Spring lawn care in Central Florida runs March through May: clean-up cut as growth resumes, first fertilizer only after full green-up (usually late March–April), and irrigation restarted with an audit — not last year’s schedule. Feed dormant grass and you feed weeds. Call (407) 674-2841.

Spring is when good lawns get made cheaply and bad habits get expensive. The entire season turns on two decisions — when to cut low and when to feed — and both are answered by soil temperature and green-up, not by the calendar on the fertilizer bag.

Written September 2026 for the Orlando–Kissimmee corridor (USDA zones 9b–10a). North-facing and low-lying pockets green up 1–3 weeks later than the dates below.

Lawn too far gone for spring revival? If winter left bare craters instead of dormant grass, spring is prime re-sodding season. See sod installation or price it with the sod calculator. Just diagnosing issues? Try lawn problem diagnosis. Call (407) 674-2841.

Quick answer

March: clean-up cut and irrigation audit as growth resumes. Late March–April: first fertilizer after full green-up and the second mow, soil temps above 65°F, frost risk past. May: settle into summer mow heights and watering. Never scalp St. Augustine or Zoysia to the dirt, and never feed before green-up.

Scalp: what the word actually means per grass

“Scalp” gets thrown around like it means one thing. It means three different things, and only one grass wants the extreme version:

  • Bahia: the one true scalp candidate. Mow dormant Bahia low (around 2 inches) in late February–early March to remove brown seed stalks and thatch before spring flush. It rebounds fast.
  • St. Augustine: a clean-up cut, not a scalp. First spring mow drops to about 3 inches to remove winter-burned tips and debris, then subsequent cuts rise to the 3.5–4 inch summer height. Cutting Floratam or Palmetto to the crowns exposes stolons to sun and invites spring weeds into every gap.
  • Zoysia: same discipline as St. Augustine, slightly lower — clean up around 2–2.5 inches, then hold 2.5–3 inches. Empire and Palisades green up slower than St. Augustine; don’t punish slow emergence with a second hard cut. For local variety selection and spring care details, see Zoysia sod in Harmony.

Bag the first cut if winter left heavy leaf litter or Poa clumps — mulching weed seedheads back into spring turf is self-sabotage. After that, mulch-mow; returning clippings is free nitrogen all season.

First fertilizer: the green-up rule

Apply the first feeding when all three are true: the lawn is fully greened (not patchy), you’ve mowed twice at spring height, and soil temps hold above 65°F with no freeze in the 10-day forecast. Around Orlando that is usually late March into April; low pockets and shaded Zoysia run later. Shaded lots that green up late can review timing and care notes for Zoysia sod in Buenaventura Lakes before fertilizing.

Why the discipline matters: fertilizer on half-dormant turf pushes tender top growth on a shallow root system — exactly the soft, juicy blades that spring fungus and the season’s first chinch scouts exploit. Our summer chinch-bug watch opens with lawns weakened by exactly this mistake.

Use a balanced slow-release granular (something like 16-0-8 or your soil test’s recommendation — test every 2–3 years; our sands go acidic and potassium-hungry). Water in a quarter to half inch. One correct feeding beats three anxious ones; the second app waits 6–8 weeks.

The late-freeze trap

Central Florida throws a freeze into late March every few years, right after early lawns flush. If frost threatens after green-up: hold the fertilizer, leave the grass a half-inch tall for crown insulation, run irrigation lightly before dawn on the freeze night (wet soil holds heat), and don’t judge damage for a week — most spring freeze burn on St. Augustine grows out from live stolons. Brown that stays brown into late April is the re-sod list; price it with the install cost estimator.

Irrigation restart (audit, don’t resume)

March is when systems wake up to reveal winter’s damage: cracked heads from mowers, shifted arcs, zones the landscaper capped. Before the first deep cycle, walk every zone and check head-to-head coverage — dry corners in March become dead patches in May, and no fertilizer fixes hydraulics. Reset runtimes for spring (shorter than summer peak; lengthen as heat builds) with the watering schedule tool, and confirm any county restrictions on the water restriction helper.

Weed control sequencing

Spring weeds (crabgrass, goosegrass, sedges) germinate as soils warm — the mirror image of fall’s winter annuals. If you ran the fall preemergent calendar, spring starts cleaner; a spring preemergent goes down when soil temps climb through 65–70°F (February–March here), well before the fertilizer window. Note the order: spring preemergent first, first fertilizer weeks later, and neither on sod younger than 6–8 weeks. New spring sod gets water and patience — chemicals wait.

Mow heights to hold through May

  • St. Augustine (Floratam, Palmetto): 3.5–4 inches, sharp blade, never removing more than a third.
  • Zoysia: 2.5–3 inches.
  • Bahia: 3–4 inches (taller shades seedheads and cuts mowing frequency).

Spring growth is explosive — mow frequently enough that the one-third rule holds, or the lawn spends May recovering from crew-cut shock instead of thickening. Dull blades tear spring growth and whiten the tips; sharpen before the season, not during it.

FAQ: spring lawn timing in Central Florida

Should I scalp my St. Augustine in spring?

No — give it a clean-up cut around 3 inches, then rise to 3.5–4. True scalps are for dormant Bahia only. Scalped St. Augustine spends spring fighting weeds instead of thickening.

When is the first fertilizer in Central Florida?

After full green-up and two mowings — usually late March into April, soils above 65°F, frost risk past. Feeding dormant grass feeds weeds and softens turf for pests.

What if a late freeze hits after green-up?

Hold fertilizer, keep grass slightly tall, water lightly pre-dawn on freeze night, and wait a week before judging. Most burn grows out; persistent brown into late April is the re-sod list — call (407) 674-2841.

When do I restart the sprinklers?

As growth resumes, typically March — with a full coverage audit first, not last year’s schedule. Reset zones with the watering schedule tool.