12 Spring Lawn Care Tips for New Orleans

Spring in New Orleans brings confusing weather for your lawn — and a lot of yard work ahead of the first mow of the season.

What do we mean by confusing weather? You might see your live oaks shedding leaves in March while your St. Augustine grass is trying to green up. This mix of dead leaves and new growth creates a perfect environment for fungus if you are not careful. 

What do you need to do now to get your grass ready to deal with our humid summers? Our Spring Lawn Care Checklist details what to do and when.

OK, here’s how to clean up the winter mess and get your lawn ready for the heat…

1. Prepare your lawn mower

Prepare your lawn mower in late February or early March. In New Orleans, most local lawns (warm-season grasses) wake up from dormancy around mid to late March, once the soil warms up. You do not want to be fixing a broken mower when the grass is already growing fast.

Here’s a short list of steps you can take now to make summer lawn care easier:

• Sharpen your lawn mower’s blades. 
• If you use battery-powered tools, check the batteries.
• For gas-powered lawn mowers, replace the spark plug and filter and change the engine oil. 
• Make sure your weed eater has plenty of string trimmer line. 

Read more:
Best Lawn Mower Maintenance Practices 

2. Clean up winter debris

Start cleaning your yard in early March, as New Orleans’ live oak trees drop their old leaves in the spring. This cleanup period can extend through early May as oaks continue shedding.

Remember, thick piles of leaves on your lawn can trap moisture, which in Louisiana’s humid climate can contribute to lawn fungus or damage to your grass. You also need to pick up any fallen branches, as these can easily break your lawn mower blades.

Follow the City of New Orleans sanitation rules for your regular scheduled collection day:

• Bag your leaves: Put leaves and grass clippings in sturdy trash bags and place them next to your personal trash cart (not inside the cart). Set them out no more than 24 hours before your scheduled collection day.
• Bundle your sticks: Cut fallen branches to 4 feet or less and tie them in bundles for easy pickup. Bundles should weigh no more than 75 pounds.
• Protect the drains: Never blow leaves into the street, as this clogs the catch basins and causes street flooding.

3. Test your soil

If you skipped soil testing in the fall, you should do it in late February or early March. Even New Orleans’ fertile river soil can have pH imbalances that “lock up” nutrients, effectively starving your St. Augustine or Zoysia, regardless of how much fertilizer you apply.

Note: University labs typically take 10 to 14 days to process soil test results during the busy spring rush — so submit your soil samples early to avoid any delays.

Good to know: If your soil test report indicates you need pH-balancing amendments like lime or sulfur, these require time to break down and alter the soil chemistry before they are effective.

Mind the gap: Apply any soil amendments at least 4 weeks before fertilizing, so the amendments and the fertilizer won’t counteract or interfere with each other. 

Read more:
How to Soil Test Your Lawn
How to Read a Soil Test Report

4. Treat lawn diseases before new growth starts

Several lawn diseases are common in spring in New Orleans. Many of these diseases are the result of fungi that love our springtime heat and humidity.

Look for symptoms like faded patches in your lawn so you can treat any diseases before the growing season kicks into high gear in late spring. 

Be on guard against these lawn diseases in New Orleans in springtime, according to Louisiana State University Ag Center’s Louisiana Lawns Best Management Practices:

• Large patch: Treat in mid-March if you see circular brown patches during green-up. Large patch thrives in cool nights (60 to 75 degrees); however, applying preventative fungicide in the fall is most effective.
• Dollar spot: Look for silver-dollar-sized bleached spots when days are warm but nights remain cool. Unlike other fungi, dollar spot attacks nitrogen-deficient lawns, so proper fertilization is the best cure.
• Take-all root rot: Yellowing patches often appear during spring green-up in New Orleans. While fall applications are most effective, treat with fungicide in mid-March to protect roots from further stress.
• Slime mold: Harmless powdery gray or purple spores often cover grass during wet New Orleans springs. Chemical treatment is unnecessary; simply wash off the cosmetic mess with a garden hose. 
• Fairy ring: Dark green rings or mushrooms often appear after heavy spring rains. Fungicides are rarely effective; instead, aerate the soil and mask the symptoms with deep, consistent watering.

Read more:
How to Identify and Treat Grass Fungus 

5. Weed control for now and later

Spring in New Orleans is a battle on two fronts: eliminating winter weeds before they drop seeds and blocking summer weeds before they invade. 

Apply pre-emergent weed preventer in late February or early March. This creates a barrier in the soil that stops summer weeds, like crabgrass, before these weeds even sprout.

Then look for weeds already growing. Apply a post-emergent herbicide in March or early April when you notice weeds in your lawn. Don’t bother with this step if you don’t already have a weed problem. 

Warning: If you have only a few weeds, pulling them by hand is the safest choice for your lawn. Avoid strong “weed and feed” fertilizers in spring, as these can burn your grass while it is trying to wake up.

Here’s a short list of weeds to look out for during springtime in the New Orleans area:

• Lawn burweed (stickers): These sneaky weeds grow low in winter and make painful stickers in spring. Spray them in early March before the stickers get hard, or suffer when walking barefoot on your grass.
• Virginia buttonweed: This mat-forming weed shows up in spring and spreads fast. Do not pull Virginia buttonweed as breaking stems makes it grow more. Spray Virginia buttonweed with a targeted weed killer.
• Dollarweed: These look like silver dollars and love wet New Orleans soil. Dollarweed appears year-round. Reduce watering first, then treat with Atrazine-based sprays during spring green-up.
• Purple nutsedge (coco grass): It looks like grass but grows faster and taller in wet spots. Never pull it, or it multiplies. Treat with a sedge-specific spray once you see it.
• White clover: This common weed has three round leaves and white flowers in early spring. It is easy to control. Hand-pull small patches or use a standard weed spray.

Good to know: LSU’s Ag Center has a handy Louisiana weed database (with pictures) to help you identify common weeds found in New Orleans yards.

6. Prevent lawn pest infestations

Lawn pests start breeding in March and April. If you stop them now — before they lay eggs or grow up — you can prevent them from taking over your yard later. Dealing with a few bugs in the spring is much cheaper and easier than fighting a massive infestation in the summer.

Often, just keeping your lawn healthy with the right amount of water and fertilizer is enough to keep bugs away. If you do need to treat the lawn, avoid a catch-all pesticide. You want to keep “good” bugs, like ladybugs, alive.

Instead, pick a product made just for the specific lawn pest you have. Walk through your yard once a week so you can spot trouble early.

Some pests you might find reproducing or feeding on your lawn in spring include:

Chinch bugs: These tiny black bugs drain sap from St. Augustine grass in May, causing yellow, dry patches. Treat with a granular insecticide specifically labeled for chinch bugs.

Mole crickets: These tunnelers disturb roots and uproot grass, usually becoming active in warm spring soil. Flush out these pests with soapy water, then treat with a bait product.

Fire ants: Mounds multiply quickly in spring warmth, making yard work dangerous. Broadcast a bait over the entire lawn on a dry afternoon, rather than just treating mounds.

Read more: 
Common Spring Lawn Pests
Guide to Using Pesticides on Your Lawn  

7. Overseed to boost lawn thickness

Overseeding helps fill in bare spots and makes your lawn thick enough to block out weeds naturally. In New Orleans, you must wait until late April or May, when daily temperatures are consistently around 70 degrees. The soil should be at least 60 degrees when planting warm-season grasses. 

Best timing for common New Orleans grass types:

• St. Augustine: Late April to early May (sod squares or plugs only)
• Centipedegrass: May to September
• Bermuda: Late May to early June
• Seashore paspalum: June to August
• Zoysia: June to August

Warning: Newly seeded grass has care requirements different from those for established grass. After overseeding, ensure your new grass receives the correct amount of water and fertilizer to grow thick and healthy. Here’s our complete guide on how to overseed a lawn. 

Note: Pre-emergent herbicides kill grass seed; skip weed prevention chemicals if seeding this spring.

8. Water wisely

New Orleans is famous for wet springs, averaging nearly 5 inches of rain a month from March through May. Because of this heavy rainfall, you usually do not need to water your lawn until late April. Watering before the grass grows fast will just drown the roots and encourage fungus.

Let the rain do the work. Start watering only when the weather dries out and your grass shows stress, like wilting leaves or footprints that won’t go away.

When you water your grass, give your lawn 1 inch per week in a single morning session. This trains roots to grow deep into the soil, creating a strong lawn that can survive the summer heat. Before the dry season arrives, perform a simple “sprinkler audit” to ensure you aren’t wasting water:

• Run a test cycle: Turn on each zone one by one and look for broken sprinkler heads or water spraying straight up.
• Adjust the sprinkler heads: Twist the sprinkler heads so they water your lawn, not the sidewalk, driveway, or the street.
• Clear the clogs: Use a small tool to clear out any mud or debris blocking the sprinkler nozzle holes.

Warning: NO heavy yard work in early spring, as you can easily damage the wet soil.

9. Know when to mow (and how often to mow)

Start regular mowing when your lawn reaches about 2 inches tall, which typically happens in late March or early April as soil temperatures warm.

Once you start cutting the grass, follow these few rules for a healthy lawn:

• Never cut more than one-third of the grass’s height at one time.
• Don’t mow when the grass is wet, including in the morning before the dew evaporates. 
• Don’t let the clippings build up too much, creating a too-thick layer of thatch.

This list shows the recommended cutting heights for the most common grasses in New Orleans:

• St. Augustinegrass: 2  to 3 inches
• Bermudagrass: 1¼ to 1½ inches
• Carpetgrass: 1½ to2 inches
• Centipedegrass: 1 to 2 inches
• Seashore paspalum: 1½ to 2 inches
• Zoysiagrass: 1 to 2 inches

Warning: You’ll often see advice telling you to mow your lawn in spring after the last frost, but that isn’t relevant to New Orleans, where the coldest winter night is usually well above freezing temperatures. Start regularly mowing when your grass is around 2 inches high.

10. Dethatch as needed 

Thatch is a layer of plant matter (think grass clippings, leaves, etc.) that builds up in your lawn above the surface of the soil. It provides nutrients for healthy grass growth, cushions the grass to protect it from damage, and helps the soil retain water and fertilizer. 

But too much thatch can suffocate your lawn and invite pests. The best window for dethaching in New Orleans is late April through June, after you’ve mowed at least twice.

• Check the depth: Dig a small plug; if the brown spongy layer is thicker than ½ inch, you need to dethatch.
• Choose your tool: Use a sharp, stiff rake for small spots or rent a vertical mower (dethatcher) for large lawns.
• Clean it up: Rake up and bag the debris immediately to let fresh air and water reach the soil.

Read more:
How to Dethatch Your Lawn 

11. Wait to aerate

Aeration involves poking holes in compacted soil to give roots easier access to water and nutrients, but in spring — the season of growth — those holes become the perfect nesting ground for weed seeds looking for a place to germinate. 

Aerating when it’s hot outside, like it usually is during spring in New Orleans, can also dry out the soil. 

One exception to avoiding aerating in spring: If you notice your lawn isn’t growing and you deduce the problem is soil compaction, you may have to aerate in spring if you want a lush lawn for summer. Wait until May or June, when most weeds have already germinated, if possible. 

Good to know: New Orleans has a lot of sandy soils, which don’t usually get too compacted. Odds are you won’t have to worry about aerating at any time of year.

Read more:
Why, When, and How to Aerate Your Lawn 

12. Fertilize when your grass grows

In New Orleans, wait until mid-April — or after you have mowed your lawn twice — to apply fertilizer. Your soil temperature must reach a consistent 65 degrees at a depth of 4 inches for grass roots to actively absorb nutrients.

Fertilizing before this threshold simply feeds winter weeds or washes away in the rain. Early spring fertilization can also increase susceptibility to brown patch disease, which is especially common to St. Augustine grass.

Warning: Always base your fertilizer application on your soil test results. Your soil test dictates exactly what your lawn needs, preventing you from burning your grass with excess chemicals.

Good to know: Opt for slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. Fast-release fertilizer might seem tempting because it sparks a rush of growth all at once, but that growth is often unhealthy. 

Here’s how to fertilize your lawn: Instead of scattering fertilizer by hand, use a spreader to apply an even layer throughout your yard. Using a spreader reduces the possibility of missing a spot or leaving unattractive streaks in the lawn. 

Too busy to care for your lawn? Hire a Lawn Love lawn care pro 

New Orleans lawns have all the ingredients — terrific soil and a great climate — to be some of the most beautiful in the world, but you have to put in the time and effort in spring to make it actually happen. 

If you don’t have the time, energy, or will to do some basic spring yard work, Lawn Love’s New Orleans lawn care pros make it easy. They can handle every task on this spring lawn care checklist for you.

Read next: 10 Hurricane-Resistant Landscaping Ideas for New Orleans 

Main Image: Lawn mowed by a Lawn Love pro in New Orleans, LA. Illustration by Amy Stenglein / Lawn Love