Better to do it when the grass will recover fromg the damage but the world wont stop turning if you do it now. The roots are still growing in the winter even tho the leafy weed part is not.

"the leafy weed part"

Todd,

Dood, u crack me up... I actually LOL'd when I read that :)

Dan

Not a great idea in your part of the country that far north. The biggest threat to Bermuda is the ground freezing, and if you open it up now you increase the likely hood of the ground freezing. Right now you want to be raising the cutting height way up to provide a blanket of insulation, not ripping holes in the soil and thinning the grass out. Wait til next spring.

Thanks texas weed.

I think I'll heed you're advice and wait till late spring like I read.

Neal

Hi Neal,

Great questions, Ideally, Bermuda and other warm season turf grasses should be core aerated during the spring or early summer, and after the grasses have broken dormancy. The reason for this is that the grass will benefit from the aeration throughout the primary growing season, which is May through October. Core aeration will typically benefit turfgrass by improving air movement through the roots system, enhancing water and nutrient utilization, and reducing thatch. If you aerate in the fall, the Bermuda will not enjoy the maximum benefit of the core aeration, as the turfgrass will begin to enter a state of dormancy in the fall. Additional problems could occur if water freezes in the core holes around the roots and crown of the grasses. This could promote winter injury. I highly suggest waiting until late spring to perform this cultural practice.

Thanks for your Question,and enjoy a great fall season !

Does this apply to zoysia in the Pa area? It goes into dormancy during the winter and so I was under the impression as long as you didn't core aerate or dethatch while the grass was completely dormant it was safe?

Thanks.

Does this apply to zoysia in the Pa area?

Even more so. Ground freeze in PA will occur where as here in the south it is rare if ever at all. It applies to any warm season grass.

Another problem is that you will have to fight us TTF growers for aerator access at RSC or the Big Boxes. If you really feel like aerating, you can come over and aerate my lawn this weekend ; )

Thanks for the replies (and sorry if I hijacked the thread). I did dethatch and core aerate a small strip between my property and the neighbors but haven't yet touched the main lawn. I had hoped to seed some bare spots with a cheap seed so weeds don't fill in, and might still do so, but will heed the advice to keep the grass high during the winter months to protect it. I used to scalp the lawn in late oct/nov since it looks very nice when short (well as nice as a brown yard can look). Thanks again.