Lawn care doesn't really need to be complicated. You'll get a lot of really good advice on these boards. You'll get a lot of really bad advice, too. You'll also get advice that falls somewhere in between. I'm probably somewhere in between. I'll try to give you my take on lawncare, most of it gleaned from here. I've never considered it the consensus that lawns shouldn't be fertilized in spring. The consensus I've gathered is that they shouldn't be seeded in the spring or fertilized in the summer. Here's what I do: Mow high (around 3.5-4 inches). It may take some getting used to, but it helps the lawn Mulch mow, unless there is a fungus or other disease issue. Spread Starbucks grounds during the spring and fall. Water deeply and infrequently (I try for an inch a week, all in one day). Apply some source of fast release N after the topgrowth has stopped but while the grass is still green. If your soil is sandy, use a slow release N source, but one that doesn't require microbial activity (something like sulfur coated urea for example). Use a Weed Hound for most weed control and spot spray what that doesn't take care of. If I'm going to seed, it's in the fall Mow progressively shorter until it's as low as I can stand Core aerate to expose more soil Seed Water several times a day until it sprouts Avoid mowing until the new grass is tall enough to mow If I feel I need a spring seeding, I do a modified dormant seeding and seed in the late winter or early spring. That's it. I don't do anything special. I don't do anything complicated. My only wrinkle is that I'm purposely stressing my lawn in order to try to get a nontraditional lawn of native grasses in the hopes that I can go from watering once a week to watering once a month.

Hi Graswhisperer, This is all new to me too this year - my pre-renovation lawn was so choked with weeds that I never even noticed it before, but now it really stands out, just begging to be killed off... Poa Annua germinates mostly in late summer/early fall, but there can be some spring germination also. So unless I read some better advice I'm planning to put the Dimension down around August 15, and then again next March, earlier than I ordinarily would for crabgrass control. This schedule screws up my planned fall aeration, and probably any spring aeration too, so I think I will just take care of the really bad spots with a manual aerator this year over the summer, here and there, whenever I think the grass can take it, and then stop a week before putting down the Dimension on Buy_25's advice. Unfortunately, there are apparently oxymoronic perennial varieties of "annual" bluegrass out there, and a pre-emergent like Dimension won't kill them. That's why Buy_25 is recommending Prograss (ethofumesate), which I gather is a post-emergent control with some pre-emergent effectiveness as well, at least if I have read that right. But apparently that can be expensive. I need to look into that further, but below is a link on a discussion from earlier this year. Good luck! What a rotten weed. As difficult as spring seedings can be, I may never seed in the fall again. Here is a link that might be useful: ethofumesate discussion

KBG takes 2-3 weeks or more to germinate, fescue takes 1-2 weeks. Since you're seeding into an existing lawn, I say go for fescue or use your same mix if you have it. KBG will be outcompeted by the existing grass before it can get established. Next year if you want all KBG, plan to kill everything and fallow for a few weeks before planting. Back to Tenacity: if you find yourself running out of water part of the way, you can adjust the dosage per gallon, multiplying the .55 teaspoon by whatever percentage you covered with your practice try. It comes with a syringe to measure. Next year if you have poa annua despite pre-emergents you can use Tenacity at a lower dosage (2 oz per acre) for a few applications. The bottle doesn't say it controls mature poa annua but people have had success with it.

"Poa annua", or annual Bluegrass may be an annual or may be a perennial. If what you have is the annual sub species and you cut the grass before any seeds formed you should not see any new plants germinating. Corn Gluten Meal, applied in mid September, should give good control of any "Poa annua": annual seeds that try to germinate, and maybe stop germination any of the perennial that might grow, this fall. If your soil temperatures are below 70 degrees F you may still have time to apply CGM. Most any herbicide that might control "Poa annua" will also kill the grass you want to keep. kimm1q is kimmsr