As the morning temperatures start to dip and the days shorten, it is a sign that winter is right around the corner. Coming from the Northeast, this weather still seems quite nice but the plants that are adapted to our climate are going to begin going dormant and that includes the lawn.

Oftentimes, turfgrass in winter seems to be an issue for homeowners who like a lush green lawn as the warm-season grasses such as St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, and Centipede grass go dormant. During winter, the plants stop growing to protect themselves from the cold and can sometimes turn a brownish color.

These features do lead to the benefit of less mowing but that is not the only management practice that should be changed for the colder weather.

Irrigation

Last week, we moved out of Daylight Savings Time, which changes the St. Johns River Water Management District’s watering restrictions to one day a week. If you live in an odd-numbered home, you can only irrigate on Saturday and even-numbered homes can water on Sundays. Non-residential properties can only irrigate on Tuesdays and no one can water between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Outside of watering restrictions, your lawn’s water requirements are lessened by the weather. In fact, the average days St. Augustine grass can go without water in our area can be between seven to 28 days compared to the one to five days at the peak of summer. The dormant turf grasses do not need much water to keep going and watering your lawn more will not lessen the winter discoloration from cold.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer in the winter should be avoided at all costs because it will not be used by the plants and will be wasted. This fertilizer will also eventually make its way in to the groundwater and waterways. Wait to do any fertilizing until mid-April.

If you missed your September fertilizer application or were thinking of using winterizer, do not at this point as the new growth that will flush from the fertilization will be very susceptible to frost damage.

Overseeding

So, if fertilizer and irrigation will not make my grass greener during the winter, what can I do? One popular choice is to overseed your lawn with a cool-season grass.

This option is still available to undertake in November and would require you to rake your yard well to remove clippings and create good seed to soil contact. Following this you would spread the new seed, most commonly Ryegrass, and irrigate it well until germination, which is usually in 7-10 days. Once established, this grass would be maintained much the same as your permanent lawn. However, the over-seeded grass will die out in late spring once temperatures begin to rise.

If you have any more questions about turf grass, any other landscape topics, or need plant or pest materials identified, contact the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Office online at http://www.clay.ifas.ufl.edu, follow us on Facebook, or call by phone at (904) 284-6355.