How to Transition Your Lawn From Winter to Spring and Summer

Welcome to late spring in Arizona! The temperatures are quickly rising, and – if you haven’t already done so – it’s time to transition your lawn from winter to summer sod. Arizona’s climate is a special place, and the care your lawn needs is specific to our region. What works for other parts of the country simply isn’t applicable for a high-desert area, so to help you transition to your summer lawn, we’ve compiled a few tips.

Transitioning Your Lawn From Winter to Spring

Mid- to Late Spring: Proper Temperatures

In Arizona, transitioning from winter to summer sod usually starts when temperatures hit 95 to 100 degrees on a regular basis. When the thermometer begins to approach triple digits on a regular basis, rye wilts out, and Bermuda grass tries to grow.

At this phase, the first step is to lower the blades on your mower. By lowering your mowing height, you’ll give Bermuda the room it needs to grow.

Early to Mid-Summer: Dethatching

You should dethatch your lawn early to mid-summer. It’s important to wait until the Bermuda grass is ready to grow. If you dethatch too early, the process will discourage the rye grass from growing. Be mindful that dethatching can stress your lawn out a bit, so it’s important to take care of it throughout the process.

Alternatively, you can dethatch in mid-August when Bermuda grass is growing like crazy because it’s had all summer to become strong and healthy. If you wait until late summer, it will recover very quickly.

Early May: Fertilizing

You’ll want to use a complete fertilizer. Around May 1st, put your fertilizer out at half-rate. If you use full-rate fertilizer this early, the rye grass will grow too much. Although this may sound ideal, it’s not a good thing. You can use full-rate fertilizer in June when the Bermuda grass is really growing.

Throughout the Process: Watering

Your grass needs water throughout the transition process, but your lawn needs different amounts at distinct phases in the process. Be mindful that when it gets hot, your lawn will get spots as part of the transition process. Don’t overreact by over-watering. Instead, you simply need to hand-water your lawn just enough to nurture the brown spots away. If you water every two to three days, this should do the trick.

Are you ready to transition your Arizona lawn from winter to summer grass, but you’re not sure where to start? Our team at Evergreen Turf is here to help! Look at our How to Install Sod page, and feel free to reach out to us at 480.456.1199 if you have any questions!

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