Garden Guy's Picks
Everything Todd and Sabrina recommend for Houston yards, all year long, on Walmart, Amazon, and Sam's Club.
We earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. #WalmartPartner
Just had a landscape installed? New plantings need the most help their first year: deep, steady watering in the heat and freeze protection in the cold. Questions about your new beds? Call us at 281-208-4400.
Spring: Step 1, Fix & Wake-Up
From the Texas Two-Step Lawn Method. Pre-emergent before the soil hits 55°F, fertilizer after.
By February 1
Spring pre-emergent
Stops crabgrass, spurge, and sandburs. Get it down before soil temperature at 4 inches holds at 55°F, and water it in. Don't use it where you plan to seed or plug grass.
Shop Our Pre-Emergent Pick →Feb to Mar
Weeds already up
Pre-emergent won't touch a weed that's already growing. Celsius WG is our pick for established St. Augustine and Bermuda. Spot-spray the weed, never the whole lawn, and follow the label.
Celsius WG Easy-Mix Packets →Optional, late Feb to Mar
Wake-up feed
Coffee, not a meal. Only once the soil is around 55°F and the grass is showing green. Plenty of folks skip it, and Bermuda usually doesn't need it.
Nitro-Phos Imperial 15-5-10 →Step 2: Feed & Protect
Late March to early April, once the lawn is greening, growing, and needing a mow. Never feed a lawn that's still asleep.
Late Mar to May
Main spring feeding
A slow-release, nitrogen-forward, low-phosphorus lawn food at the label rate. Water first if the lawn is dry, then feed. We're not sponsored, so any quality bag with similar numbers works.
Nitro-Phos Super Turf 19-4-10 →Bermuda lawns
Bermuda feeding
Bermuda is nitrogen-hungry. Feed every 6 to 8 weeks while it's healthy, watered, and actively growing, then switch to the fall winterizer.
Bermuda Fertilizer Picks →Summer
Yellow even though you fed it?
That's usually iron, not nitrogen. Houston's alkaline soil locks it up. Chelated liquid iron greens the blade without pushing more growth. Keep it off concrete, because it stains.
Farmer's Secret Liquid Iron →Fall and winter: close out the year
Late September through January. The second pre-emergent bookend, a potassium-forward winterizer, and cold protection.
Late Sept to Oct
Fall pre-emergent
The second bookend of the year. Stops henbit, chickweed, Poa annua, and burweed (the stickers) before they sprout. Spread at the label rate and water it in within 24 hours.
Shop Our Pre-Emergent Pick →Oct to Nov
Fall fertilizer (winterizer)
Potassium-forward, not a heavy nitrogen feeding. Apply while the lawn is still green and growing, follow the bag rate, and water it in.
Our gold standard, Nitro-Phos Fall Special 8-12-16, is sold at independent Houston-area nurseries and garden centers.
Shop Fall Fertilizer Picks →Before the first freeze
Freeze protection
Plant covers, faucet protectors, and mulch for new plantings and tender favorites. Have them on hand before the forecast turns.
Shop the Freeze Protection Store →Weed finder
Know the weed? Tap it for our list. Some weeds, like nutgrass, kyllinga, and dallisgrass, need their own product.
Our nutgrass method: Sedgehammer plus a non-ionic surfactant, spot-sprayed while the nutgrass is young and growing. Plan on repeat treatments.
Can't name it? Get the free Texas Lawn Weed ID Guide, with photos of real Houston-area weeds and the treatment for each.
Summer: pests and disease
Diagnose before you spray. Most July and August brown patches are chinch bugs or a watering habit.
Jun to Sept
Lawn pests
Chinch bugs are the #1 St. Augustine pest here. Part the grass at the edge of a dying patch and look for tiny black bugs before you treat.
Shop the Chinch Bug Store →Spring and fall
Fire ants
Baits and mound treatments for Texas yards. Bait works best when the ants are out foraging, so put it down on a mild, dry day.
Shop Fire Ant Control →Humid weeks
Lawn disease
Fix the water before you buy the fungicide. Nearly every fungus problem in Houston traces back to too much water, or water applied too late in the day.
Shop the Brown Patch Store →Tools, water, and soil
The gear that makes everything above easier. Shop whichever store you already use.
Year-round
Tools Garden Guy actually uses
Spreaders, sprayers, weeders, carts, and the small helpers that are easier on your back.
Water deeply, not daily
Water smarter
Sprinklers, hose timers, and rain gauges we trust. About an inch a week, rain included, watered between 4 and 9 AM.
Shop Water Smarter with Garden Guy →Beds and lawns
Soil and amendments
Peat moss, compost, and amendments for heavy Houston clay, new beds, and take-all root rot recovery.
Shop the Soil Improvement Store →Free help from Garden Guy
Our advice is always free.
Rather have it designed and installed for you?
Garden Guy has designed and installed landscapes in Sugar Land, Missouri City, and Greater Houston since 1991. Todd is personally on site during installs.
As an Amazon Associate, Garden Guy earns from qualifying purchases. #WalmartPartner: Garden Guy earns a commission on qualifying Walmart purchases, and may also earn from Sam's Club links. We're not sponsored by any brand. Garden Guy designs and installs landscapes and does not sell the products listed on this page. The product label is the law: always read and follow it.