Frozen Lawn Damage

It’s difficult enough taking care of your lawn in the hot, dry heat of Arizona Summers; but in the winter it can also freeze! When the temperatures get cold enough to cause frost, “keep off my lawn!” is an encouraged exclamation in the evening to early morning hours before it warms up for the day.

When temps get down to freezing, or close to it, the delicate blades of grass have the potential to frost over, making them brittle. When walked on in this state, it can break or cause damage to the individual blades of grass; thus damaging your lawn.

According to University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s Cold Winter Lawn Tips, “when the lawn is frozen (no matter what grass you have) do not walk on the lawn. The leaves will snap with the ice. When the ice melts, the grass then wilts severely. The grass wilts because the leaves have been broken and the water in the leaves exits very quickly. This is sometimes called “frost printing.” It may take a considerable time for the grass to regrow upright again.”

There are a few things you can do to keep your grass green in the cold winter months according to the Cold Winter Lawn Tips article:

Mow properly. Do not scalp the lawn. The scalped lawn will grow back yellow and take up to 3-4 weeks for recovery.
Fertilize the lawn with high nitrate fertilizer such as potassium nitrate (KNO₃) which is 13.75-0-44 in analysis, or ammonium nitrate (NH₄ NO₃) which is 34-0-0.
Do not use urea or slow release fertilizers in December or January.
Use iron regularly before it gets cold and during cold snaps. You can use iron sulphate powder at the rate of 4 ounces per 1000 ft².
- Mix four tablespoons per gallon in warm water and stir it vigorously. Then apply the iron to the lawn as a spray with a clean, herbicide-free hand sprayer. It’s best to apply the iron at 10:00 a.m. or so in the morning, then leave the lawn be for the day. Irrigate the lawn the following day before mowing.

Home Maintenance & Outdoor Living To-Do | #FrozenLawnDamage

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Podcast

John Eisenhower is joined by Branch Manager Gary Peterson to discuss our Tree Of The Month: the White Mulberry Tree. We discuss a study on an endless water supply called Primary Water, tips on protecting your trees and plants from frost, and reasons you might have to remove a tree completely.