Here are a couple tips to avoid frost damage in your Gainesville turfgrass. Regardless of if you have St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, or Bermuda - these are great tips to help keep your grass protected on those chilly evenings in Northern Florida.
- Wait for the sun to rise to melt the frost from your lawn before stepping, driving, or applying impact pressure on your grass.
- Give your grass a deep watering the night before an expected frost. The watering allows moisture to slowly evaporate overnight, causing friction and heat around the grass blades. As the night air drops below freezing, you turf will have a slightly higher temperature from the evaporating heat process, allowing your grass to not reach the freezing temperature that causes plant cell wall damage.
- Move the mower blades up .5 inches, allowing longer leaves to help shelter grass crowns from future frosts.
- Refrain from mowing right before a frost. Mowing creates a wound on the plant, making it more susceptible to frost damage.
If your lawn has already endured frost damage and you would like help in repairing it, The Master's Lawn Care offers sod replacement and fertilization programs to help renovate your lawn. Feel free to give us a call at (352) 378-5296.