Lawn care calendar for Tennessee: when to fertilize and seed

Rows follow UT Extension's 2025 calendar; a Memphis lawn runs earlier in spring than a Knoxville one.

Which grasses grow where in Tennessee

UT's turfgrass selection guide calls Tennessee the transition zone, one of the hardest places in the country to grow turf. Tall fescue is the recommended grass for most home lawns in East and Middle Tennessee, tolerates partial shade and needs less mowing. Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass are the warm-season alternatives, with a seasonal tradeoff: they go brown in winter.

UT lists a mowing height of 2 to 3.5 inches for improved tall fescue varieties. The older nitrogen guide lists the monthly nitrogen need during active growth as 2/5 to 1 pound per 1,000 square feet for tall fescue and zoysia, and 1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds for bermudagrass.

Frost dates from NOAA

Dates are the NOAA 1991-2020 normals for the last spring and first fall 32 F freeze at 50% probability. Memphis International averages March 16 and November 16. Nashville International averages March 31 and November 3, and Knoxville McGhee Tyson is April 1 and November 2.

Our arithmetic: Memphis has about 245 days between those dates and Nashville about 217, so Memphis has a month more growing season, and the spring calendar should be read about two weeks earlier in West Tennessee.

Spring

March is the key month. Apply a pre-emergent for summer weeds, especially crabgrass, when soil temperature averages 55 F at 2 inches for several days; forsythia blooming is the visual cue. UT suggests active ingredients such as dithiopyr, pendimethalin or prodiamine. Crabgrass typically germinates in early to mid April, so the first pre-emergent must already be down, and a second goes on six to eight weeks later.

Tall fescue gets granular fertilizer in March, with at least 30 percent of the nitrogen in slow-release form, according to soil test. Start mowing by the one-third rule. Bermudagrass and zoysia wait until May for their first feeding.

Summer

Mow by the one-third rule, and irrigate only when the grass shows drought stress, such as rolled leaves or footprints that linger. UT says most Tennessee lawns will not need more than 1 inch of water a week in hot months including rainfall, and bermudagrass and zoysia often do well on about half an inch. Divide the weekly amount into one to three deep sessions.

Tall fescue's summer problem is brown patch: UT recommends a preventive fungicide every 28 days from June through August, using a strobilurin product. August is also when UT starts programs for removing bermudagrass and dallisgrass from fescue, and the calendar closes them out in September.

Fall

September is for tall fescue renovation: aerate and overseed to thicken the stand, following UT's seedling establishment publications. In October and November UT says to fertilize according to soil test and control winter weeds when they are small.

On bermudagrass and zoysia, raise the cutting height by at least half an inch in October to prepare for dormancy, stop mowing after frost, and apply winter weed herbicides when soil temperature at 2 inches has averaged under 70 F for seven days after rain. Mulch the leaves with the mower.

Soil tests and the bag math

UT's soil lab at soillab.tennessee.edu sets the nutrient recommendations the calendar keeps pointing to. In UT's older fertilization guide (W161-C, 2008), an example high-intensity tall fescue plan totals 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet: half a pound in early March and early April, and a pound each in early September, mid-October and mid-November.

The calendar's numbers only help if you know how much product that is. The lawn fertilizer calculator on this site converts a bag's nitrogen percentage into pounds of product for your lawn size, and the slow-release share of the nitrogen is printed on the label.