Winter lawns in Arizona can be tricky. However, not impossible. There are varieties that will grow well in the Arizona Winter. Rye grass is one that grows well in the Arizona winter climate. It is best to start planting your Rye grass when the nightly temperatures are below 65° F. This usually happens in October, however, the temperature is more important than the time of year.
The first thing that needs done is de-thatching your lawn. This can be done by dropping down our mower blade between a 1/4" and 1/2" and mow until all the green is gone. We will do this while bagging your clippings and dispose of them properly. The idea is to pull up all the thatch and clean the area. The lawn should look quite bare and brown at this point. This leaves a good solid canvas for our next phases of growing rye grass.
Planting Rye Grass in Arizona Next, we will plant a high-quality rye grass seed. This will be planted in two different directions that will allow for good overlapping and minimize any missed area. It is important to ensure that we put enough seed down as well, to get the results we are looking for. We typically sow 15 lbs of rye grass per 1000 sq/ft. This is a good solid foundation of seed to ensure you get a great looking lawn.
Once the seed is in place we will go over it with some fertilizer and it will need to be watered daily. This gives the new seeds the nutrients that they need to sprout a healthy lawn. This watering should be done in short increments around 4-5 times a day. This allows the water to penetrate the soil but not wash away the seeds. This can be done with an underground sprinkler system. If you do not have the ability to keep up with this demanding watering system and you do not have automated, you can go for the mulch instead.
Mulch helps hold in the heat and water to creates a nice growing surface. This intense watering will need to continue for up to 14 days. This is when the seeds will have germinated and watering can be reduced to the normal once a day.
The Growing Process - Winter Lawns Once it starts to grow and really fill in, give it a few days before mowing. This allows the seedlings to really take hold and makes for a nice lawn. This is usually done around day 16, and then normal care should begin with an iron-based fertilizer and watering should be cut back to every other day until the temperatures begin to rise in the spring.
If you are below 6000 feet, this is a great way to have a beautiful lawn year-round. We take great care in not overseeing it so it will fill in nicely and you will have beautiful green grass look to it throughout the winter. If you live in the Phoenix area, you understand the unique climate we have. We work with our clients to have the best looking lawn in the Summer as well as the Winter. Understanding the environment and what grows well here is our job and we take pride in it. We want our client's lawns to look nothing but amazing. Let our team of experts come out and take a look at your current lawn situation and give you a quote today!