Preparing Your Lawn for Spring Planting

Preparing Your Lawn for Spring Planting

Spring is right around the corner. That means that it’s time to start preparing your lawn for spring planting. Recently, our own Denise Hickey and AgriLife Water University’s Patrick Dickinson were on WFAA Channel 8 giving tips on how to have the best lawn in the neighborhood this spring and save water at the same time.

There are three key tips to keep in mind when preparing your lawn for spring:

  1. Start mowing now – get rid of the brown and bring in the new
  2. Weed prevention – pre-emergent – keeps weeds from coming up
  3. Perennial pruning – “spring clean” your lawn by getting rid of the old and bringing in the new

After taking these steps to prepare your lawn for spring, it’s time to think about your watering practices to save water, help manage your water bill, and have a beautiful yard. There are several ways you can use less water in your landscape, including planting native and adaptive plants and avoiding overwatering.

Plant native and adaptive plants

Native and adaptive plants are a great choice for North Texas lawns because they:

  • Require less water
  • Withstand hot summer months and survive during drought
  • Require less fertilizer and pesticides

There is still a misconception that planting native or adaptive plants means cactus, twigs, and other dry desert-looking plants. That’s not at all true in North Texas! Many species of native or adaptive plants are beautiful with green leaves and colorful blooms. The trick is to find the right ones. That’s where our friends at Texas A&M AgriLife’s Water University come in. Their ULandscapeIt tool is perfect to help you plan the right plants for each area of your lawn.

Avoid over watering

Choosing native or adaptive plants also helps prevent the biggest waste of water outdoors – overwatering. There are two ways to learn how much and when to water:

  • Soil Meter – Use a soil moisture meter for lawn, flowerbeds and potted plants. It will register the amount of water in the soil and let you know if you need to water or not. You can purchase these at most big box retailers and garden centers.
  • WaterMyYard.org – Sign up at WaterMyYard.org and you will receive a weekly text or email with detailed information on how much to water your lawn based on real weather data in your area. Check out this free online tool at: bit.ly/watermyyard

Denise and Patrick will be back on the air with WFAA Channel 8 on March 18 with more tips and valuable resources on lawn and garden care and best watering practices.