Have you recently purchased a home in North Texas and now have a lawn to take care of? This might feel daunting if you’re a brand new homeowner or if you’re new to the North Texas area. The lawns here are a lot different from those in other parts of the country.
Fortunately, you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. By partnering with a lawn care provider, you can have some of the most important services handled for you. Plus, you’ll have an expert that you can always ask to help steer you in the right direction.
That’s exactly what we’ll do in this guide. We’ve rounded up some of the most important lawn care tips for new homeowners in North Texas.
We’re excited about your new home and want to help you with how to start lawn care in North Texas!
Jump to:
Before you get started with any lawn care, you’ll want to identify what grass type your lawn is made up of as this can affect the care strategy.
The three main grass types that we see are Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine.
By far, the most common grass type in this region is Bermuda grass, which is a hardy grass for the North Texas area, particularly in terms of drought-tolerance.
Bermuda grass will go dormant as soon as temperatures begin to drop but will quickly come out of dormancy as they rise.
One major problem with Bermuda grass is that it does not tolerate shade well. If you have a property with a lot of trees, then your Bermuda lawn could pose ongoing challenges.
Although St. Augustine grass is not a native turf type to North Texas, it performs fairly well here and remains the second most popular type of North Texas grass.
Unfortunately, it is not quite as hardy as Bermuda. It is not as drought tolerant and will require more watering. It is also more susceptible to disease and pest problems and may struggle more over winter than Bermuda grass would. However, it will grow in the shade. And when it is well-maintained, it looks and feels a lot like a carpet (and has even been referred to as “carpet grass” by homeowners).
Zoysia grass is another popular grass type here in North Texas. It handles shade okay and is also relatively pest and disease tolerant. However, it is not very drought tolerant and does require quite a bit of upkeep.
In fact, Zoysia is the only turf type that requires dethatching every single spring season. It can be finicky but is gorgeous when it is well-cared for and is therefore often found on high-end properties.
Best lawn care practices in North Texas MUST involve regular watering.
Water is incredibly important when it comes to keeping your lawn healthy. The North Texas climate makes watering a non-negotiable and for that reason, many homeowners do end up investing in an irrigation system.
The best time to water your Texas lawn is in the early morning. This way, soil can soak in moisture before the sun causes water to evaporate and, generally speaking, the wind velocity is slower earlier in the day.
An exception to this rule is when water restrictions are in place (which might be something new to you if you’re not from Texas originally). Because of our rapid population growth, intensely hot summers, and recurring droughts, water restrictions are common in the region. But this can depend on exactly where you live.
Let’s say your municipality allows homeowners to water their lawns twice per week. We recommend watering morning and evening on those two days so you can achieve four watering times—which is ideal for summer.
As for how long to water your Texas lawn, plan on 10 to 35 minutes per zone, depending on the type of irrigation heads your sprinkler system has. Rotor heads must run longer—25 to 35 minutes per zone—while spray heads can do the job in 10 to 15 minutes per zone.
Lawn care is a year-round necessity here and the best lawn care practices for Texas involve seasonal adaptations. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
It’s important to understand the timing of your fertilization applications. Your lawn has different needs at different times of the year and your fertilization schedule should account for that.
An early spring application of fertilizer will help to start your lawn off on the right foot. Sometimes this first application is considered a “wake-up fertilizer” for the lawn, which will help your lawn as it begins growing again.
But a late summer application in the August-September timeframe will continue to promote healthy growth until early fall and also set your lawn up for success as it heads into the winter months.
Mowing should generally be a weekly occurrence in North Texas during the growing season. Although you might start out bi-weekly when the lawn first starts growing in February or March, you’ll quickly want to transition into mowing once a week to make sure you’re keeping up. Lawns grow fast here in North Texas and you don’t want to be cutting too much of the grass at once as this is stressful for the lawn.
At Grassperson, we also trim the lawn’s edges with every service because this extra step is the difference between a lawn that looks average vs. a beautiful, neat property with clean edges. Especially during the growing season, grass edges can quickly creep onto sidewalks and landscape beds, causing a yard to look messy. Trust us, this extra step is worth it.
It is important to coordinate the timing of your lawn maintenance with lawn care applications and regular watering. We recommend not mowing for 24 hours after a fertilization and weed control application. Ideally, you will not mow the same day that you water your yard.
Weeds are incredibly aggressive here in North Texas where our hot weather can make them grow and spread like wildfire. To keep up, weed control is usually applied up to 7 times throughout the year.
This includes specific pre-emergent applications in fall, early winter, and early spring to address weeds before they mature. It also includes post-emergent applications as needed to treat the weeds that are already growing.
Weeds can be one of the biggest frustrations for new homeowners, particularly if they're not used to dealing with the aggressive varieties we have here. That’s why it’s best to partner with a weed control expert who will know exactly what to apply and when to apply it. You want your weed control product arsenal to be varied depending on the season.
Over the years, we’ve seen many lawn care mistakes that could have been avoided. These can happen to even the best-intentioned people. Here are some of the most common.
There’s so much discussion around under-watering that overwatering tends to get overlooked. But applying too much water to your lawn can also have negative consequences. When the lawn is overwatered, you can end up drowning the roots.
Sometimes it has more to do with the soil being compacted, which is another common problem here in North Texas. Compacted soil is much more likely to become waterlogged and struggle to drain. You might want to talk to a lawn care professional about a lawn aeration service.
Unfortunately, this one happens all too often. When grass is cut too short (also called scalping), you actually harm its ability to perform photosynthesis, which is necessary for healthy growth. This can cause the lawn to turn yellow and start to struggle. The goal should be to cut no more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.
You’ll also want to follow “cut height recommendations” for your grass type.
As we talked about previously, knowing when to fertilize a lawn in North Texas is important. But it’s also about the rate of application.
Overapplication can be a big deal. Lawns that have experienced fertilizer burn might not recover and will need to be re-seeded or sodded. This can require bringing in a pro and spending more money than it would have cost to have your yard professionally fertilized.
Ultimately, a lot of homeowners decide that fertilization is more complicated than they realized and leave this in the hands of a pro.
Playing “catch up” with weeds in Texas can be almost impossible. Because of the aggressive nature of weeds in our region, keeping up with weed control and also preventing as many weeds as possible is imperative.
We’ve also seen homeowners make mistakes with weed control products when taking matters into their own hands.
But the truth is, weed control can be complicated. You need to understand what’s growing in your yard before you can begin to treat it. It’s important that a weed control program is varied with different products for different weeds. Some weeds even require specialty controls.
Do I have to hire a lawn care professional for my new lawn?
While you always have the option of tackling DIY lawn care, many homeowners end up preferring to hand a lot of their lawn care tasks over to a pro. This will deliver superior results while also removing the burden from your shoulders.
Why is my lawn brown?
If you’ve inherited a lawn that already has problems, there could be a lot of different issues at play. Lawns can turn brown from improper watering, pests, diseases, and environmental conditions. If you can’t figure out why your lawn is turning brown, you should consult with a lawn care pro.
Are all lawn care companies the same?
No, there are many differences between lawn care providers so you’ll want to do your research and make sure that you’re choosing a company that can meet all of your needs AND has your best interest at heart. Doing some research before making a hiring decision can help ensure your satisfaction.
As a new homeowner, what you really want is a lawn that you can be proud of. There’s no question that there can be a lot involved and knowing all the best lawn care practices in North Texas might feel overwhelming.
But you don’t have to do it on your own!
Bringing in the right lawn care service can help you make the best decisions for your lawn going forward. A knowledgeable professional can help you to accomplish your lawn care goals.
At Grassperson, it is our goal to take away your burdens and make sure that you have a lawn that you love. No matter what your new lawn is starting out like, we want to help get you on the road to having the best lawn on the block.
Ready for a gorgeous lawn at your Flower Mound, Highland Village, or Lewisville, TX home? Get a free quote and then enjoy the best lawn on the block without the worries!