(Post updated March 27, 2024)

It’s almost April! Everything’s growing. Green is everywhere. You can grow a thick, lush lawn on your driveway if you so choose.

And it’s oh so easy to fall into complacency.

Don’t take your full green lawn for anything incredible in the middle of April! The long, hot summer is right around the corner. So stick to the program and get your Spring fertilization done.

The forsynthia, whose blooming signal warming soil temperatures, have been in bloom for at least a week. The key indicator for applying a pre-emergent is 3 or more consecutive days of 50+ degree SOIL TEMPERATURES (i.e. not air temps). Since few people have the capability to measure soil temps, I would wait until mid-April.

If, however, your lawn is already showing signs of dandelion and other weeds, your lawn might best be served by applying a weed ‘n feed now and treating crabgrass later (post-emergent).

Cranky Man’s lawn will receive its pre-emergent treatment in roughly two weeks. This week was spent filling in (with soil) and seeding some damaged lawn areas. This puts us on schedule for a regular weed ‘n feed in three weeks (four weeks from pre-emergent).

The key here is to heed the mantra of a well-respected lawn aficionado, “Everyone’s lawn looks good in April!” No matter how good your lawn looks today, what you do now will get your lawn through the dangerous Summer months!