Walk your property before you start any spring work. Look for: winter erosion on slopes, mulch that washed from beds, drainage channels that shifted, retaining wall movement from freeze-thaw, and plants that didn't make it through winter. Make a list before doing anything — prioritizing the assessment prevents wasted effort on cosmetic work while structural problems go unaddressed.
March — Assessment Before Action
This is also the time to identify any drainage issues that need to be corrected before spring planting begins. Planting into an area that flooded twice over winter is a waste of plant material.
Late March Through April — Irrigation Startup
Bring the irrigation system up slowly — pressurize gradually to avoid water hammer on fittings that may have become brittle over winter. Walk every zone and check for heads that aren't rotating, spray patterns that are off, or wet spots on the lawn surface between zones (indicating a leak). Set spring schedules — cooler, wetter spring conditions need significantly shorter run times than summer peak demand schedules.
April — Lawn Care
For fescue lawns: apply a light fertilizer application in early April to support spring green-up. If fall overseeding left thin areas, a light spring overseeding can fill gaps — but spring germination requires irrigation support through the summer, which makes fall overseeding significantly more effective for most Lake Norman lawns.
For Bermuda and Zoysia: wait until the lawn is actively greening (typically late April into May) before applying fertilizer. Fertilizing before green-up is wasted material.
May — Plant Installation Window
Late spring — after frost risk has passed and before summer heat builds — is the last good planting window before the difficult summer period. Anything installed in May needs irrigation support through the summer. Anything that can wait until fall will establish better. If you have a planting project that needs to happen now, plan your irrigation before the plants go in.
Spring estimate requests through Lake Norman — 704-460-2019, free site visit.
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