Lawn Phix: Month-by-Month Lawn Care Calendar and Schedule

Maintaining an annual lawn care schedule is paramount to keeping your grass healthy. With New England’s distinctive seasons, it may be challenging to know precisely when to fertilize your lawn or apply weed control measures, especially as there are often seasonal variations in weather and climate to account for. 

Lawn Phix has created this detailed lawn care schedule to help you care for your cool-season grasses. If your property is located in the Northeast, Zone 6b), you can use our New England month-by-month lawn care calendar and schedule to chart your lawn care tasks at a glance. Check out the guide for each month’s turf nutrition and lawn care tasks to promote and maintain healthy, lush green turf. 

View and make a copy of our lawn care calendar on Google Sheets. You can also download a free copy of our cool-season lawn care guide here. 

March Lawn Care

New England Marches can be bitter cold. Even though spring arrives on March 20, the weather may not always cooperate with your lawn care plans. During this month, however, you’re likely to be able to complete these tasks, which will help you prepare for the months ahead.

• Clean up your lawn by removing branches, sticks, acorns, pinecones, and leaves. 
• Evaluate your lawn by looking for signs of  snow mold
• Prepare your lawn mower for the season ahead by sharpening its blades. We love the Gator G3 mulching blade by Oregon.
• Conduct a soil test so you can find out what nutrients your soil may be lacking. You’ll want to amend the soil to support the health of grass roots.

April Lawn Care

In April, you can focus on early spring lawn care tasks like raking to rejuvenate cool-season grasses. Aim to complete these chores this month:

• Lightly rake your lawn to promote healthy airflow. Raking also helps grass blades stand up, allowing them to absorb more sunlight.
• Apply pre-emergent herbicides before soil temperatures exceed 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Tip: when the forsythia begin to bloom, crabgrass seeds are germinating. You’ll want to act to prevent these weeds from sprouting.
• Apply spring fertilizer application if you didn’t apply late fall season fertilizer.
• Apply humic acids and micronutrients to your soil to promote healthful soil microbes. (Kelp4Less ExtremeBlend or Green lawn & Turf or lime here if needed).

Other products to keep in mind for promoting your healthy lawn in April include:

• Products:
  • Barricade (liquid)
  • 0-0-7 Prodiamine (granular)
  • 25-0-10 with Dimension (granular)
  • Dimension 2EW (liquid)
  • Kelp4Less Extreme Blend
  • Green lawn & Turf

May Lawn Care

Once May arrives, you’ll want to ramp up your lawn care routine.

• Mow your grass tall and often. Mulch your clippings back into the grass. Don’t bag grass clippings unless they are too long, in which case you need to mow taller and/or more frequently. Aim for 3 inch grass blades.
• Continue to amend soil based on your spring soil test results. Add a starter fertilizer once soil temps hit 60 degrees and your lawn begins to grow in ernest.
• Use Grub Control & Treatment: If there’s a history of grubs or sod webworms, add grub prevention – we highly recommend Acelepryn. To kill lawn grubs within 48 hours, use an insecticide such as Dylox. 
• Spot spray and kill weeds. For a detailed post about weed control, read How To Get Rid of and Control Weeds in Your Lawn. 
• Understand N counts by using our Nitrogen Calculator.
• Begin your fungicide-preventative treatments now.

• Products:
  • Acelepryn liquid or granular
  • Kelp4Less
  • Carbon Phix
  • Fungicide prevention

June Lawn Care

• Apply a second application of pre-emergent, but use Dithiopyr. It offers post-emergent qualities that will help kill crabgrass and dandelions weeds, and not interfere with fall overseeding.
• Begin your irrigation schedule. Aim for 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, including natural rainwater. Water deeply but infrequently: 2-3 times per week at the most, preferably between 4-9 a.m. 
• Lawn fungus, such as brown patch, is a concern at this point in the year. Seasons with lots of rain and hot humid overnight temps create an ideal environment for brown patch and similar weeds. An application of Heritage G can prevent and control turfgrass diseases for up to 28 days (also see products from May above)
• Raise mower height to 3.5 inches (depending on grass type)
• Spot-spray broadleaf weeds in earlier mornings or later evenings when air temperatures are under 85 degrees

• Products:
  • Heritage G
  • Scott’s GrubEx
  • Merit (Imidacloprid)
  • Milorganite

July Lawn Care

During the heat of the summer season, remember that low rainfalls and high heat can cause dormant grasses. You’ll need to water your lawn as directed to keep it green and healthy.

• Irrigate as long as your town allows. Aiming for 1.5 inches of weekly watering
• Watch for lawn diseases and fungus, especially as humidity rises
  • Apply curative rates of fungicides
• Watch for lawn grubs and other lawn insects, The sooner you combat them, the  more likely you’ll be able to prevent a serious infestation.
• Fertilize with slow release nitrogen fertilizer and organic lawn products
  • Summer Survival (Potash , Humic Acid, Sea Kelp) is a great option
  • Never fertilize dormant turf

• Products:
  • Fungicides
  • Crabgrass Killers
  • Broadleaf Weed Killers
  • Summer Survival

August Lawn Care 

The dog days of summer heat call for vigilance–you’ll want to be weary of insect pests and lawn diseases.

• Keep an eye out for lawn diseases and fungus – especially as humidity rises.
  • Treat with liquid lawn fungicides
• Watch for grubs and other lawn insects
  • Use Dylox Granular or Dylox Liquid to kill grubs and cinch bugs
• Fertilize with organic, slow-release fertilizer
  • Tip: Do not fertilize dormant turf
• Apply micos such as 0-0-2 MicroGreene, RGS or Humic12
• Prepare to overseed and kill lawn weeds
  • Depending on weed type, use broadleaf weed killers and/or crabgrass killers
• Now is the best time to renovate your lawn.

September Lawn Care 

As the fall season approaches, you’ll need to start shifting cool-season grass care to accommodate changes in the weather. This is my favorite time of year and the best time to feed your lawn.

• This month tends to be the ideal time of year to start a new lawn and/or overseed you lawn.
• Dethatch grass using a power rake, tow-behind dethatcher, or dethatching rake.
• Core aeratation doing a double-pass to reduce soil compaction; work up/down then left/right (north/south and east/west)
• Mow low around 2 – 2.5 inches.
• Overseed or slice seed with a quality grass seed such as Jonathan Green Black Beauty or GCI Turf. Depending on how thin or think your turn is, aim for 3- lbs. per 1,000
• Fertilize with  a quality starter fertilizer such as XSTART from Yard Mastery.
• Lime: depending on soil needs, a calcitic lime like Jonathan Green Magical 
• When seeding, you can also use Tenacity.
• If you’re not seeding, consider applyi

October Lawn Care 

October typically calls for attention to leaf removal and other fall-related tasks.

• Mow low again, aiming for a 2.3 to 3 inch grass height. The final cut of the fall season should be 2 inches. 
• If you skipped September tasks, do it early as nighttime temps will drop to unfavorable temperatures for new seedlings that are trying to germinate.
• Begin winterizer fertilizer like Macro-Micro Blend by Yard Mastery or ProPEAT 17-0-4
  • Depending on location – After your final mow (when the grass stops top growth) and before your ground freezes

Related post: Prepare your lawn for winter

November Lawn Care 

Now is the time to wrap up your annual lawn care routine. 

• Lime with pelletized lime to over-winter: Jonathan Green Magical 
• Final application of lawn fertilizers: Macro-Micro Blend by Yard Mastery or ProPEAT 17-0-4
• Final mow with a HOC of ~2″ 

Use this cool season lawn care guide to maintain your attractive lawn. Please let me know what you think of the plan by leaving a comment below.

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