Warm-Season Grass Lawn Guide

The United States is divided up into 3 main climate zones when it comes to warm-season and cool-season grasses. These 3 zones are the cool-season, warm-season, and transition zones.

The northern part of the United States is a great place for cool-season grass types to thrive. If you live in these states, you are setting up your cool-season grass for success. Grass types that do well here include: Kentucky bluegrass, annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescue.

The transition zone is the area where neither cool- nor warm-season grasses are well adapted. Summers tend to be too hot for cool season turfgrass, while winters are too cold for warm season grasses to survive. The transition region ranges from the coastal states of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia, to Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, far eastern Oklahoma, and Kansas. Many people grow tall fescue because of its heat tolerance, and zoysia because of its cold tolerance in these areas.

The warm-season zone is a great host to our warm-season grass types that include: St. Augustinegrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, and zoysiagrass.

However, within these regions, there will be certain grass types that grow better than others.

Zone 1 (Northeast and Midwest): Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, zoysiagrass, bermudagrass

Zone 2 (Transition Zone): tall fescue, zoysiagrass, bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass, overseeded annual ryegrass, overseeded perennial ryegrass

Zone 3 (Southeast): tall fescue, bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, overseeded perennial ryegrass, overseed annual ryegrass

Zone 4 (Coastal Southeast): bahiagrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, zoysiagrass, St. Augustinegrass, overseeded annual ryegrass, overseeded perennial ryegrass

Zone 5 (Mountain West): Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, buffalograss, bermudagrass

Zone 6 (Southwest): buffalograss, bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, overseeded annual ryegrass, overseeded perennial ryegrass

Zone 7 (Pacific Northwest): Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, zoysiagrass, bermudagrass, poa supina

Warm-season and cool-season grasses will have different fertilizer needs at different times of the year. Below is our recommended fertilizer plan for your warm-season grass.

Spring

Your warm-season lawn will most likely come out of dormancy around February or March if you are located in the Deep South. In other regions, your lawn will come out of dormancy around April or May. During the spring, the lawn is getting towards it's active growing season, which is the best time fertilize.

From Feb/March through June (as long as your turf is actively growing), we recommend applying our 16-4-8 Lawn Food, 15-0-15 Phosphorus-Free Lawn Food, and/or our 28-0-0 High Nitrogen.

Lawn food should be applied no more than once every month during the active growing season. Be sure to water your lawn with 1-2 inches of water per week. Since the lawn is in its active growing period, a higher nitrogen lawn fertilizer will be best in most cases, but can vary depending on your soil test. It is highly recommended to obtain a soil test once per year.

Summer/Early Fall

During the summer, your warm-season lawn should be fully thriving. If not, you may have another issue on your hands, such as pests, disease, or drought stress. Make sure you continue to mow weekly, and water your lawn deeply and infrequently, so that your lawn gets about 1-2 inches of water per week.

During this time you can apply our 16-4-8 Lawn Food, 15-0-15 Phosphorus Free Lawn Food, and/or our 3-18-18 High Phosphorus and Potassium Lawn Food, depending on your grass needs and your soil test. It is not recommended to apply a high phosphorus product unless you are establishing a new lawn or have a deficiency. Some states have phosphorus bans, so be sure to look into your local state and county regulations.

Fall

Apply a potassium formula like our 0-0-25 High Potassium before winter dormancy sets in, to invest in plant hardiness for a strong lawn come next spring.

The Whole Growing Season: Micronutrients and Lawn Boosters

To supplement lawn foods during the entire active growing season (Feb/March through September), you can apply lawn boosters such as Lawn Energizer, Growth Booster, Darker Green, and Micro Booster any time during the active growing season. Growth Booster is best if you are seeding or establishing a new lawn or if your lawn is deficient in phosphorus, as indicated by a soil test.

Apply Lawn Energizer, Darker Green and Micro Booster no more than 1 time every 2 weeks during the spring and summer or depending on your grass type, regulations, or soil test.

The Whole Growing Season: Organic Soil Food and Soil Treatments

We offer some amazing organic soil treatments that make a great supplement to your fertilizer program. Our Seaweed Soil Hume, Sea Hume, and Root Hume contain humic acid and seaweed, and are recommended for seeding/establishing a new lawn, promoting micronutrient uptake, and supplementing your lawn to help withstand stressful conditions. These products can be applied once per month or as needed.

Our Liquid Soil Loosener is a great product to use on mature grass to help with the infiltration of standing water and other liquids. Soil Loosener should be applied to a mature lawn, and is not recommended to be applied to new seedlings. If applying Soil Loosener before seeding, apply 4 weeks prior to laying seeds. Soil Loosener should only be applied once every 4-8 weeks and no more than 2 times per year.

If you have any questions, fill out our questionnaire, or send us an email at hello@simplelawnsolutions.com

Note: This guide is to serve as a general lawn guide for warm-season grasses. Individual results and needs will vary depending on location, grass type, weather, soil quality, and other factors. Applying fertilizers to a lawn that is suffering from pests, disease, or droughts will not yield positive results, and these issues should be dealt with prior to applying nutrients. Depending on your location (city, county, state), you may be subject to specific guidelines according to local regulations of the use of fertilizers. It is your responsibility to check with your local agriculture extension to make sure you are following rules and regulations, despite the recommendations made in this guide.