Lawn Care & Tips
Most of us have some fond memory of running barefoot through a cool, green lawn on a spring or summer day. Most of us dream of making those memories present day experiences and desire to have that lush lawn in our own landscapes. Rainbow Gardens would like to help you make those luscious lawn dreams come true. This page will offer you links and information on all things to do with San Antonio turf. We’ll guide you through types of turf to fertilizing, weed prevention, disease prevention and more. Be sure to check back often for additional updated information, links will be provided as available.
Lawn Types for San Antonio
Rainbow Gardens does not carry sod, but we carry everything else you need to keep your turf healthy and strong.
Lawn Types for San Antonio
Rainbow Gardens does not carry sod, but we carry everything else you need to keep your turf healthy and strong.
- Bermuda – For full sun, common Bermuda grass is heat, cold, drought tolerant, inexpensive from seed and durable. Can invade flowerbeds and groundcovers.
- St. Augustine – Most shade-tolerant turf, St. Augustine grass provides a thick carpet produced by runners, and will crowd out all other turf types. No brighter shade of green than St. Augustine turf when it is healthy. Planted by pallets of sod. It is however, prone to disease and insects, and is not drought tolerant.
- Zoysia – Zoysia grass is kind of in between Bermuda grass and St. Augustine when it comes to shade tolerance, and drought tolerance, and also kind of in between the two when it comes to texture. Planted by pallets of sod.
- Rye Grass – Rye grass is an annual grass used to overseed lawns in the winter, mainly Bermuda lawns. Even though there is an annual and “perennial” ryegrass, both are actually annuals here in Texas as they both die away at the onslaught of warm weather. It’s not usually recommended to overseed as it tends to weaken your existing lawn. (Rainbow Gardens does carry Ryegrass in the fall for those of you who want to see green all winter long.)
Folks in San Antonio sure love their lawns, but when things go south (and by that, we mean bad) lawn problems become a hot issue. Follow the links at the top of page for Rainbow Gardens’ advice to address how to successfully have a beautiful, healthy lawn.
Lawn Fertilization Schedule
For warm season southern grasses in South Central Texas including: St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia
Lawn Fertilization Schedule
For warm season southern grasses in South Central Texas including: St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia
Fertilizing your lawn on a regular schedule is your BEST defense against weeds, fungus, and insect damage!
We recommend fertilizing your turf AT LEAST twice a year, in spring and in fall. However, if your lawn is badly damaged, you may benefit from the additional feedings listed between the spring and fall recommendations. The following dates are guidelines for when to make your fertilizer applications. Keep in mind that the weather is really what we need to go by. It can dictate an earlier or later application time.
Try your best when applying fertilizers (synthetic or organic) to keep it on the turf as much as you can. Avoid over-spreading onto sidewalks, driveways and streets, as this leads to run off. Fertilizers with iron can stain concrete. Nitrogen and phosphorous are great for the lawn but not for our water supply.
Late March—Late April For Spring Feeding
Grass must be actively growing to absorb fertilizer properly. After the second mowing of the season, apply a simple 19-5-9 formula for an early green-up. Rainbow Gardens’ premium lawn fertilizer is specially formulated for our region.
Mid May—Early August For Summer Feeding
(if necessary).
Apply slow-release 3-1-2 or 3-0-2 fertilizers or a liquid lawn fertilizer like Medina’s Hasta-Gro lawn food.
June—September Chelated Iron application
(if needed).
When turf grass looks yellow (iron chlorosis), use apply a granular or liquid iron supplement. Every second or third month during the warm season should be enough. Hi-Yield Iron Plus granules and Dr.Iron are two excellent choices. Stay away from Ironite……it doesn’t have much effect in our alkaline (high PH) soils.
October—November For Fall Feeding
Apply winterizing formulas for winter hardiness. Ratios vary, but make sure they are “winter” or “fall” formulas designed for southern grasses. Rainbow Garden’s 18-6-12 winterizer formula is a great choice These formulas will make lawns winter-hardy and provide for early spring green up.
Recommended lawn fertilizer formulas:
19-5-9 + minors
Rainbow Gardens Premium Lawn/Tree & Shrub Food
18-0-6 + Trace
Fertilome Greenmaker
24-0-10
Fertilome Greenmaker
18-6-12 + minors
Rainbow Gardens Premium Fall Winterizer Lawn/Tree & Shrub Food
6-1-2
Nature’s Creation organic (Manure Free)
6-2-4
Texas Tee organic
3-2-3
Medina Growin’ Green organic
Frequently Asked Questions:
What do the numbers on the bag mean?
They are the ratio of nitrogen (N) to phosphorous (P) to potassium (K).
Great, so what do they do? Nitrogen is responsible for making turf green, phosphorous (slower-acting) promotes
root development, and potassium works to feed turf and keep it strong during drought or other stressful conditions.
What’s the big difference between synthetic and organic fertilizers?
Both organic and synthetic fertilizers contain active NPK ingredients. It’s the source from where those ingredients come from that is different. Synthetic fertilizers get their NPK from chemicals. Organic fertilizers get their NPK from naturally derived elements, like manure, biosolids, and the like.
So which should I choose? This is a decision you will ultimately need to make, but here are a few differences:
Synthetic fertilizers offer quick turn around and fast green-up as their chemical ingredients are more readily available to be used right away in the fertilization process. Synthetic fertilizers are usually less costly.
Organic fertilizers take a little longer to work as their ingredients must be naturally broken down and processed in order to be used. However, most organic fertilizers actually increase the health of your soil by improving its ability to digest and absorb the fertilizer ingredients.
Soil Testing
If you continue to have issues with your lawn, it might be time to have your soil tested. The turf on top can’t do much if the soil below is horrible.
Weed Prevention and Treatment Schedule
Fertilizing helps tremendously to control weeds, if you keep to a regular schedule. A healthy, well-fertilized lawn chokes out weeds and is one of your best defenses against them. But if extra help is needed, and it usually is, plan to treat about three times a year depending on severity of your weed issue. Using pre-emergents in conjunction with your fertilizing schedule might keep you off your hands and knees pulling those pesky weeds!
Weed Prevention and Treatment Schedule
Fertilizing helps tremendously to control weeds, if you keep to a regular schedule. A healthy, well-fertilized lawn chokes out weeds and is one of your best defenses against them. But if extra help is needed, and it usually is, plan to treat about three times a year depending on severity of your weed issue. Using pre-emergents in conjunction with your fertilizing schedule might keep you off your hands and knees pulling those pesky weeds!
Check out our lawn care page for other helpful information for your San Antonio lawns.
Pre-Emergents
Mid January—Early February
(About a week or two before average date of last killing frost)
Keep a watch on the weather. If cold weather is prolonged, you’ll need to wait awhile for a warm break to apply for spring. Apply pre-emergent granular herbicides that are formulated for preventing the common grassy weeds that pop up in spring.
Mid September–Early October
After the first decent rain in September, apply a pre-emergent granular herbicide with ingredients meant to ward off broadleaf weeds that we experience popping up in springtime.
June—August
Slime Mold presents itself as patches of grass, about hand-size, that appear to have cigarette ashes sprinkled on them. No harmful damage from this fungus, except perhaps a little shading of the areas affected. You can hose off the spores, brush them off with your shoe, or mow to remove them from the turf.
Products to Apply in Spring and Summer
- Greenlight’s Amaze (grassy weed control, plus SOME broadleaf control, excellent for grass burs)
- Hi-Yield Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper with Dimension
- Hi-Yield Crabgrass Control (same as Amaze, but a little stronger)
- Bonide Weed Beater Complete (Pre and post emergent product in one. Great product when used early in spring. Later applications in warm weather can turn turf yellow for awhile, but this is easily remedied through fertilization of turf).
- Fertilome Crab Grass Preventor Plus Lawn Food (20-0-3 with Dimension, good weed and feed for early spring). We generally don’t recommend Weed and Feed products, but this one is ok for early spring
Products to Apply in Fall
- Greenlight’s Amaze (grassy weed control, plus SOME broadleaf control, excellent for grass burs)
- Fertilome Broad leaf Weed Control with Gallery—strong on broadleaf weeds
- Weed Beater Complete (Pre and post emergent product in one. Applied in warm weather can turn St. Augustine yellow for awhile, but this is easily remedied through fertilization of turf).
- Organic Weed Pre-Emergent: Espoma has an Organic Weed Preventer made with corn gluten meal.
Post Emergents
- Ortho Weed B Gone For Southern Lawns (liquid formula)
- Hi-Yield Atrazine Weed Killer (liquid formula)
- Bonide Weed Beater Complete (Granular pre and post emergent product in one. Applied in warm weather can turn St. Augustine yellow for awhile, but this is easily remedied through fertilization of turf).
- Hand pulling is not the most fun way to rid yourself of your weed problem, but it is the cheapest; and when employed early, can be one of the most effective ways to control weeds after the fact. A little elbow grease and some extra time pulling weeds while they are young and few, will save you the pain of pulling weeds when they have deep tap roots and are taking over. Old forks and thrift store bbq utensils can work wonders at pulling those stubborn weeds.
- Mowing and bagging to cut down on the seeds of your weeds spreading and germinating.
Pest Control
Pest Control
Pest control is a big part of gardening here in San Antonio. As much as we love our new veggies, flowers, trees and lawns, we have competition with leaf-chewing, sap-sucking, soil-swelling, pests who love them just as much. If you garden in Texas, you deal with pests. Rainbow Gardens carries multiple lines of pest control, as well as multiple choices within those lines. We’ll help you prevent pests from wreaking havoc on your gardens and treat pests once they’ve arrived. Be sure to access our links provided to help you learn about common pest issues in San Antonio. We commit to updating them often so you will have the pest control information you need to be successful in your gardening endeavors.
*Remember “wipe-out sprays” or “all-in-one sprays” are generally not advised as wiping out everything includes all your beneficial insects and harms pollinators too. If you can’t find answers and need help, bring in a sample (in a clear plastic bag) of your pest issues and let us lead you to the right product.
Common lawn pests in San Antonio
Pests in your vegetable garden
Beneficial Insects: Natural Pest Control
Organic vs. chemical pest control
Healthy, cared for plants are less susceptible to pest damage, as opposed to those that have been neglected. Life gets in the way sometimes, but regular maintenance and feeding schedules can prevent many pests from having a chance. And remember, observation is a big part of gardening. Early detection is your best bet at successful pest control. If you can identify and treat when your pests are in early or infant stages, they are much easier to eliminate. Once you have a full blown invasion, the battle against pests gets harder. Take time to notice what is going on in your gardens often. Your plants will thank you and the pests won’t.
Happy Gardener blogs related to pest control:
- Beneficial insects ladybugs/milkweed/aphids
- Lacewings: Move over ladybugs, there’s a new aphid eater in town!
- Beneficial Nematodes: Bring on the carnage!
- Ladybug, ladybug fly away home
- What’s buggin’ you? Summer pests
- The Hub-Bub about Grubs
- Sayonara Suckers!
- The Chompers
- It’s no cinch getting rid of the chinch!
Fungus Prevention and Treatment Schedule
For warm season southern grasses in South Central Texas including: St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia
Fungus Prevention and Treatment Schedule
For warm season southern grasses in South Central Texas including: St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia
Chances are if you’ve suffered from fungal or insect damage in the past and it went untreated, it most likely will rear it’s ugly head back up again. Remember that prevention along with a consistent fertilization schedule will be your best defense against any of these problems.
Fungicide:
It’s always best to bring in samples and/or pictures so we can help you clearly diagnose the issue you are experiencing with your turf, but the following are common fungus issues we experience here in San Antonio:
Late March—May
Take-All Root Rot (TARR) is a major disease problem in St. Augustine grass that will cause the leaf tissue to turn yellow, pull loose from runner (similar to grub damage, except no grubs present in soil.) In the affected areas of the lawn, you might find both green and yellow leaf blades. Close examination (might need magnification) of the runners will reveal short, dark brown to black roots. If TARR is the problem, then an application of sphagnum peat moss is one of the best treatments for this disease problem (fungicides rarely work). Apply approximately 1 to 2 bales of the peat moss per 1,000 sq. ft. to the affected areas of the lawn and thoroughly soak the peat moss until it is wet. We have seen better results from a top dressing of peat moss than we have with the application of any fungicide in most cases. Repeat peat moss application a year or two later as needed.
June—August
Slime Mold presents itself as patches of grass, about hand-size, that appear to have cigarette ashes sprinkled on them. No harmful damage from this fungus, except perhaps a little shading of the areas affected. You can hose off the spores, brush them off with your shoe, or mow to remove them from the turf.
June—Early September
Gray Leaf Spot: Watch out for gray-brown, blotchy to diamond -shaped lesions on the grass blades (mostly on St. Augustine lawns). If you see this on your lawn, think back to if you just applied nitrogen to the turf through the summer, because you saw yellowed-leaves. You might have thought your turf needed more nitrogen, but in fact, the application of extra nitrogen could have increased likelihood of fungus. Systemic fungicides like Fertilome F-Stop, Bonide Infuse, Bayer Advanced Fungus Control, can help, but also refrain from applying nitrogen fertilizers from summer until cool fall temps.
Mid September—October (but we’ve seen it in spring!)
Brown Patch: look for 18-24 inch yellowing, irregular patches that quickly turn brown. These patches may merge into each other. Infected blades of grass will pull easily from runners, and you will see the left over, decayed leaf blade attached to runner.
*To avoid the dreaded Brown Patch fungal disease, make sure you are not watering at night especially during these cooler months. Do not put your lawn to bed wet!
*To treat the dreaded Brown Patch fungal disease after you already have it, you must treat it with a systemic lawn fungicide like: Fertilome F-Stop, Bonide Infuse, Bayer Advanced Fungus Control. If brown patch has been a recurring event in your turf, you might opt to treat as a preventative when conditions are favorable for disease and before disease symptoms are apparent. (cooler weather, excessive rain/humidity).
*Horticultural cornmeal is an organic alternative preventative/treatment to fungicides, as well as is the peat moss mentioned above in the TARR section. The cornmeal must be “horticultural grade” not what you use to make Grandma’s cornbread. Also, don’t get it confused with “corn gluten” which is used as an organic weed pre-emergent.
