Summary of the May Grass Care Podcast
Good morning, everybody. My name is Michael Romine, and this is the Houston Grass Podcast. Here we are at the end of April—just the last couple of days—and we’ve had a busy spring so far. We’re about two-thirds of the way in, I guess.
We’ve had a little rain. I’m not sure if you would consider it a seasonal amount, or if it’s average or below average. I know there were some pretty good cracks in the ground around our office, but those have since closed up with the couple of rains we’ve had, so that’s good. The grass we’re getting from the farm looks out-of-this-world good—thick and green as ever—so I know the regular rains have done some good for them.
We haven’t gotten the intense heat yet, but we all know it’s just around the corner. Today, we want to talk about things coming up that you’ll need to take care of in May.
May Grass Care Includes Planting Grass
We still have another month of ideal grass planting weather—the best time of year to plant grass. You get moderate temperatures, making it much easier on the grass and plants or anything else you want to plant, compared to summertime. So, if you’ve got a project in mind, now’s the time to jump out there and take care of it. It’s going to be time for Super Turf fertilizer here in May, so be ready to put that out on everything. The critical timing item will be the pre-emergent—the Barricade Pre-emergent—which needs to be applied in the next couple of weeks before summer really kicks off. We’ll talk through some of those things.
The big topic I want to discuss today—other than just maintenance—is the sunlight test and choosing grass varieties based on how much sunlight your yard gets.
We have this conversation dozens of times each week when someone calls. If it’s not a new build and they’re saying they need grass—especially if I know what part of town they’re in and how established the neighborhood is—the first couple of questions are going to be about how much shade you have.
A lot of people are aware of the problems excessive shade can cause, but many are not. So, we talk through that a lot, and I want to touch on some of those things here. Let’s jump into the sunlight issue.
Be Aware of Shade Tolerance When Picking a Grass Variety
There are shade-loving plants out there, but if we’re just talking about grass in our part of the world—the Gulf Coast—the minimum amount of sunlight any grass can handle is about four to five hours of direct sunlight per day. That doesn’t mean a little spot here and there—it means four to five hours of direct morning or evening sun under the canopy or when the sun is directly overhead.
That four to five hours is only for our most shade-tolerant varieties like Cobalt and Palmetto St. Augustine. Palmetto has been around a long time as our solution for shade issues, but Cobalt is coming along and we’re expanding our acres of it. By the way, they look almost identical.
Cobalt brings some drought tolerance that others don’t have, along with shade tolerance and a fair amount of disease resistance.
Brown patch, gray leaf spot, and similar issues can affect St. Augustine varieties, but Cobalt does a decent job resisting them.
Other shade-tolerant options are the fine-bladed Zoysias—Cavalier and Emerald Zoysia. All these grasses—Cavalier, Emerald Zoysia, Cobalt, and Palmetto—can survive as long as they get four to five hours of direct sunlight per day.
The rest of our grasses—like regular St. Augustine, Raleigh St. Augustine, and Palisades Zoysia—need more like six or seven hours of direct sunlight to thrive. And as always, the more sunlight any grass gets, the better it will do.
That leaves Bermuda grasses—both Tifway 419 and TexTurf 10—which need 100% sunlight. They do well on sports fields and golf fairways but must have full sun. If you plant them near a fence, house, or under a tree, their time is limited, so we discuss this with customers often.
Many neighborhoods have switched to Bermuda for front yards mainly for drought tolerance—or at least that’s my guess. They do bring drought tolerance but require higher maintenance because they’re not as dense. Weeds invade more easily and Bermuda has no shade tolerance. Most new houses have at least a fence or tree creating shade, which becomes a problem for Bermuda.
People often ask if they can send pictures so we can check their sunlight conditions. The answer is no; it really takes a full day of observation to determine how much sunlight your yard gets.
The easiest way is with a security camera pointed at the area so you can scroll through footage at the end of the day. You’ll likely find that some areas get plenty of sunlight while others do not—and usually, you already know where your weak spots are because those areas will be thin or bare.
A friend of mine had two oak trees in their yard (and two more by the curb), fairly pruned up but needing more work, and their grass was thinning under those trees—probably also mowed too short.
When it comes to choosing the right grass variety, many people have an idea of what they want, but if your sunlight conditions aren’t right for that type of grass, you have to adjust—because replacing grass is expensive. Buying grass isn’t cheap either, but removing old grass, bringing in topsoil, etc., adds up quickly. Picking the right grass upfront is important.
If you have questions about any of this, please give us a call. Sunlight is probably what we talk about most here. Unless you call us already knowing what you want and just order pallets, we’re going to ask you about sunlight. We try hard to talk customers out of putting in the wrong grass for their yard—we don’t want calls a year later wondering why the grass disappeared. So we do our best to educate everyone on sunlight requirements.
Palmetto Grass Is Available by the Piece Right Now
We are selling Palmetto by the piece right now. Normally Raleigh St. Augustine is the only grass we sell by the piece, but during spring we try to keep some Palmetto available because people often need to patch shady spots in their yards—it mixes in very well.
If you identify weak spots using your camera or by taking hourly photos on a sunny day, you’ll probably already know where those spots are because you’re likely missing grass there anyway. If you have weak spots and don’t need a whole pallet (450 square feet), we try to keep Palmetto available by the piece during March, April, and May—as long as there’s demand.
Now is definitely the time to come get Palmetto pieces if your yard has bare spots lacking sunlight. Water them in thoroughly—just like you would if you were redoing your whole yard—and take advantage of this last month until next spring when we’ll sell Palmetto by the piece again.
Raleigh St. Augustine and Palmetto St. Augustine look very similar—you can lay them side by side and over time they’ll blend in; I’m not sure I could pick out the difference myself. We’ll keep offering pieces as long as demand lasts—probably through May.
May Grass Care Includes More Watering
Moving on to May watering protocol: As we start heating up, things change quickly when June, July, and August arrive—it’s nearly impossible to overwater during that period.
This is why March, April, and May are definitely the best months for planting grass. If you’re planting in May, we’ll have enough 85-90 degree days that watering becomes critical—the most important time is right after laying your new grass.
People often underestimate how much water is needed. We tell everyone they need two inches of water that first day; unless you use a rain gauge, you won’t know how long it takes with your setup.
For example, with my oscillating wand-style sprinkler at home, it took about eight hours in one spot to put down two inches of water. Afterward, you should feel squishy ground under your feet; step out and you’ll leave footprints—that’s what you’re aiming for on day one.
After that initial soak, you’ll probably need daily watering rather than every other day like during milder temperatures. You need half an inch to an inch per day initially—closer to an inch that first week; maybe back off to half an inch in week two.
With irrigation systems those times are much shorter—you should set them for two half-inch waterings per week for established lawns; with new grass you’ll need at least double that (up to two inches/week). The only way to know for sure is with rain gauges—place three or four randomly around your yard to measure coverage.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to water correctly: With an irrigation system on established lawns, aim for two half-inch waterings per week; if it gets really hot and dry in July or August, bump it up to three times per week.
Most years, an inch per week during growing season (about eight months here) is essential—whether from rain or irrigation—and slow application is best for healthy roots. Infrequent deep watering encourages deeper roots and stronger plants versus shallow daily watering that keeps roots near the surface.
If using a hose and sprinkler instead of an irrigation system, two two-hour waterings per week should suffice (assuming non-compacted soil), but ensure you’re getting that inch per week overall.
Be On the Lookout for Sod Webworms
Next up: summer pests are part of May grass care! I want to talk specifically about sod webworms—but also mention that proper watering helps keep chinch bugs away (the biggest killer of St. Augustine in our area). Chinch bugs seek out drought-stressed turf and can wipe out a yard within days; keeping your lawn lush deters them.
On the flip side are sod webworms—which tend to be worse after mild winters (they overwinter in your grass’s thatch layer). If our winter isn’t cold enough to kill them off, they emerge in huge numbers come summer—and unlike chinch bugs, they target healthy lawns.
Early warning signs include seeing small brown moths flying up from your lawn in the morning—these moths lay eggs which hatch into larvae that eat your grass at night. We recommend spraying with a liquid pesticide like Cyonara (sold here); liquids work well because they’re contact killers when sprayed using a hose-end applicator.
Because of their life cycle (moth -> egg -> larva), you’ll likely need two or three sprayings since pesticides don’t kill eggs. Once damage shows up (small circular patches where larvae eat leaves jaggedly), act quickly—they can devastate a lawn in just a night or two if left unchecked.
Grass can recover if there’s enough sun and you water promptly after damage—but in shady areas where recovery is harder due to lack of photosynthetic tissue, loss can be permanent.
If you’re planting Palmetto or another shade-tolerant variety this summer (starting May), stay vigilant—our healthy farm grass attracts sod webworms when they’re active.
May Is the Time for Barricade Preemergence Application and Nitro-Phos Superturf Summer Fertilizer
Next May grass care topic: critical window for summer pre-emergent application (Barricade Pre-emergent). Early May is ideal—get it down before summer weeds start germinating as longer days warm up soil. Once June arrives it’s too late; weed seeds will have sprouted already.
Pre-emergents work by creating a barrier at soil level so seeds can’t root after being activated by sun and water—it prevents many (but not all) weeds from establishing.
Also in May: apply your Super Turf 19-4-10 fertilizer (silver bag). This slow-release nitrogen formula provides both instant green-up and gradual feeding through summer when lawns are most susceptible to fertilizer burn from quick-release products like Imperial (red bag).
Apply weed-and-feed only once per year—even if results aren’t perfect; repeated applications aren’t recommended due to strong herbicides and limited effectiveness against certain weeds.
We still have plenty of Palmetto St. Augustine at our farm this year (unlike previous years when it was sold out by May), so planting now into summer is fine—but be aware gray leaf spot fungus becomes an issue June-August when planting in shade.
Planting Palmetto In the Summer with Heritage G for Gray Leaf Spot
We treat all our farm grasses regularly with fungicide but suggest customers apply Heritage G fungicide themselves when planting Palmetto (or any shade-planted grass) during summer—especially since our farm’s high nitrogen content makes new sod more susceptible if overwatered in shady conditions.
Gray leaf spot shows up as small brown dots (smaller than pencil erasers) on individual blades; if unchecked it spreads until entire blades turn brown and die off. Have Heritage G on hand for treatment—it also works on brown patch in fall—and store granulars sealed tight in your garage; they’ll keep at least until next year if kept dry.
On quality: A friend recently saw Palmetto at a big box store and said it looked terrible. As I often mention in videos and blog posts—grass is all we do here! If we’re not selling fresh grass daily something’s wrong; our loads come in constantly throughout spring (and almost daily until midsummer lull), so ours is always fresher than competitors’. Our farm spends more per acre on fertilizers, herbicides, and fungicides than most others—that’s why our sod is always cleaner and greener. We’ll lay our turf next to anyone’s with confidence—and we’re usually less expensive than big box stores too.
May Grass Care Means Raising Your Mower Deck
On mowing: As hot days arrive start raising mowing heights—to three-and-a-half or four inches (and even taller in shade). More leaf tissue allows better photosynthesis and survival under stress—especially important in shadier areas.
To summarize May grass care: Get your pre-emergent down soon; get your fertilizer out promptly; monitor for sod webworms throughout summer; watch for fungus; raise mowing heights; and keep an eye out for drought stress as we approach June—when chinch bugs become more active.
Thank you for listening! We’ll be back next month as we head into June—and really head into “the oven.” We’ll talk more about chinch bugs and keeping drought stress at bay then. See you next month!
