A month-by-month schedule for Louisiana lawns — when to fertilize, overseed, aerate, apply pre-emergent, mow, and water, keyed to the state's climate and grass types.
Dominant grasses: St. Augustine, Centipede, Bermuda, Zoysia
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Current month
Peak heat and rain. Mow tall for St. Augustine, scout hard, and don't overwater during the storms.
Mow: Mow tall and frequently
Keep St. Augustine at 3.5 to 4 inches and mow often in the fast summer growth. Never remove more than a third of the blade at once in the heat.
Water: Don't overwater in the rain
With frequent summer storms, turn irrigation down. Constant wet soil breeds gray leaf spot and root rot in St. Augustine.
Louisiana is deep warm-season country with a near-tropical climate — long, brutally hot summers, mild winters, and heavy rainfall. St. Augustine is the dominant lawn grass, prized for handling the heat and the shade of the state's many live oaks, with centipede popular for low maintenance, plus Bermuda on sunny lots and zoysia for density. These grasses barely go dormant in the southern parishes; the work is concentrated from early spring through fall on the back of a very long growing season.
Two things make a Louisiana lawn distinct. The first is St. Augustine's pests and diseases. Chinch bugs are the number-one St. Augustine killer in Louisiana's heat, creating expanding yellow-then-brown patches in sunny, dry areas that look like drought but won't respond to water; add large patch fungus in spring and fall, gray leaf spot in the wet heat, and brown patch, and pest scouting becomes a routine part of lawn care. The second is the rain and drainage — Louisiana's heavy rainfall and low, poorly drained soils breed fungus and root rot, so managing water and not overwatering matters as much as irrigation.
The calendar inverts the Northern one and stretches long: an early pre-emergent (often February in the south) ahead of the warm-soil weed flush, spring feeding once the grass is active, heavy growth and constant pest scouting through summer, and a stop on nitrogen in early fall. Fall pre-emergent handles winter weeds. Time it to dormancy and soil temperature, scout chinch bugs weekly, and don't drown the lawn in a wet stretch.
Spring pre-emergent
February – March
Louisiana's warm soil germinates weeds early. Apply before green-up and before soil hits 55°F.
Chinch bug scouting
April – September
The peak season for the St. Augustine killer. Scout sunny, dry areas weekly.
Feeding season
April – August
Feed warm-season grass through the long season — lightly on centipede to avoid decline.
Stop feeding / fall pre-emergent
Late August – September
Stop nitrogen before frost; apply fall pre-emergent and watch for large patch as nights cool.
Spring
Apply pre-emergent early before the warm-soil weed flush, begin feeding as the grass greens up, and start weekly chinch bug scouting. Watch for spring large patch.
Summer
Peak heat, heavy rain, and growth. Feed (lightly on centipede), mow tall for St. Augustine, scout pests hard, and don't overwater in the rain.
Fall
Stop feeding by early fall. Apply a fall pre-emergent, watch for large patch as nights cool, and keep scouting for armyworms.
Winter
Slow growth in the south, brief dormancy in the north. Mow occasionally, control winter weeds, and watch for cold snaps.
Slowest month. South Louisiana grass barely slows; the north is dormant and tan. Control winter weeds.
Weed Control: Spot winter weeds
Poa annua, henbit, and clover show up against the slow lawn. Spot-treat now while they're easy to see and before they seed.
South Louisiana's soil is already warming. Apply the early pre-emergent and pull a soil test.
Pre-Emergent: Apply early pre-emergent (south)
South Louisiana's warm soil germinates crabgrass very early — often February. Apply before green-up and before soil hits 55°F.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Green-up across the state. Finish pre-emergent in the north, begin regular mowing, and watch for early large patch.
Mow: Resume regular mowing
St. Augustine and the others are coming back. Mow St. Augustine tall — 3.5 to 4 inches — and never scalp it.
Weed Control: Watch for spring large patch
Warm, wet spring weather triggers large patch in St. Augustine, zoysia, and centipede — expanding circular patches as the lawn greens up. Ease off evening watering.
Full growth. Begin feeding, and start the weekly chinch bug scouting that runs all summer.
Fertilize: Spring feeding
Feed once the grass is fully active. St. Augustine and Bermuda take regular nitrogen; centipede wants only a light hand to avoid decline.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Weed Control: Begin chinch bug scouting
Chinch bugs start working sunny, dry St. Augustine in spring. Part the grass at the edge of yellowing spots and look for small black-and-white insects.
Hot and growing hard. Keep feeding, mow regularly, scout pests weekly, and dial in irrigation around the rain.
Water: Set up smart irrigation
Louisiana's rain is heavy but uneven. A smart controller with rain skip waters only when needed and prevents the overwatering that breeds fungus.
Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller (8-Zone) →Weed Control: Weekly chinch bug checks
Catching a chinch bug infestation early — before the brown patch spreads across the lawn — saves the whole St. Augustine yard.
Peak heat and rain. Mow tall for St. Augustine, scout hard, and don't overwater during the storms.
Mow: Mow tall and frequently
Keep St. Augustine at 3.5 to 4 inches and mow often in the fast summer growth. Never remove more than a third of the blade at once in the heat.
Water: Don't overwater in the rain
With frequent summer storms, turn irrigation down. Constant wet soil breeds gray leaf spot and root rot in St. Augustine.
Brutal heat and humidity. Keep feeding lightly, scout pests, and watch for gray leaf spot in the wet heat.
Fertilize: Continue light feeding
Spoon-feed nitrogen to St. Augustine and Bermuda through the heat. Hold centipede to a very light hand.
Weed Control: Watch for gray leaf spot
Gray leaf spot shows as gray-brown lesions on St. Augustine blades in the hot, wet stretch. Improve airflow and back off water before reaching for fungicide.
Still hot and growing. The feeding season winds down — last main feeding late this month. Scout for armyworms.
Fertilize: Final main feeding
Make your last heavy nitrogen application by late August so the lawn isn't pushing tender growth into fall.
Weed Control: Scout for armyworms
Fall armyworms can strip a Louisiana lawn in days in late summer. Scout for them and the chewing damage they leave.
Growth slows as nights cool. Stop nitrogen, apply a fall pre-emergent, and watch hard for large patch.
Pre-Emergent: Fall pre-emergent for winter weeds
Apply a fall pre-emergent in September to suppress Poa annua and other cool-season weeds before they germinate in the lawn.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Weed Control: Watch for large patch
Cooling, wet nights are prime large-patch weather in Louisiana. Expanding circular patches mean it's active — reduce evening watering.
The lawn slows toward its mild dormancy. A potassium-rich product can aid winter hardiness; ease off mowing.
Fertilize: Optional potassium feeding
A potassium-only application (no nitrogen) supports winter hardiness without pushing tender growth. Skip nitrogen now.
Weed Control: Keep watching for large patch
Large patch stays active well into the cool, wet Louisiana fall. Keep evening watering low and scout the lawn.
Growth slows, the north dormant first. Apply a fall pre-emergent if you missed September, and clear leaves.
Cleanup: Clear leaves off the lawn
Live-oak and other leaves drop late in Louisiana. Keep them cleared so they don't smother the slowing grass.
EGO Power+ 650 CFM Cordless Leaf Blower (LB6504) →Slowest stretch returns. North Louisiana goes dormant; the south stays slow. Watch for cold snaps and winter weeds.
Weed Control: Control winter weeds, watch cold
Spot-treat winter weeds. A hard freeze can brown St. Augustine, especially in the north — don't mow or feed cold-stressed turf; let it recover in spring.
This calendar tells you when to overseed and reseed. For which grass seed actually thrives in Louisiana's climate — variety-by-variety, with climate-matched picks — our partner site Premium Grass Seeds has a dedicated Louisiana guide.
See the Louisiana grass-seed guide →The spreaders, controllers, seed, and tools that show up most often in the Louisiana calendar above — the short list worth owning.
Scotts
The default broadcast spreader recommendation for most homeowners. Especially for lawns with sidewalks, beds, and edges that need spread control.
Scotts
Southern homeowners in zones 7-10 with full-sun yards who want a tough, heat-loving, low-cost lawn.
Rachio
Anyone with an existing in-ground sprinkler system who wants to cut their water bill and stop hand-managing schedules.
Pennington
Patient homeowners in zones 6-9 who want the premium feel of Zoysia turf without the cost of sod installation.
EGO
Homeowners with serious leaf load (mature trees, large lots) who want backpack-blower performance in a handheld form factor.
In sunny, dry areas during the April-September heat, the prime suspect is chinch bugs — they cause expanding yellow-then-brown patches that look like drought but won't respond to watering. Part the grass at the edge of a spreading patch and look for small black-and-white insects. In cool, wet spring or fall weather, expanding circular patches are more likely large patch fungus instead.
Keep it tall — 3.5 to 4 inches — year round, and never remove more than a third of the blade in one mowing. St. Augustine is a high-cut grass; mowing it short stresses it, opens it to weeds, and worsens chinch bug and disease damage. A sharp blade matters too, since torn blades invite disease in Louisiana's humidity.
Often less than you'd think. Louisiana's heavy summer rain means constant wet soil is a bigger risk than drought — overwatering breeds gray leaf spot, large patch, and root rot in St. Augustine. Turn irrigation down during rainy stretches; a smart controller with a rain skip handles it automatically. Water deeply but only when the lawn actually needs it.
Earlier than most states. In south Louisiana, the warm soil germinates crabgrass as early as February, so apply a spring pre-emergent before the lawn greens up and before soil temperatures hit 55°F — with a second application later for the long season. Then apply a fall pre-emergent in September to suppress Poa annua and other winter weeds.
Louisiana is in the warm-season south group. These states follow similar seasonal logic, though local soil, elevation, and weather still matter.
Calendars are general regional guidance for The Lawn Report. Local microclimates, soil, and current weather always come first.