Fall prep before dormancy

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler mornings as we work our way into the fall. As the weather cools, your warm-season lawn (Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, or Centipede) will begin its natural dormancy cycle. You’ll notice the grass start to lose its green color and turn brown—but don’t worry, it’s not dead!

Dormancy is how warm-season turf protects itself from cold temperatures, conserving energy until spring returns. During this transition, our focus shifts from feeding the lawn to protecting it.

The largest set-back we see this time of year is fungus. If a fungus takes hold during the transition period it can undo all of the hard work you have done building up nutrients for a successful dormant period. That is why it is very important for the lawn to be protected for fungus this time of year.

During the transition into dormancy, you won’t see any new growth from your warm-season turf. If there are bare or thin areas in your lawn, they’ll remain that way until the grass wakes back up in spring.

If you’d like to improve those areas now, the best option is to install sod in the fall. Sod can take root and establish itself over the winter months, allowing it to blend in and thrive once the lawn greens up again in spring.

We recommend applying pre-emergent weed control at this time to prevent winter weeds from germinating and spreading. This crucial step helps keep your lawn cleaner through the winter and ensures a smoother recovery in spring.

It is important to note that while pre-emergent weed control does prevent weeds from germinating and popping up during the winter and through the spring, that no pre-emergent weed control on the market is 100% effective. We recommend using the most effective products for your lawn that have been researched, tested, and proven to be the best bet on warm season turf (such as Spectacle or Prodiamine) .

Even though your lawn looks quiet during the winter, there’s still a lot happening beneath the surface. We recommend spot treating or blanket treating lawns through the colder months—including January—to maintain weed suppression and prevent unwanted growth.

A split-rate pre-emergent application extends protection deep into spring, while winter post-emergent treatments target any weeds that do emerge.

This is the time of year when you can safely use some of the most effective weed control products, as cool temperatures make them more efficient and less stressful on dormant turf.

It’s also normal for your lawn to look thin or dull during this period. Since warm-season grasses aren’t actively growing, color and density will be reduced—but rest assured, the roots remain healthy and ready to wake up once temperatures rise.

We have seen dryer weather recently, which has created the need for some watering, but we don’t recommend leaving it on auto. It is best to water only as needed throughout these cooler temperatures, which could be once every 2-3 weeks without rainfall. Most of the time the rain that we do get is enough to keep the lawns healthy, but we do see drought conditions without it.

Zach Deloach is the owner of Lawn Doctor of Beaufort County.