Here in Georgia, the weather can be, at times, unpredictable to say the least. Just before we rang in the new year, areas of Metro Atlanta and North Georgia were seeing temperatures in the low teens, with wind chill making it feel even colder.
Meteorologists recorded 2022's Christmas Day as the second coldest in Atlanta's history, which may have led some homeowners to wonder – will my lawn or garden ever recover from these temperatures?
What is Winterkill?
Most of us probably have lawns that are in the middle of their dormant season right now; you maybe have noticed that your green grass has turned to a faded yellowish-brown color ever since the temperatures held steady underneath 55 degrees. While this is a completely normal occurrence for warm season lawns, such as Bermuda or Zoysia, one thing you should look out for is winter lawn damage, sometimes called "winterkill.""Winterkill" is used as a blanket term for describing any sort of cold-temperature related damage to a specific spot, or even a larger portion of your lawn. In fact, damage to your lawn doesn't even need to involve the presence of snow.
Contact AgroPro today to learn more about preventing or repairing your lawn from lawn disease.
How Can My Lawn Recover?
With Georgia homes typically surrounded by trees, the shade can lengthen the amount of time before your affected lawn areas begin to recover, and the road to recovery might be easier than you think. For smaller, isolated affected areas, the best way to promote recovery for your lawn will be by reseeding.
The process of reseeding takes fresh new seed and spreads it over areas of your lawn that need help. This will allow your lawn to grow soft and green, and most importantly, evenly spread. This will eliminate the evidence that these extreme cold temperatures ever gave your lawn any issues coming out of its dormant period.If you are certain that the wintry and windy weather may have had an effect on more than just a couple spots around your lawn, then you may need to think about re-sodding. Laying down new sod is usually a safe bet in terms of introducing healthy, disease- and weed-free grass to your lawn.
Preventing Cold Damage
Another common question homeowners have is wondering how they can prevent winter damage to their lawn in the first place. A few tricks to keeping your lawn healthy in the winter are as easy as preventing foot traffic on the lawn, mowing low before snowfall, and even dropping a quick layer of fertilizer before the first winter freeze.If you are interested in keeping your lawn green and healthy in 2023, contact AgroPro to learn more about our services, including core aeration, disease prevention, insect control, and much more!