Spring in New England is a test of patience. One week it’s 60°F and sunny, the next you’re getting a surprise April snowstorm. Your lawn doesn’t care about your feelings—it needs specific things at specific times, and getting the sequence right makes all the difference.

The good news? Cool-season grasses are built for New England. Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fescues love the cool, moist conditions of a New England spring. Your job is to help them wake up healthy and strong. Here’s exactly how to do it, month by month.

March: Patience and Assessment

The biggest spring lawn care mistake New England homeowners make is doing too much, too early. In March, your lawn is still semi-frozen, waterlogged from snowmelt, and incredibly fragile. Walking on it, raking it aggressively, or trying to work the soil does more harm than good.

What to do in March:

  • Stay off the lawn as much as possible. Saturated soil compacts easily under foot traffic, and frozen grass blades snap rather than bend.
  • Assess winter damage from a distance. Look for circular patches of gray or pink matted grass—that’s snow mold. Note areas with heavy debris or standing water.
  • Service your equipment. Sharpen mower blades, change oil, check your string trimmer. Get ready so you’re not scrambling in April.
  • Order supplies. Buy your pre-emergent herbicide, fertilizer, and grass seed now before the spring rush clears the shelves.

Resist the urge to rake. Hard raking on soft, wet ground tears up grass crowns. Wait until the soil firms up in April.

April: The Real Start of Spring

Once the ground firms up and daytime temperatures consistently hit 50°F+, your lawn care season officially begins.

Clean Up and Light Raking

Now you can rake—gently. Use a spring-tine (flexible) rake, not a hard garden rake. Your goals:

  • Remove matted leaves and debris that accumulated over winter
  • Fluff up areas of snow mold so air and sunlight can reach the grass
  • Remove any remaining thatch from the surface

Don’t power-rake or dethatch in spring. Aggressive dethatching damages the grass when it’s just starting to grow and opens the soil to weed seeds. Save heavy dethatching for fall.

Snow Mold Recovery

If you find snow mold patches (gray or pink circular areas of matted, crusty grass):

  1. Gently rake the affected areas to break up the matted grass
  2. Allow air circulation—don’t cover or mulch over these spots
  3. Most snow mold is cosmetic and the grass will recover on its own as temperatures rise
  4. If patches haven’t recovered by mid-May, overseed them

Salt damage near driveways and sidewalks is trickier. Flush affected areas thoroughly with a garden hose—three or four heavy soakings over a week. This leaches the salt below the root zone. If the grass doesn’t recover, you’ll need to reseed those spots.

Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicide

Crabgrass is the #1 weed nemesis for New England lawns, and pre-emergent herbicide is your best weapon. The timing rule is simple: apply when soil temperatures reach 55°F for 3-5 consecutive days.

In most of New England, this happens between mid-April and early May. You can track soil temperatures at your local university extension website or stick a meat thermometer 2 inches into the soil.

Important: If you plan to overseed bare spots, do NOT apply pre-emergent in those areas. It prevents all seed germination—grass included. You can use a targeted approach: pre-emergent on established areas, bare seed on damaged spots.

Products to consider:

  • Prodiamine — Long-lasting, one application covers the season
  • Dithiopyr (Dimension) — Also works on very young crabgrass that has just germinated
  • Corn gluten meal — Organic option, less effective but chemical-free

Soil Testing

If you didn’t test last fall, do it now. Your county extension office offers tests for about $15. New England soils are often:

  • Too acidic (pH below 6.0) — Apply pelletized lime to raise pH. Spring lime takes a few months to work, so don’t expect overnight results.
  • Low in phosphorus — Common in established lawns that haven’t been amended recently.
  • Adequate in potassium — But check anyway.

Don’t fertilize blindly. A soil test is like a blood test for your lawn—it tells you exactly what’s needed and what’s not.

May: Feeding and Growing Season

By May, your lawn should be actively growing and you’ll be mowing weekly. This is when the real work begins.

First Fertilizer Application

Apply your first fertilizer of the season in mid-to-late May, after the grass has been actively growing for a few weeks. Fertilizing too early encourages lush top growth at the expense of root development—and those shallow roots will suffer when summer heat arrives.

What to use: A balanced slow-release fertilizer like 24-0-11 or similar. If your soil test showed deficiencies, choose a formula that addresses them.

How much: Follow the bag rate, which is typically calibrated to apply about 0.75-1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.

Timing tip: Fertilize cool-season grass based on growth, not the calendar. If your lawn is barely growing due to a cold, wet spring, delay the fertilizer until growth picks up.

Mowing Best Practices

Proper mowing is the most underrated lawn care practice. Here’s what matters:

  • Mow at 3-3.5 inches. This is the sweet spot for New England cool-season grasses. Taller grass shades the soil, retains moisture, and crowds out weed seedlings.
  • Never remove more than one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing. If the grass is 5 inches tall, cut to 3.5 inches, not 2 inches.
  • Keep blades sharp. Dull blades tear grass, creating ragged brown tips that invite disease. Sharpen or replace blades every 20-25 hours of mowing.
  • Leave clippings on the lawn. Grass clippings decompose quickly and return valuable nitrogen to the soil. They don’t cause thatch buildup—that’s a myth.

Weed Control

If you applied pre-emergent in April, you should have minimal crabgrass. For broadleaf weeds that are already growing (dandelions, clover, plantain):

  • Spot-treat with a broadleaf herbicide on a calm day when temperatures are between 60-80°F
  • Don’t spray the entire lawn unless weeds are widespread
  • Hand-pull small weed populations—it’s effective and chemical-free
  • Maintain thick, healthy grass as your long-term weed strategy. A dense lawn is the best weed preventer there is.

Watering

New England springs are usually wet enough that you don’t need to irrigate. But if you hit a dry stretch:

  • Water 1 inch per week, including rainfall
  • Water deeply and infrequently (2-3 times per week) rather than a little every day
  • Water in the early morning (6-10 AM) to minimize evaporation and disease

Pest Watch

Grubs are the main pest concern in New England lawns. White grubs (larvae of Japanese beetles, June bugs, and European chafers) feed on grass roots, causing irregular brown patches that peel up like carpet.

  • Check for grubs by cutting a 1-square-foot section of sod and rolling it back. More than 10 grubs per square foot warrants treatment.
  • Preventive grub control (containing chlorantraniliprole or imidacloprid) can be applied in late May to early June for season-long protection.

For deeper insight on summer pest management, take a look at New England lawn care in early summer.

Common Spring Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Raking too early on frozen/saturated ground — Wait until the soil firms up
  2. Fertilizing too early — Your grass needs to be actively growing first
  3. Scalping the lawn on the first mow — Start at your normal height
  4. Skipping pre-emergent — One missed application means a summer of crabgrass
  5. Over-watering — New England springs are usually wet enough; too much water promotes disease
  6. Applying lime without a soil test — Your soil might not need it

Your Spring Lawn Care Timeline

When What
March Stay off lawn, service equipment, order supplies
Early April Light raking, clean up debris, assess damage
Mid-April Apply pre-emergent when soil hits 55°F
Late April Soil test, address snow mold and salt damage
Early May Begin regular mowing at 3-3.5 inches
Mid-May First fertilizer application
Late May Spot-treat weeds, apply preventive grub control

For related New England seasonal guidance, check out fall lawn care for New England and winter recovery preparation for New England lawns.

Looking for the full year-round plan? Lush Lawns gives you a complete, month-by-month lawn care calendar tailored to New England’s climate. No more guessing, no more Googling—just a proven plan that works. Grab your copy today.