Paul's Fertilization & Weed Control

06/02/2026

Alright, if you have Take-All-Root-Rot (TARR)...

AND

1. You've stopped overwatering your lawn in the spring time.
2. You've fixed your drainage problems.
3. You've fixed your shade issues by making sure your St. Augustine is getting 4 hours of direct sunlight per day

You are now in a position to get serious about letting the lawn recover.

You might hear about using fungicides to solve TARR. It's mostly wishful thinking. They can certainly help with mild cases that are caught early, but the 2 MOST BENEFICIAL things that you can do (aside from the 3 things listed above) are DETHATCHING the lawn and then topdressing it with PEAT MOSS.

Dethatching is the process of removing a dense, matted layer of dead grass, roots, and organic debris—known as "thatch"—that accumulates between your green turf and the soil surface. We do this by using a thatch rake or power rake to rake up and remove the dead thatch layer that is diseased and blocking the soil and healthy grass from being able to uptake key nutrients. We then spread a thin layer (~0.25 inches) of peat moss across your St. Augustine lawn. TARR thrives in high PH soils, and peat moss helps to quickly reduce soil PH. Studies have shown peat moss topdressing to be more effective at combatting TARR than fungicide applications alone.

We offer both of these things. If you think you need it, fill out the form here https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/ and we'll get in touch!

Paul's Lawn Care provides Professional Lawn Treatment Services such as W**d Control, Fertilization, Disease Prevention, Insect Control, Tree & Shrub Care, and more to Keller, Westlake, Southlake, Grapevine, Colleyville, Hurst, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Alliance/North Fort Worth, Haslet, and oth...

04/21/2026

If you frequently get yellowing, diseased St. Augustine grass in the springtime, there ARE long-term solutions to combat this.
First, make sure that you are not overwatering (see our previous post for further explanation). That will help you to not WORSEN the problem. But it won't do a lot to fix the underlying issue, which is poor soil drainage caused by North Texas's heavy clay soil.

For a solution to this, let us introduce you to the French Drain. A French Drain is an underground pathway that captures water and moves it away before it can pool or cause problems. It consists of a perforated pipe laid inside of a trench, topped with gravel/rock. Water from the surrounding soil enters the trench, flows easily through the gravel, into the perforated pipe, and away to a safe discharge point, such as a storm drain or street.

This makes a massive difference in your soil's ability to properly drain, and therefore makes your lawn much less susceptible to diseases like Take-All-Root-Rot (TARR). A drainage contractor can do this for you, and many sprinkler/irrigation repair companies also offer French Drain installation. While it's not a super-cheap solution, it's often not as expensive as you may think! In the long run, it will save you a ton of money if you want to have a nice lawn.

PRO TIP: Make it drain into the street or a rocky area of your yard versus a low lying drain set in the grass. If you have it flow into a low lying drain in your lawn, most of your lawn will improve, but that area containing the drain can become MORE susceptible to TARR since the excess flow is all being directed into that low lying area, therefore keeping it wet constantly.

04/14/2026

Avoid THIS mistake if you have St. Augustine Grass -

Don’t overwater! Especially during this time of year.

Root suffocation and fungal diseases such as Brown Patch and the dreaded Take All Root Rot (TARR) are common in April and May in DFW.

This is because when you combine our wet conditions and moderate temperatures with our heavy clay soils, your soil struggles to properly drain. Even if you are not overwatering, or watering at all, your soil may be struggling to drain. St. Augustine grass has a shallow root system, which often means its roots are constantly sitting in wet soil during this time of year, which leads to yellowing, slow green up, and fungal disease.

And this is where people often make the problem worse. They see the yellowing and think that they need to water MORE. So now, your sprinkler system is adding even more water on top your already saturated soil.

Remember, water according to the weather, not according to the calendar. If we have received a couple of inches of rain in the past week and have mild temperatures with highs in the 80s, you do NOT need to be watering. How much you need to water is based off of temperature and rainfall. Follow our watering guide here to properly water year-round: https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/watering-guide

And make sure to watch out for future posts for long-term ways to combat fungus issues in your St. Augustine.

04/02/2026

The rain is falling ☔️, the birds are chirping 🐥, the grass is greening up 🐛. It’s Easter! 🐣 Is your yard ready to host the family egg hunt? Or will the kiddos be tip toeing thru a mix of w**ds, dirt, and uneven spots searching for the prize egg? Let us help make your yard the Easter Bunny’s favorite stop. Call us for your w**d control, fertilization, top dressing and more so that your lawn is something you can be proud of year round!

02/25/2026

“This area of our lawn is thin - we water and fertilize. Why can’t we get it to grow?"

“We can’t get grass to grow in this one spot - we think it might be a disease.”

These are two of the most common things that I hear from potential new customers each spring.

And let me tell you, 4 out of 5 times, the answer is that that area of the lawn does not get enough ☀️ SUNLIGHT ☀️. And out of those cases, the vast majority are due to too much shade from trees that have grown larger and wider over the years.

There are two absolutely non-negotiable things that your grass needs to survive, grow, and thrive. They are 1. 💦 WATER and 2. SUNLIGHT☀️

Let's focus on #2 - SUNLIGHT. ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️

Warm season turf grasses like Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia need DIRECT sunlight to survive. They are not the same as their cool season counterparts from further north in the country. Bermuda grass needs at least 8 hours of sunlight per day to survive. St. Augustine and Zoysia can tolerate a lot less, but still require about 4 hours.. And by “direct” sunlight, I mean sunlight that is not filtered through tree branches.

Which brings us to the importance of... 🪓🌳🪾 TREE TRIMMING 🌳🪾🪓

it is vital to have your trees trimmed 🪓 PROFESSIONALLY - EVERY YEAR 🪓. Especially if your trees are mature, light trimming of their low hanging branches isn’t sufficient. Their canopies need to be raised, thinned, and narrowed every year to allow in the proper amount of sunlight for your grass.

The ideal time to get your trees trimmed is now. Your grass is starting to show signs of waking up from its winter nap. February-March is the best time to get your shade trees trimmed in DFW because at this time, their leaves have likely fully dropped, and we are more than likely done having hard freezes that can cause damage to freshly trimmed areas of the tree.

We are happy to provide you with recommendations on local companies that do a good job of professionally trimming your trees in a way that will effectively allow in sunlight while not harming the tree itself.

As for the the rest of what it takes to have a beautiful lawn, we'd be happy to take care of that for you! Fill out our Free Estimate/Contact form at https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/ and we'll be in touch!

02/12/2026

Have you tried to eliminate w**ds on your own?

Maybe you've bought some "w**d killer" from a box-store. You sprayed or spread it and noticed that it seemed to work on some w**ds but not others, or maybe it didn't seem to work at all. Well, that’s because different w**ds require different herbicides, applied at different rates at different times. There are countless products out there, and it can be a lot to try to keep track of.

Effectively eliminating w**ds isn’t as simple as purchasing something labeled as a “w**d killer”. That's why it is key to have a lawn care professional who knows how to use them.

The applications in our Lawn Management Program are designed to treat the types of w**ds that are common in North Texas at the times that it will be effective to treat them. If you are already seeing w**ds in your lawn, you need to start treating them with post-emergent herbicides. We'd be happy to do that for you! Find out more at https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/

01/29/2026

The ground is thawing from the freeze ❄️ and we are continuing on with our spring pre-emergent treatments! If your lawn looks like the picture on the left, you probably did not get a pre-emergent w**d treatment during the fall. Don't make the same mistake twice!

It's NOT too late to prevent spring w**ds by having pre-emergent applied to your lawn. Pre-emergent stops w**ds BEFORE they germinate. Spring and early summer w**ds like 🌿🌼dandelion and crabgrass 🌿🌼 germinate as soon as average soil temperatures creep up to 55 degrees for a few straight days. So you are racing to get your pre emergent applied before then.

And if your lawn DOES look like the one on the left, don't worry - we can knock those w**ds out for you with a post-emergent treatment 😉. You still have time, so call us today at 682-412-0157 or fill out the free estimate form at https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/

01/16/2026

Hard freeze incoming!🥶

Late Saturday night into Sunday morning will see temperatures drop into at least the mid-20s. These temperatures can cause damage to your lawn and landscaping. Here’s what you can do to help out.

Give your lawn and landscaping a good, deep watering tomorrow (Friday!). Plants that are water-deprived are more susceptible to freeze damage. Watering 24-48 hours before a hard freeze will give them more strength to stand up to the cold. If you water too close to the freeze, you risk making the problem worse by potentially creating ice once the freezing temperatures hit. That’s why I strongly suggest doing it tomorrow. Aim for 1/2 inch accumulation. That translates to about 20 minutes per zone for pop up heads and 30 minutes per zone for rotors.

And cover any vulnerable plants in your landscaping as well!

PS: Check out our watering guide here for a foolproof, year-round plan on how to properly water! https://www.paulslawncaredfw.com/watering-guide

01/13/2026

Get your Ornamental Trees and Shrubs treated with Dormant Oil before it's too late!

Your Ornamental Trees and Shrubs may be sleeping, but that does not mean this is the time to ignore them. In fact, this is exactly the right time to be applying Dormant Oil in the North Texas area.

Dormant Oil protects your ornamentals against infestations from pests such as aphids, mites, and scale insects by coating the foliage and bark, thereby smothering these pests as they overwinter. By the time it starts to warm up leading into spring, it’s too late for Dormant Oil to be effective.

As a horticultural spray, Dormant Oil is a safe, natural, organic solution for pest prevention.

We recommend using it as part of our 5-step Ornamental Tree & Shrub Program. This program is designed to keep your ornamental trees and shrubs healthy and vibrant throughout the season.

01/08/2026

PRE-EMERGENT.

You've probably heard the word - but what is it?

Pre-emergent PREVENTS w**ds from developing in your soil. It is a vital part of an effective w**d control program. Preventing w**ds from growing in your grass is much easier and better for your lawn than killing them once they’re already mature.

With pre emergent, timing is everything. It’s January, so if you already have w**ds that means you probably missed your pre emergent application during the fall (don’t worry - most of those can be taken care of as well with post emergent treatments).

We will begin our spring pre emergent treatments over the next few weeks. These treatments will prevent the sprouting of nasty spring w**ds such as crabgrass, goosegrass, sandbur, henbit, dandelion, and clover. Don’t wait until March or April. These will be germinating well before then!