Fall lawn care tips for Fort Worth after the rain

Fall rain in North Texas often gives Bermuda and St. Augustine lawns a last growth spurt before winter. A few simple habits keep the yard healthy heading into dormancy.

Mowing after a soaking rain

• Let it dry first. Wet grass clumps, cuts unevenly and can leave ruts in soft soil. Waiting for the surface to dry out gives a cleaner cut.
• Don’t chase the growth spurt. If the lawn shot up after rain, bring it down gradually instead of taking off more than about a third of the blade at once.
• Keep the usual heights: roughly 1–2 inches for Bermuda and 3–4 inches for St. Augustine.

Watch for brown patch

Cool, wet fall weather is prime time for brown patch (large patch) in St. Augustine: circular areas of yellowing or brown grass. Reducing extra irrigation after rain, watering early in the morning rather than at night, and not over-fertilizing late in the season all help.

Leaves

A light layer of leaves can be mulched right into the lawn with the mower. Thick piles left sitting through wet weather can smother grass, so keep them from building up.

Cut back on watering

As temperatures drop, warm-season grass needs much less water. After a good rain, turn off or reduce sprinklers, and follow Fort Worth’s current outdoor watering rules.

Heading into dormancy

Bermuda and St. Augustine slow down through October and November and go dormant after the first hard freeze. You can usually stretch the time between cuts as growth slows, then stop once the lawn is dormant.

Need the yard caught up after the rain? We Do Lawns DFW does one-time and recurring cuts, as low as $39 per cut. Text a yard photo for a quote.