No matter where you live, and regardless of the type of grass you have on your lawns, aeration is an excellent way to ensure its appearance and health. However, it is also essential to know when to aerate the lawns and which equipment to use. There are other things that you need to do to ensure your grass grows well. This will also help to limit the ability of weeds to grow in it and gain a foothold in your turf areas. 

We at DNS Landscaping provide customized lawn maintenance plans to our clients, and aeration is an essential aspect of these. Here is some information that will help you know exactly which time of the year you should aerate your lawn.

When Should You Aerate?

Aeration adds some amount of temporary stress to the grass.  The recovery time is connected to annual growth cycles and growing conditions. When creating an aeration plan as part of your annual lawn care maintenance, these aspects need to be kept in view.  It is best to perform aeration right before high growth. However, it should not be during or preceding stress to your turf.

The type of grass on your lawn will determine which time of the year is the best to aerate. If you have cool-season grasses such as ryegrass, or bluegrass, you should aerate it during spring and fall, which are the growth periods. In case you have warm-season grasses like buffalo grass, zoysiagrass, St. Augustine or Bermuda grass, it is a good idea to aerate it during the warmer months which is early autumn and late spring.

Some Pointers

• During springtime, aerate the lawn after you have mowed it a few times. This will ensure the grass is growing fast enough and that it will recover quickly. It can take advantage of the higher air exchange and increased pore space that aeration creates at the root zone.
• It is also a good idea to apply pre-emergent weed control products and organic fertilizers right after aeration. 
• However, if you are going to overseed the lawn after aeration, do not apply the weed killer as it will prevent the seed from germinating.
• It is always a good idea to water the grass after aeration.
• Never perform aeration when the grass is wet or when there is a lot of moisture in the soil.
• It is a good idea to overseed after aeration if you have brown or bare patches in your lawn area. This is because the seeds have better contact with the soil due to the disturbance in the surface. This encourages successful germination.

Aerating your lawn at the right times is crucial to its health and this job is best left to expert landscapers like us. For any more information about aeration and the right time to do it, feel free to call DNS Landscaping at (210) 765-8667. You can also use this Contact Us form to send us an email, and we will call you back shortly to discuss your requirements.