When Must I Core Aerate My Maryland Lawn?

In winter, many people look forward to their first sigh of relief as they feel the first backing-off of winter. Your garden certainly does. Spring is such a happy time. Gentler weather, flowers blooming, and more sunlight. Winter can leave some scars, though, besides falls on the ski slopes, such as parts of the garden that didn’t make it through.

Lawns are one of the biggest parts of the garden that tend to take a real beating from the harsh winter. When spring does roll around, you might one day wonder about what to do to pump some muscle power back into your lawn. A buddy recommends aeration and overseeding. You’re not sure what it is, but you put that on your To-Do list.

We would ask you to hang on a bit. Let us explain why.

What Does Aeration Do?

This is a common question we get, and it is a vital part of lawn care. You might see old aerating rollers at small-town cricket grounds with big metal rollers and spikes. They tend to look like medieval torture equipment. The modern versions are less ominous.

Your soil gets compacted by rain, by walking on it, hot sun and develops an organic ‘underfelt’ of dead bugs, grass, roots, dust, etc. The roots then battle to access oxygen, water, and nutrients – like your skin before an exfoliation.

The immune system of your grass will boom with aeration. The roots will grow deeper, disease and harsh weather can be coped with by fresh new blades will appear.

If you are seeding bald patches, seeds will get better soil contact and get better germination and growth rates.

Why, then, did we say hang on a minute? Well, we presume you live in Maryland or Virginia because you are reading this blog. In our region, spring is not a good time for aerating and seeding your lawn.

Why Are Core Aeration, Springtime, And Maryland Not A Good Combo?

Rainfall arrives in April and/or May, and with that, fungus and disease get a kick start. Aerating opens the roots of your grass to receive more nutrients, but fungus and disease can access them easier as well!

Everything grows better with core aeration, especially wily weeds—a double whammy.

So It’s Core Aeration, Maryland, And?

The answer to that is summer, late summer to be exact, or you can push it to early fall. Early fall core aeration will give you a thicker, lusher lawn. This makes the two weeks from Mid-Aug to end Aug the perfect time to core aerate and seed your lawn.

You most likely have cool-season turf, which will start slowing down in fall in preparation for winter dormancy. In Maryland, we still have warm soil into November grass roots keep growing. If you have aerated in the fall, your grass will access nutrients right up into November before resting in winter. What a power pack.

Core Aeration Service

We are proud of our work, and love nurturing it for years to come. When it is time for your garden’s core aeration services, contact us [insert contact page hyperlink] to book one of our garden management teams. We will be delighted to answer all your questions and get our sleeves rolled up.