A Year-Round Lawn Care Calendar for Shawnee Yards

Most struggling lawns in central Oklahoma aren't suffering from bad grass — they're suffering from good work done at the wrong time of year. Timing matters more than the products you buy.

Early spring (March – April)

Apply pre-emergent before soil temperatures hit about 55 degrees. This is your one shot at stopping crabgrass before it germinates; once it's up, you're fighting it all season. Rake out winter debris and matted leaves so new growth gets light.

Late spring (May)

Start mowing regularly and never remove more than a third of the blade at once. For Bermuda, cut short and often — around 1.5 to 2 inches. Scalping once in early spring helps green-up, but only after the last hard freeze.

Summer (June – August)

Water deeply and infrequently: about an inch a week, early in the morning. Shallow daily watering builds shallow roots that fry in August. Raise the mower height slightly during heat stress so the grass shades its own soil.

Fall (September – October)

This is the most underrated window in Oklahoma. Overseed fescue areas, apply a fall pre-emergent, and fertilize warm-season grasses one last time before dormancy. Leaf cleanup matters — a smothered lawn comes back thin in spring.

Winter (November – February)

Keep traffic off dormant, frozen turf, and use the downtime to sharpen mower blades and plan bed edging or new landscaping. Dull blades tear grass and invite disease.

If keeping up with the calendar isn't realistic, that's exactly what our weekly and seasonal lawn programs are for — mowing, edging, fertilization, and cleanup on a set schedule.