A month-by-month schedule for Texas 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, Bermuda, Zoysia, Buffalograss
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Current month
Hot, dry, and under watering restrictions. Mow often, water deep on allowed days, and scout pests weekly.
Mow: Mow frequently
Bermuda may need mowing twice a week. Keep Bermuda low and St. Augustine tall (3.5–4"). Tall St. Augustine shades the soil and resists chinch bugs.
Water: Deep watering on allowed days
Make every allowed watering day count — water deeply in the early morning. Shallow daily sprinkles waste your allowance and breed shallow, drought-prone roots.
Texas is enormous and spans real climate variation, but the lawns are overwhelmingly warm-season: St. Augustine in the shadier, more humid east and along the Gulf, Bermuda everywhere there's full sun, zoysia in higher-end yards, and buffalograss out west where water is scarce. All of these are dormant and brown in winter and do their growing through the long, hot Texas summer, so the calendar runs on the warm-season clock — scalp and feed in spring, push through summer, and shut down before frost.
Water is the defining constraint across most of the state. From the Hill Country to North Texas to West Texas, recurring drought drives mandatory watering-day restrictions in nearly every major city — often two days a week, sometimes one, occasionally a full ban. That makes deep, efficient watering and a smart controller that wrings the most out of your allowed days essential. It's also why buffalograss and drought-tough Bermuda keep gaining ground over thirstier St. Augustine.
The regional split matters. East Texas and the Gulf Coast are humid, which brings St. Augustine and its number-one enemies: chinch bugs in the dry summer heat and gray leaf spot and take-all root rot in the wet stretches. North and Central Texas swing harder between heat and the occasional brutal winter freeze — the 2021 freeze killed a lot of St. Augustine — so cold hardiness is a real consideration. West Texas is arid and alkaline, where buffalograss and Bermuda rule. Match the grass to your region first; the calendar adjusts from there.
Crabgrass pre-emergent
Late February – March
Texas soil warms early. Time it to soil hitting 55°F and plan a second application 8 weeks later.
Spring scalp + green-up
March – April
Scalp Bermuda and zoysia low at green-up to clear the dead winter canopy.
Summer feeding season
April – August
Warm-season grass feeds heavily through the long Texas growing season.
Watering restrictions
Spring – fall (year-round in some cities)
Most Texas cities limit watering days. Check your local utility's current stage.
Spring
Pre-emergent in late February or March, scalp Bermuda and zoysia at green-up, aerate, and begin feeding once the grass is fully active.
Summer
The main growing season under drought rules. Feed, mow frequently, water deep on allowed days, and scout St. Augustine for chinch bugs.
Fall
Wind it down. Stop feeding by early fall, apply a fall pre-emergent, and let the grass harden off before the first freeze.
Winter
Dormant and brown. The lawn needs little — but a hard Texas freeze can kill marginal St. Augustine, so don't disturb stressed turf.
Dormant and brown statewide. The lawn needs nothing. Service equipment for the season.
Mow: Service the mower
Sharpen the blade and service the mower. Dormant warm-season grass needs no mowing or feeding.
Soil starts warming in South and East Texas. Plan and apply early pre-emergent toward month's end.
Pre-Emergent: Apply early pre-emergent
Texas soil warms early — in the southern half, crabgrass can germinate by late February. Time the application to soil hitting 55°F, not a fixed date.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Green-up begins. Scalp Bermuda and zoysia low to clear the dead canopy; finish pre-emergent in cooler areas.
Mow: Scalp at green-up
As Bermuda and zoysia green up, drop the mower one or two notches and bag the dead brown canopy. This speeds green-up and clears thatch. Go easy on St. Augustine — don't scalp it hard.
Toro TimeMaster 30" Personal Pace Self-Propelled Mower →Cleanup: Clean up and prep
Rake winter debris so the soil warms evenly. Check for freeze damage on St. Augustine and mark areas that may need plugging or sod.
Warm-season grass hits full stride. Aerate, begin the summer feeding program, and scout for early pests.
Aerate: Core-aerate compacted soil
Aerate now while the grass is growing and can recover fast. Texas clay in the Blackland Prairie compacts hard and sheds water without it.
Fertilize: Begin summer feeding
Bermuda, zoysia, and St. Augustine are fully active and ready for nitrogen. Spread it evenly to start the main feeding season.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Hot and growing hard. Mow frequently, keep feeding, and set up irrigation for the drought-rule summer.
Water: Set up smart irrigation
Most Texas cities limit summer watering to one or two days a week. A smart controller maximizes those windows, uses rain skip, and runs cyclic soaks to beat runoff on clay.
Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller (16-Zone) →Weed Control: Begin chinch bug scouting
As the heat builds, chinch bugs start attacking St. Augustine in sunny, dry spots. Part the grass at yellowing edges and look for the small black-and-white insects.
Hot, dry, and under watering restrictions. Mow often, water deep on allowed days, and scout pests weekly.
Mow: Mow frequently
Bermuda may need mowing twice a week. Keep Bermuda low and St. Augustine tall (3.5–4"). Tall St. Augustine shades the soil and resists chinch bugs.
Water: Deep watering on allowed days
Make every allowed watering day count — water deeply in the early morning. Shallow daily sprinkles waste your allowance and breed shallow, drought-prone roots.
Peak heat and drought stress. Keep feeding warm-season grass, water strategically, and watch for chinch bugs and gray leaf spot.
Weed Control: Peak chinch bug season
July is prime chinch bug season in Texas St. Augustine. Expanding brown patches in the full sun that don't respond to water are the tell — treat the affected zones early.
Fertilize: Continue feeding
Keep nitrogen coming for actively growing Bermuda — it can take the heat. Ease off on heat- and drought-stressed St. Augustine until conditions improve.
Still brutally hot. Get the last feeding in, keep watering within restrictions, and stay on top of pests.
Fertilize: Final summer feeding
Get the last nitrogen down by late August. Feeding past that pushes tender growth into the fall freeze risk.
Water: Maintain deep watering
August is often the driest, hottest stretch. Prioritize your allowed watering for high-value areas and let buffalograss or Bermuda back lots go dormant if needed.
Heat eases slightly; growth continues. Stop feeding and apply a fall pre-emergent for winter weeds.
Pre-Emergent: Fall pre-emergent
A fall pre-emergent suppresses Poa annua and other cool-season weeds that invade dormant Texas lawns over winter.
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard DLX Broadcast Spreader →Mow: Keep mowing
Warm-season grass keeps growing through the warm Texas fall. Maintain the mowing rhythm but stop feeding.
Growth slows with cooler nights. Begin leaf cleanup and consider a potassium feeding for winter hardiness.
Cleanup: Begin leaf cleanup
Stay ahead of the leaf drop on tree-shaded East Texas lots. Packed leaves smother even dormant-bound grass.
EGO Power+ 650 CFM Cordless Leaf Blower (LB6504) →Fertilize: Optional potassium feeding
A potassium-only application improves cold hardiness — worth doing on marginal St. Augustine in North Texas after the 2021 freeze losses.
First freezes brown the grass into dormancy. Final leaf cleanup, a last mow, and irrigation shutdown.
Cleanup: Final leaf cleanup and last mow
Clear leaves and give a final clean cut as the grass browns out. Then the lawn rests until spring.
Greenworks Pro 80V 730 CFM Brushless Leaf Blower (BL80L2512) →Water: Winterize irrigation
In North and West Texas, drain or insulate the irrigation system before the first hard freeze. South Texas systems can keep running on the occasional warm-spell watering.
Dormant and brown. The lawn needs nothing. Don't disturb freeze-stressed St. Augustine.
Cleanup: Winterize equipment
Clean and store the mower dry. Leave dormant and any freeze-damaged grass alone — it recovers on its own in spring.
This calendar tells you when to overseed and reseed. For which grass seed actually thrives in Texas's climate — variety-by-variety, with climate-matched picks — our partner site Premium Grass Seeds has a dedicated Texas guide.
See the Texas grass-seed guide →The spreaders, controllers, seed, and tools that show up most often in the Texas 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
Properties with 9+ zones — large residential lots, small commercial properties, or homes with multiple valve boxes.
Toro
Homeowners with 1/2 to 1 acre of open, mostly flat turf who want to cut mowing time but do not want a rider or zero-turn.
Greenworks
Buyers who want maximum CFM-per-dollar in a serious residential blower and don't need the bigger EGO ecosystem.
Water deeply on your allowed days rather than shallowly every day, mow tall (especially St. Augustine), and run a smart controller that maximizes your limited windows with cyclic soak cycles and rain skip. Most Texas cities cap watering at one or two days a week, sometimes less in a drought. Switching to drought-tough Bermuda or buffalograss cuts your water needs significantly.
In March as the Bermuda or zoysia breaks dormancy and greens up — earlier in South Texas than in the Panhandle. Drop the mower one or two notches and bag the dead brown canopy to speed green-up and clear thatch. Don't scalp St. Augustine hard; it doesn't tolerate the low cut that Bermuda and zoysia do.
In the hot, dry summer the prime suspect is chinch bugs — they cause expanding brown patches in full sun 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 wet weather, gray leaf spot and take-all root rot are more likely. Catch chinch bugs early and treat only the affected zones.
Late February into March, timed to soil temperatures reaching about 55°F rather than a fixed date — South and East Texas warm up well before the Panhandle. Texas's long warm season calls for a second application about eight weeks later to keep coverage through the season. Don't apply it where you plan to plug or seed.
Texas 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.