Page 6 - Lawn & Landscape Guide AL

NEVER mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade on each cutting. Keep the lawn at a good high height to help insulate and thus, protect the turfgrass from cold winter temperature that may still be lurking. Centipede: 3” St. Augustine: 3.5” Zoysia: 3”
Sharpen Your Blades: Get your mower ready now so it will be ready when you need it in the coming days and/or months. Service your mower as needed. Change oil, clean air filter, grease machine, and balance and sharpen blades. A good set of balanced, sharp blades allows for a clean cut, not just tearing the plants’ foliage leaving the lawn discolored and more susceptible to insect and disease pressure.
Add Soil Amendment: If you are just getting back your soil analysis results and didn’t have time in January to add your soil amendment, do so now in February.
Watering: Water your lawn as needed. 1”-1.5” of precipitation per week is recommended. If freezing temperatures are in the forecast, refer back to January watering for instructions.
Fertilizer: If potassium was recommended via soil analysis and wasn’t applied in January, you can apply in February. No nitrogen is recommended at this point due to cooler temperatures in the forecast and lawns are not totally out of dormancy.
Pre-emergent: Temperature are warming and February is a great month to apply your pre-emergent. The key to pre-emergent and thus crabgrass prevention is to get it applied prior to soil temperatures reaching 55 degrees.
Post-emergent: Soil temperatures are becoming more favorable for active weeds. Apply post- emergents for weeds that are up and active. Poa annua is a common weed this time of the year that is very difficult to control. It is low growing, in a rosette pattern and has pyramid shaped seed heads.
Fire Ants: Fire ant stings are very painful and are no joke! They thrive in warmer temperatures and but they are active 12 months a year. Fire ants search for areas of direct sunlight so your lawn is a perfect fit. Their mounds can develop very quickly especially after rainfall. Broadcasting baits are most effective.
Tree and Shrub Care
Watering: Water your landscape as needed. 1” of precipitation per week
Pruning: Trees and shrubs are starting to show signs of growth. Therefore, February is a great time to prune. Warmer temperatures are right around the corner so more aggressive pruning can be done. You will shorten the plants recovery time by doing it now as compared to heavy fall pruning. Early in the year pruning, just before warmer temperatures arrive, allows trees and shrubs to flush out soon after heavy pruning. It is also time to cut back your monkey grass too. Cut just above the shoot of new
growth. Remember some plants, such as azaleas, are close to blooming. Refrain from pruning plants just before they bloom. This will certainly affect your colorful harvest. Wait until blooms have ran their course and dropped before pruning your azaleas.
Pruning