10 Tips for Spring and Summer Lawn Care

It's never too early to start thinking about your lawn! Now that the warm weather has arrived, let's create a spring and summer lawn care schedule. 

If you're a homeowner who likes to fertilize your lawn to help keep weeds at bay, early spring is typically a good time to apply the first round of fertilizer. Starting your lawn care early helps it grow thick, lush, and ready to mow.

Speaking of mowing, hold off on that first mow until your lawn is truly ready and at least a few inches high. Cutting too early—or when the temperatures keep dipping back into near-freezing—can do more harm than good.

As soon as that last winter thaw is finished and the freezing temperatures are in the rearview mirror, it's time to reintroduce your lawn care arsenal to the sunshine. Get out of hibernation mode by checking to make sure your batteries are charged and ready to go; wipe down any residual cobwebs or debris on your equipment and get excited -- it's finally mowing season again! 

Begin prepping your yard for the first mowing by cleaning up branches that have fallen during winter storms and using your leaf blower to clear leftover debris off of rocks and flower beds.

If you have a battery-powered lawn mower like Greenworks, you'll simply need to charge your batteries to prep for spring! 

However, if you're still using a gas-guzzling lawn mower, you'll need to schedule a tune-up or change your mower's oil, air filter and spark plug yourself. And don't forget that extra trip to the gas station to fuel up for the mowing season. 

Pro tip: Want to learn more? Compare the two in our deep dive into gas versus electric lawn mowers.

There's nothing like a freshly cut lawn—and to help you achieve that every mow, make sure your mower blades are sharp. Dull blades can cause your lawn to look uneven and can even affect its overall health.

Check out our step-by-step How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades guide for more details on how to make sure your mower blades are razor-sharp and ready for a productive season ahead. 

It's a great idea to turn on mulch mode when cutting the lawn for those first few spring mowings. Benefits of mulching include:

• Putting nutrients back into your soil 
• Retaining moisture so you don't have to water your lawn as frequently 
• Eliminating the extra step of bagging
• Minimizing waste that goes into landfill  

Many Greenworks lawn and riding mowers have mulch and bagging options— check your owner's manual to learn more! 

It turns out that cutting height really does matter. Cut too high and it barely looks like your lawn has been mowed; cut too low, and your poor lawn gets an unintended buzz cut. Closely shorn grass dries out the lawn and can take weeks to recover. 

Battery-powered mowers like Greenworks offer up to seven cut settings to ensure a perfect cut, every time. A good rule of thumb is to avoid cutting shorter than a third of the total length of grass at a time. Taller grass is better for a healthy lawn -- it grows deeper roots and can even crowd out weeds.

You're going to love this one -- it's so satisfying! Get suited up with your leaf blower and blow away any last reminders of winter.

Leaf blowers are super effective for clearing leaves, blasting away grass clippings and removing wintery debris from swingsets and patio furniture. But did you know that you can also use a leaf blower to clean out your gutters? Use our handy Universal Gutter Cleaning Kit to clear those gutters out so they flow freely during spring and summer rainstorms.

Before your flower beds come alive with fresh blooms, they need a little TLC. Use a cordless cultivator/tiller to churn up last season's soil -- we highly recommend our bestselling Greenworks 40V 10" Cordless Cultivator/Tiller to get the job done.

Once you've churned up the dirt, it's time to plant. Check your local farmer's almanac to determine the best time to plant your spring flowers and then head to your local nursery to pick out this year's blooms.

Winter can be extra tough on trees and bushes. The brutal combination of snow, winds and below-freezing temperatures can cause tree limbs to crack off -- leaving a big mess to clean up in the spring.

While it might feel daunting to fire up the chainsaw and get to work assessing any potential storm damage, with Greenworks electric chainsaws, you simply push the start button and you're in business. No priming, no pumping, no pulling our your shoulder trying to start a gas chainsaw. 

If you're looking to spruce up smaller jobs around the yard, check out our Pruner Saw— it might be just the tool you're looking for!