Lawn Care Services, Lawn Treatment Solutions Blog
Should I Aerate my Warm-Season (Bermuda, Centipede, or Zoysia) Lawn?
In lawn care, aeration (also known as core aeration) refers to the loosening of soil particles to enable air, water, and nutrients to penetrate through the root zone of the turfgrass, which contributes to healthier and thicker grass. Core aeration involves pulling small plugs of thatch and soil from the lawn with a machine. This mechanical method of extracting cores aerates the soil instantaneously.
Core aeration is an optional service for Crownover Green clients who have warm-season lawns.
Why should you choose core aeration for your warm-season lawn?
The clay soil that is common in Wake Forest, Rolesville, and surrounding areas is naturally compacted. The ordinary use of your warm-season lawn can make it worse, which progressively stifles the healthy development of your turf. Well-aerated soil promotes heartier root growth, which helps your grass grow thicker and enables it to better resist drought stress as well as weeds, diseases, and pests.
This image shows how aeration works to benefit your lawn:
Core aeration does not necessarily need to be done every year. If your lawn gets a lot of use, then it may benefit from annual core aeration. If your lawn is in good condition and not used hard, then core aerating every 2-3 years may be sufficient.
When should you aerate a warm-season lawn?
Core aeration of warm-season grass should be done when the grass is green and growing. At Crownover Green, we schedule aeration of warm-season grasses when root development is most vigorous which usually occurs during May in our climate zone.
Doing the mechanical core aeration at this time maximizes the benefit of the aeration because the roots have a chance to grow quickly through the newly punched holes created by the aerator. This is also the beginning of the peak growing period for warm-season grasses, so the lawn recovers quickly and has the entire summer to grow thicker.
When is it best to avoid aerating warm-season lawns?
We do not recommend core aerating your warm-season grass during March or early April because this is a period when soil temperatures are usually optimum for weed seed germination. If a weed pre-emergent had been applied at its proper time then the aeration will disrupt the pre-emergent barrier and contribute to more warm-season annual weeds developing. Additionally, the act of mechanical aeration loosens and breaks up the soil, which creates an optimum environment for weeds to grow during a period when the focus of weed management should be on prevention.
If you are not a current Crownover Green customer, but would like a cost quote for aeration for your warm-season grass, visit https://crownovergreen.com/get-a-quote/ to request a no-cost quote.