Our Blog

Spring is the most important lawn season in Texas. The decisions and actions taken between March and May determine how the lawn looks and performs through the summer months — and the homeowners who approach spring with a clear checklist of what needs to happen and when consistently get better results than those who react to problems as they appear without a plan.

This checklist covers everything a Texas homeowner needs to do in spring — organized by timing so you know not just what to do but when each task produces the most benefit. Work through it systematically and your lawn enters summer better prepared than it would be from any other single investment of time and effort.

Late February to early March: the planning and preparation window

The first spring tasks happen before the lawn is actively growing — in the planning and preparation window when the groundwork for the season is laid.

Schedule your spring hydroseeding appointment now if bare or thin sections need to be addressed. This is the single most time-sensitive task on the entire spring checklist. Hydroseeding contractors in the DFW area fill their spring calendars quickly — peak season availability is limited and the homeowners who call in late March or April often find that the best contractors are already booked for weeks. If any section of your yard needs hydroseeding to establish or restore coverage make the call in late February or early March while the calendar is still open.

Walk the full yard and assess the condition honestly. Note the sections that are bare or significantly thin. Note drainage problem areas — low spots that will pool water after rain. Note areas where shade may have contributed to poor performance in previous seasons. This assessment drives every subsequent decision on the checklist and it is more accurate now before growth begins than it will be when green-up starts and recovering sections look better than they actually are.

Check the irrigation system. Turn it on and walk every zone looking for heads that are not rotating not popping up or delivering reduced flow. Note coverage gaps — sections of the yard that no head is reaching consistently. Fix problems now before the irrigation season begins in earnest rather than discovering them in July when the lawn is already showing the stress that uncorrected coverage gaps create.

Early to mid-March: pre-emergent application

Pre-emergent herbicide timing is one of the most calendar-sensitive tasks in the spring lawn care sequence and one of the most commonly missed or mistimed.

Pre-emergent prevents summer annual weed seeds — primarily crabgrass and goosegrass in the DFW area — from germinating. The application needs to go down before soil temperatures reach the threshold where those seeds activate — typically around 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit at the two-inch depth. In most North Texas years this window falls in early to mid-March depending on the temperature pattern of the specific year.

Apply pre-emergent when soil temperatures are in the 50 to 55 degree range — a soil thermometer gives you the accurate reading that calendar date cannot. Apply too early and the product may break down before weed season arrives. Apply too late and weeds have already germinated past the point where pre-emergent prevents them.

Critical note: if you are planning a spring hydroseeding application do not apply pre-emergent within eight to twelve weeks before the application. Pre-emergent prevents grass seed germination with the same effectiveness it prevents weed germination. The pre-emergent timing and the hydroseeding timing need to be coordinated — discuss both with your contractor before applying anything.

Late March to mid-April: green-up assessment and first active steps

Late March to mid-April is when Bermudagrass begins greening up in the DFW area as soil temperatures climb above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the assessment window that reveals what actually happened over winter.

Assess green-up pattern across the full lawn. Sections that are greening up uniformly and vigorously are heading into the growing season in good condition. Sections that are slow to green up or that show persistent brown at mid-April while surrounding areas are active need closer examination — pull the brown grass and check the crown tissue to distinguish dormant from dead sections.

Sections with dead crowns confirmed in the mid-April assessment are candidates for spring hydroseeding renovation. Contact your contractor for the renovation sections as soon as crown death is confirmed — a late April hydroseeding application on confirmed dead sections gives the new grass a full growing season ahead.

Begin the spring fertilization program after green-up is clearly visible and consistent — not before. Fertilizing dormant or barely-green Bermuda before active growth is established wastes product and can promote weed growth in bare areas without benefiting the grass. Wait for clear uniform green growth before the first spring fertilizer application.

Dethatch if needed. A light raking or power dethatching of the lawn after green-up removes the dead thatch layer that accumulated over winter — opening the soil surface to water and nutrients and creating the seed bed conditions that overseeding or hydroseeding renovation requires. Dethatching is most productive when the grass is actively growing and can recover quickly from the disturbance.

Mid-April to May: active growing season establishment

Mid-April through May is the peak spring window for Bermudagrass establishment in the DFW area. Soil temperatures are in the active germination range and the full growing season lies ahead. This is when spring hydroseeding applications produce their best results.

Execute hydroseeding applications on bare or confirmed dead sections during this window. A late April or May application gives Bermudagrass the longest possible establishment runway before summer heat arrives — more time for root development more growing season ahead and more favorable germination conditions than a delayed summer application provides.

Aerate the established lawn sections. Core aeration in the active spring growing period opens the compacted clay soil that is common across the DFW area — creating penetration pathways for water nutrients and developing roots. The channels from spring aeration allow the organic matter of topdressing to penetrate below the surface and benefit the root zone rather than sitting on top of the compacted surface.

Topdress with quality compost after aeration. A thin quarter to half inch layer of quality compost worked into the aeration holes builds organic matter in the clay profile over multiple seasons. This is a long-term soil improvement investment that produces compounding returns — each spring application builds on the previous ones and the clay soil structure improves progressively.

Begin the mowing program when Bermuda reaches the appropriate mowing height — one and a half to two inches for established lawns. Mow before the grass gets ahead of the schedule — removing more than one third of the blade height in a single session stresses the grass and reduces density. Regular mowing through spring at appropriate height builds the density that is the best weed competition available.

May: transition preparation for summer

May is the transition month — spring growing conditions are giving way to early summer and the management decisions of May directly affect how the lawn enters the most demanding period of the year.

Deepen watering sessions progressively through May. The transition from spring moisture to summer heat is when root depth development is most critical — each watering session that penetrates deeper than the previous encourages roots to follow moisture downward into the cooler moister soil below the surface heat zone. The root depth built through May is the primary determinant of how the lawn handles July and August.

Monitor for first signs of pest activity. Chinch bugs armyworms and other summer pests begin appearing in late spring in the DFW area. Early detection when populations are small and damage is limited allows treatment that is significantly more effective and less disruptive than treatment after populations have established and damage is widespread.

Apply a second pre-emergent application if the spring application was made early and product longevity may not carry through the full summer weed season. Some pre-emergent products have active periods of sixty to ninety days — a split application strategy with a second application in May extends coverage through the summer months when annual grassy weeds are most active.

Consider iron application for color enhancement. Iron applications on Bermudagrass lawns produce a deeper green color without the growth push that nitrogen fertilization creates — useful for improving lawn appearance through late spring and early summer without increasing mowing frequency or disease susceptibility.

The hydroseeding window within the spring checklist

The spring checklist has a clear window for hydroseeding that is worth calling out specifically — late March through May is the optimal application window for Bermudagrass establishment in the DFW area and the homeowners who hit this window with properly prepared surfaces get the best results of any timing available in the full calendar year.

The practical implication for the checklist is sequencing. Schedule the contractor in late February. Do the site preparation in March — compaction relief topsoil addition debris removal and drainage correction. Execute the application in late March through April when soil temperatures are reliably in the germination range. Commit to the establishment watering through the germination window. Transition to the growing season management schedule after establishment completes.

This sequence within the spring checklist produces the full season establishment that makes first-year lawn performance significantly better than an application delayed until summer — more root development time better soil temperature alignment and the natural moisture support of spring rainfall during the most irrigation-intensive establishment phase.

The spring checklist at a glance

Late February to early March — schedule spring hydroseeding appointment assess full lawn condition check irrigation system.

Early to mid-March — apply pre-emergent at the right soil temperature timing confirm pre-emergent and hydroseeding timing do not conflict.

Late March to mid-April — assess green-up pattern confirm dormant versus dead sections begin spring fertilization after clear green-up dethatch if needed.

Mid-April to May — execute hydroseeding on bare and dead sections aerate established sections topdress with compost begin mowing program.

May — deepen watering sessions progressively monitor for pest activity consider split pre-emergent application apply iron for color enhancement.

The bottom line on spring lawn preparation in Texas

Spring is when the lawn for the whole year is made or left to chance. The homeowners who work through this checklist systematically — addressing each task at the timing that produces the most benefit — enter summer with a lawn that is prepared for what Texas delivers. The homeowners who wait until summer to react to problems that spring could have prevented spend the hottest months managing a lawn that is already behind where it should be.

Start early. The late February call to schedule the hydroseeding estimate is the most leveraged action on the entire checklist — it is the one that positions every subsequent action in the right window rather than reacting to a calendar that has already moved past the optimal timing.

‍