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We all enjoy the look of a healthy Florida lawn. There are many benefits to having a healthy yard besides the curb appeal. A healthy lawn will keep weeds out, be tolerant to drought and easily able to withstand stress from your kids playing on it. So what are some things you can do to help your lawn stay healthy all year round?

Fertilize Properly

This sounds simple enough. So when should you fertilize, how much and what type? One great tool for understanding your yard and fertilizer is found in the Florida Lawn Handbook. These guidelines from the University of Florida will help you with rates and timing. You’ll also want to pay particular attention if you have any streams or ponds near the area you are treating. Staying at least 10 feet away with any treatments will make certain that fertilizer doesn’t leach into the water.

Mowing The Lawn

A regular mowing schedule during the growing months will help you keep a healthy Florida lawn. You never want to remove more than 1/3 of the grass at any one time. Different type of grass should be mowed at different heights. If you miss a week of mowing and your grass is tall, raise you blades higher. Give you lawn a few days then cut at the lower height. This gradual change will keep your grass healthy.

Recommended height for grass mowing

Bahiagrass: 3.5 – 4″
Centipedegrass: 1 – 2″
St. Augustinegrass: standard cultivars, 3.5 – 4″; semidwarf cultivars, 2 – 2.5″
Zoysiagrass: The majority of these cultivars should be mowed at 1.5-2″

Watering The Lawn

More healthy Florida lawns are damaged by over watering than by under watering. If you water too often and too much, you lawn may look good for a while. What you are doing though is training your lawn to have shallow roots. This makes your grass more susceptible to drought and even disease. Never water your lawn to the point that there is run off. This means you are wasting water that your lawn cannot absorb and use. You also should always water early in the morning .

If you would like a green yard, give us a call. You can also complete our free estimate request now. Together we can work on a plan specific for your yard. Keeping the weeds and pests out of the lawn and enjoying a green Florida yard all year round.