The Charlotte lawn calendar
Charlotte grows cool-season fescue and warm-season Bermuda and Zoysia on the same streets, and they want opposite things in the same month. This is the year as we run it, for both, plus the beds. Print it, or let us do it.
| Month | Fescue lawns | Bermuda & Zoysia lawns | Beds, shrubs & trees |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Mow only if it has grown. Leaves from the late willow oaks cleared. | Dormant and tan. Leave it alone. | Prune crepe myrtles lightly (never top them). Cut back ornamental grasses late in the month. |
| February | Pre-emergent goes down late in the month, before soil hits 55°F. | Pre-emergent here too. Do not scalp yet. | Prune roses and summer-flowering shrubs. Last call for planting bare-root trees. |
| March | Weekly mowing starts. First feed with broadleaf control. | Scalp low once it starts greening, bag the clippings. | Bed edges re-cut, mulch and pine straw refreshed. Plant cool-season annuals. |
| April | Mow high, 3.5 to 4 inches. Spot-treat weeds. | First fertilizer as it fully greens. Lower cut, 1 to 2 inches. | Prune azaleas right after they bloom. Plant perennials and shrubs before the heat. |
| May | Second pre-emergent. Watch for brown patch as nights warm. | Feed monthly through August. Mow often. | Deadhead spring bulbs, leave the foliage. Summer annuals go in. |
| June | Light iron-rich feed only. Water deeply, early, twice a week. | Core aerate now, while it is growing hard. Feed again. | Water new plantings every other day. Mulch check on slopes. |
| July | Survival mode: mow high, do not fertilize, do not seed. | Peak growth. Mow weekly or more; feed. | Prune hydrangeas that bloom on old wood right after flowering. Water. |
| August | Hold on. Brown patch and heat stress are normal; September fixes it. | Last big feed of the season mid-month. | Order fall plantings. Stop pruning shrubs so new growth hardens off. |
| September | The most important month. Core aerate and overseed from mid-month. Big fall feed. | Stop feeding. Raise the cut a little as growth slows. | Best planting month of the year for trees and shrubs. Fall annuals. |
| October | Finish seeding by mid-month. Water the seed daily. First leaves. | Winterizer feed with potassium, no nitrogen. | Plant spring bulbs. Divide perennials. |
| November | Winterizer feed. First fall cleanup; keep leaves off the new seed. | Going dormant. Final mow a touch higher. | Pine straw topped up. Leaves cleared from beds. |
| December | Every-other-week mowing. Willow oaks still dropping. | Dormant. Stay off it when frosty. | Second leaf cleanup after the oaks finish. Prune dormant deciduous trees. |
Dates move a week or two with the weather. The pre-emergent window is the one that does not forgive: it goes down when soil temperatures approach 55°F, which in Charlotte is usually the last week of February.
The three dates that matter most
Crabgrass germinates when the soil warms. Put the barrier down before it does, and there is no crabgrass to fight in July. Miss it by three weeks and you are spraying all summer.
The only window fescue seed takes reliably here. Warm soil, cooling air, a whole winter of root growth ahead. Spring seeding looks good for six weeks and dies in the heat.
Willow oaks drop last and drop for weeks. A single November cleanup leaves the new fescue seedlings buried by Christmas.
Let us run the calendar for you
Tell us where you are and what is bothering you about the yard. We reply the same business day, walk it for free, and quote it on the spot.
Or hand us the calendar.
The Complete tier does every line on this page, on time, without you thinking about it.