Unseasonably warm February in Kansas makes lawn care confusing. Here’s what to avoid
The springtime weather this February in south-central Kansas may have you itching to get outside and start your lawn care, but one expert advises you might want to rethink that decision.
While it feels like spring, there is still the possibility of another cold front, which could undo work you’ve already done, making those lawn care days counterproductive.
“It’s been very tempting for people to get out and be active in the garden, and there’s things that people can definitely do, but we want to make sure that we’re not causing more damage to our yard by potentially getting too ambitious with some of our activities,” Matthew McKernan, horticultural agent for the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, said in a Monday interview.
The warm weather is set to break records in Wichita. One National Weather Service forecaster said this month is set to be one of the five warmest Februarys in Wichita’s history. While highs are in the 70s later this week, the low will be below freezing Wednesday night, according to the latest forecast.
Wichita broke its Feb. 27 warm weather record Tuesday, measuring 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon, breaking the previous 78-degree record set in 1976. Wednesday morning, it was snowing at the NWS Wichita office.
The fluctuating temperatures can be harsh on plants, McKernan said.
“The sharper the drop or rise in temperature for a plant, the harder it is for that plant to transition back and forth,” McKernan said. “What we’re most worried about is being extremely warm and then dropping to extremely cold. Typically that’s where the most damage occurs.”
Even with the record-breaking heat tempting you to start on your yard work, you shouldn’t jump the gun too quickly.
“Typically, when we think about Kansas, it’s not until mid to late April before our chances of freezes have ended for the year,” McKernan said.
Typically April 9 is the date where there is a 50/50 chance of a freeze in the future, the agent said. April 16 has a 75% chance of the freezes being done for the year, while it isn’t until April 21 when there’s a 90% chance the spring weather will stick around.
For this week in particular, while temperatures Saturday and Sunday are expected to almost get into the 80s, Wednesday and Thursday are seeing highs in the 40s and 50s, with lows in the 30s.
While you should be saving some lawn care activities for springtime, there are still some things you can do now if you want to get a head start.
What can I do in my Kansas yard in early March?
Here are some yard work activities you can do three weeks from spring, which begins March 19, according to McKernan:
- Cut back ornamental grasses (cut 3 to 6 inches from the ground)
- Cut back perennial plants and keep stems in a pile for a couple more months
- Prune trees and shrubs, but don’t prune spring flowering trees, like crown apples and red buds
This is also an important time to check on the water needs of your plants and make sure there’s plenty of moisture on the ground, as well.
When it comes to watering your lawn, it’s never too early to begin, McKernan said. But the consistency depends on the time of year.
“We don’t want to see people watering every day or on a frequent basis right now,” McKernan said. “Like once a week or once every other week is probably going to be sufficient.”
What lawn care should I avoid in early spring in Kansas?
As for what to avoid, McKernan said to not uncover plants and flowerbeds quite yet. Instead, wait until either late March or mid April.
“[People] leave the leaf mulch ... over those plants or add mulch to the flower beds to kind of insulate those plants. That’s going to be an important way to protect the plants,” McKernan said.
Some more popular practices to avoid include fertilizing your grass in early spring. Fertilizing too early can promote the growth of weeds more than the growth of grass, he said.
“We’d recommend waiting until May before you apply any kind of fertilizer,” McKernan said. “Typically fertilizers right now are going to promote the weed more than they help the grass. And if it’s a tall fescue one for example, having fertilized it well last November last October, that would have been what’s really going to help it green up more this spring.”
This does not apply to tall fescue, which should be fertilized in the fall. Fall is also the best time to sow new seeds, including flowers, trees and shrubs. But there are still some plants that do better if you wait until the warmer months, like summer blooming bulbs.
