Spring lawn care after a tough winter: Expert explains what to fix now and what to leave alone
With warmer weather finally upon Virginia after a harsh winter of snow, ice, and cold spikes, many homeowners are discovering lawns that look unusually brown, patchy, or damaged. According to Virginia Tech turfgrass specialist Mike Goatley, the biggest mistake people can make right now is rushing to “fix” a lawn that isn’t ready to grow.
“Patience will be important now because until we have sufficiently warmer soils and longer days, we won’t have significant growth with most of our lawn and landscape plants,” said Goatley, professor of turfgrass science in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. “The amount of brown grass we have from this winter is greater than normal because of the severity of the cold and the duration of snow cover.”
Goatley said winter browning is normal — even for cool-season grasses like tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass that we perceive to be green year-round — but it’s important to check on warm-season grasses.
“Cool-season grasses need sufficiently warmed soils and longer day lengths,” he said. “We do need to pay attention to the warm-season grasses like St. Augustine, centipede, and Bermuda for any signs of winterkill as they break dormancy in April and early May.”
This winter’s prolonged snow cover also triggered an unusual wave of snow mold, a fungal disease that looks alarming but typically resolves on its own.
“The Extension turfgrass team is receiving photos from across the region of snow mold,” he said. “This fungus is always present in our soils, but it’s favored by the conditions under a persistent snowpack. So it’s not something we typically see on our turfgrasses.”
As bad as snow mold can look, Goatley said, no chemical applications are recommended because the lawn will almost always recover once growing conditions arrive.
One of the most immediate risks this spring isn’t disease — it’s traffic on saturated soil.
“When soils are this wet, the best thing you can do is stay off the lawn,” Goatley said. Ruts from vehicles or snow removal equipment can linger all season, and he recommends gently lifting rutted areas with a pitchfork to restore the surface.
Goatley cautioned against fertilizing too early in the spring.
“Delay nitrogen fertilizer until mowing begins,” he said. “Total spring and early summer nitrogen should generally not exceed 1 pound per 1,000 square feet to prevent excessive shoot growth and weak roots.”
Rather than rushing treatments, Goatley suggests using late winter and early spring to plan.
“If it’s been more than three years since your last soil test, this is a great time to do one,” he said. "Before mowing season begins, use these last few weeks to sharpen blades and service your mower — a clean cut makes for a healthier lawn.”
Goatley said that if lawn owners practice patience now, they can prevent expensive and time‑consuming problems later in the year.
About Goatley
Mike Goatley is Virginia’s turfgrass Extension specialist with more than 30 years of experience helping the public establish and maintain beautiful lawns. He leads the turfgrass cultivar evaluation program at Virginia Tech and is involved in research projects that optimize the potential to have a great looking, healthy lawn through management programs that promote environmental stewardship.
Interview
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