keep it green and healthy. Recommended Mowing Heights-Centipede 3.5” St. Augustine 4”” Zoysia 3.5”, or higher if needed. Never mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade on each cutting.
Watering: Make sure your lawn is getting up to 1.5”-2” of precipitation per week. Generally, we begin to get more rainfall in October but nonetheless be prepared to water. It is best to water in the mornings with less frequent, heavy soakings. This can come from rainfall or irrigation. Do not overwater. This can be more detrimental than lack of precipitation.
Fertilizer: Light fertilizer can be applied as needed.
Pre-emergent: Fall pre-emergents can be applied now and are a great way to catch early germinating
weeds such as poa annua. The key to pre-emergent applications is to apply before the weeds germinate.
Post-emergent: With changes in temperatures, so comes the change in weeds. Fall weeds and other perennials will germinate as conditions warrant. Selective herbicides can be applied to control weeds that are up and active.
Aerate: Aerating your warm season grass is a great cultural practice. In our area, most of our soils are heavy clay and aerating is vital. Aerating not only relieves compaction in the soil, but also allows air, water, and nutrients to get beneath the soils surface to allow your roots grow and expand. Roots MUST have oxygen to grow. Aerating allows for a thicker, healthier stand of turf grass.