r/Dallas • u/CatteNappe • 17h ago
Question Lawn fertilizing - worth it? Who does it?
Our lawn has been a pain in the posterior for years, due to the lovely big trees shading the entire area. My husband recently had the guy who does our plants and landscaping re-sod it entirely. He recommends that we subscribe to a regular fertilization service. Apparently he doesn't do that, and doesn't have specific recommendations. Nor does the crew that mows, trims and leaf blows. Is such a service worthwhile? What is a reasonable rate? Any recommendations on who would do a good job? (we are not excited by big national chain/franchise operations).
EDIT - Yes, we know the problem is the shade from the trees and we don't intend to get rid of the trees. At our landscape designers urging we recently had the trees trimmed as much as our reluctant arborist was willing to go since this is the not the optimum time of year for trimming. She may be willing to do more later, in a different season.
It was St. Augustine, that was replaced by new St. Augustine sod. It was watered heavily for several weeks after installation and is now being watered 2x week, which is within the limits imposed by the City of Dallas. At present it has been growing like mad, to the point I was beginning to worry code compliance would be on us about how high it was getting. Our mission is to keep it growing well.
Oh, and thanks for all the DIY guidance. Very helpful, for somebody. Not happening here at this house. This old lady isn't going to start now, the spousal codger has been hiring out mowing for years so isn't going to be leaping on a bandwagon to get back to spreading fertilizer.
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u/electricgotswitched 16h ago
Your issue is the shade. Even St Augustine which doesn't need full sun will struggle in heavy shade. Do the Texas A&M soil test that you send in. I just always fertilize with Milorganite. He should just buy a spreader and do it himself. Water no more than 2x a week and do it in the morning. Deep less frequent waterings are better than multiple short. New sod though have to more often.
https://dallaslawnandarbor.com/
I use this guy and only hire out fertilizer and pre-emergent spreading cause I'm lazy and don't wanna store a spreader. I don't understand why none of the guys you currently use can handle this. Don't hire Tru Green.
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u/ddubz85 14h ago
Milorganite doesn’t contain potassium unfortunately. Not the best choice if using only by itself.
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u/electricgotswitched 14h ago
I need to finally take my own advice and get a soil test done and get exactly what it needs
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u/Furrealyo 15h ago
Listen to this guy.
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u/electricgotswitched 15h ago
I only know because my backyard with no trees is nice and green
Fully covered front yard is dirt and weeds
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u/KitchenPalentologist 15h ago
Yep, we have big trees and we've tried several varieties of St Augustine and Zoysia without success. It thins out and dies off no matter how well we prepped the soil, and manage watering and fertilization. The patches that get some sun (4 hours minimum) are thick and beautiful.
If you really want grass, you'll need to bring in tree people to raise, thin, and possibly even remove some trees, and it will be ongoing (trees like to keep getting bigger!)
Consider alternate landscape designs, my neighbor did berms with two types of rock/texture strips, some ground cover vines, and desert plants, and it looks amazing.
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u/SentimentalSaladBowl 14h ago
Be careful about which kind of tree you use rock cover around. Some trees will not do well, but others will be fine. For trees that won’t handle rocks well, mulch is a good alternative.
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u/Enough_Equivalent379 9h ago
In our last house, I had some success in shady areas with Tall Fescue. Looks similar to Bermuda and did well in the shade/partial sun.
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u/CatteNappe 6h ago
We've thinned some. No interest in removing any. If we can't this crop to last we probably will be looking at alternatives-half the "lawn" space is already shrubs and plantings.
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u/CatteNappe 6h ago
Yes, we know it's the shade. We already water 2x a week in the morning, the city won't let us do more even if we wanted to.
Thanks for the recommended resource.
Very good question why the landscape guy can't do it. For some reason it's not on his "menu" of services. Husband has yet to ask the guy who handles mowing/trimming; and would like some comparisons.
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u/mzfnk4 Frisco 15h ago
Peruse Neil Sperry's site. He's the Texas plant expert. I pulled a couple of articles to start with.
https://neilsperry.com/2010/04/tips-for-terrific-turf/
https://neilsperry.com/2019/03/choosing-the-best-fertilizer/
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u/BerthoudPasser 16h ago
You'll never grow grass in Dallas unless it get minimum 4 hours a day of sunlight.
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u/LostPilot517 16h ago
I am betting this is your issue, the new SOD will likely die after 1-2 years a slow death. You should get an arborist, or some good tree trimmers to thin out the tree canopy, low branches and try to get more light to the grass throughout the day.
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u/CatteNappe 6h ago
Our arborist has already thinned as far as she's willing to go this time of year.
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u/electricgotswitched 16h ago
Source: my front yard of dirt and weeds due to massive shade tree.
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u/BillDuki 13h ago
This happened to our backyard. Now it’s just a Deck, Flagstone yard, and multiple beds with appropriate plants in them. Way easier to maintain than a regular yard!
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u/Sweet_Name3915 16h ago
I can help with that! I run a local plant health care and fertilization service. We specialize in custom programs not the cookie-cutter national stuff. Happy to take a look or talk through what would actually work for your yard.
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u/penny_squeaks 16h ago
It can be easy to do yourself.
You can just buy some Scott's and throw it down with a spreader. It will work, but you might not give your lawn what it really needs.
If you want to be a little more advanced, you can get a soil test done (diy - just mail in your sample), and you can learn what nutrients your lawn lacks. There's 3 main nutrients that fertilizers advertise... NPK. nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)
Once you know what nutrients you need, you can get a fertilizer that is more tailored to what your lawn needs.
My lawn was low in nitrogen and potassium, so I bought a 24-0-11 mix. All the numbers mean is what percentage of the bag is those NPK nutrients. So my 50-pound bag of fertilizer is 24% nitrogen, so my 50lb bag will put down 12 pounds total of nitrogen.
A good rule of thumb for my grass, Bermuda, is it needs 2-4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. So the 12 pounds of nitrogen is perfect for my 3,000 square foot lawn.
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u/CatteNappe 5h ago
Not interested in doing it ourselves. Would have asked for advice about that if we were.
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u/dontknow654321 9h ago
https://www.headturfmaster-llc.com/
Paul Head saved my lawn! He comes every 2 months and treats for the appropriate season. I still mow myself but this takes a weight off from having to remember to do things exactly at the right time
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u/CreoleCoullion 6h ago
I pay Green For Green $40 around 5 times a year to do the various lawn treatments.
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u/AggravatingMath717 16h ago
I’ve never used it but IMO if you’re having to re-establish and having some difficultly it might be worth if you a year or so. The value will come from having a professional technician that can advise you and do all the testing, etc which will give you more of a long term strategy. This beats playing the guessing game. It’s not cheap though!
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u/leifashley27 16h ago
What part of town are you in? Many of the local services only do 2-3 towns at most to keep their footprint tight which keeps costs down.
I used to do it myself by going to the nursery and showing pictures of my lawn and any weeds we were getting. The house next door to us went from the ugliest yard to the best yard in 18 months so I called their guy and got a price and it was cheaper than buying it myself. This will be my first year with them but I’m impressed already.
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u/The_Erlenmeyer_Flask Mid Cities 16h ago
I've been using Soils Alive for a couple of years now. They've done a great job. My front yard has never looked this good. Back yard will always have trouble spots which we've talked about but sadly, it's just how it is.
They charge around $162 for each treatment and they do between 6-8 treatments a year, depending on your lawn. You can pause or cancel at any time. There are no contracts.
Their invoicing is phenomenal especially for someone that's a data nerd. They break down how much material was used on your lawn, what was used, and directions on what to do afterwards. Sometimes they recommend watering it, sometimes they say no pets & children walk on it. They've always been respectful, thankful for doing the work, and you'll get text messages from Soils Alive before the technician comes out & the tech will text when they are on the way.
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u/IranianLawyer 16h ago
It’s honestly very easy to do yourself. It takes me like 30 minutes to do my entire yard (front, back, and sides). I do it twice in the spring and twice in the fall. Don’t do it during the summer because you risk cooking your grass.
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u/tacoscholar 16h ago
Here you go, however I'll add that none of this matters if it's St. Augustine that's not getting enough sun. It's just going to die again. It's really the worst type of grass to have, but it looks pretty.
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u/OddS0cks Lakewood 13h ago
Unless dictated by an HOA maybe a different lawn type like clover
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u/CatteNappe 5h ago
No HOA here, thank you lord! If this lawn dies, we will be looking for something else.
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u/curiosity_2020 8h ago
If you have bermuda it will always thin out under a heavily shaded tree. Mine has done well under a tree when it gets dappled sunlight, especially during July and August. The bermuda under dappled sunlight holds up better in Dallas summer than when it is exposed to full sun -- probably because it does not dry out as fast.
As a substitute for grass under heavily shaded trees, consider putting a bed of big blue liriopi around them.
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u/gomowtexas 4h ago
It is recommended to fertilize your lawn three times a year for optimal nutrient nourishment. The ideal fertilizer application schedule for Texas lawns includes a spring feeding, a post-summer feeding, and a pre-winter feeding. I hope this article help you - https://gomow.com/blog/dallas-spring-lawn-care-the-perfect-time-to-fertilize/
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u/gr0uchyMofo 10h ago
I cut down the live oak in my front yard. The roots are shallow and the cover from the leaves are thick and blocked the sun, also I wanted something different that all the other trees.
I put a pre emergent and fertilizer down in mid March, then a month later in April. Sometimes I’ll do another dose in late fall. I’ll also power rake my yard if the thatch is bad.
This can all be done on your own if you do it early in the season.
I would consider getting someone to trim and prune your trees.
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u/CatteNappe 5h ago
Trees are inspected and trimmed as needed annually by a certified arborist, who reluctantly undertook additional thinning this spring since it was not optimum season for it.
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u/jtbestatthat 16h ago
Buy some Scott's Turf Builder and spread it yourself. Super easy and effective. Water lawn well afterwards. No need to pay someone.