I'm a new homeowner in Houston and have St. Augustine grass. I've heard that I should spread winter rye seed now--is this right? Also, is there anything else I should do this fall (e.g. fertilizer)?

Any advice or resources you can provide me with are appreciated, thanks in advance.

What makes you think you NEED to spread winter rye? The benefits are it gives you a green stand of grass all winter, and something to do because you're going to have to mow it all winter, more than likely more than you did the St Augustine. Unless you're worried about erosion control in an area with no grass or just want something to do all winter, I wouldn't. You're going to have to water it, lightly fertilize, and take care of it. Now, given the option, me personally would overseed just because I'm a grass guy and went to school for it, but the average person I'd recommend not doing it. If you do decide you want a green lawn, go with perennial rye over annual rye, something like PhD, a triple mix perennial. The difference in perennial and annual is the perennial will be a darker, finer grass that also grows slower, it'll die off in the summer wth our heat so long as you're not watering 5 times a week.

Winter is the time of year that I get to take a break from mowing my lawn. I have no idea why people would want to add something to their lawn to force them to continue mowing. I'm fine with a brown lawn for a few months.

Rye is a water hog and looks like **** when it starts to die in the spring. Skip it.

Great advice. Do I need to worry about fertilizer or anything else at this time? Is there a schedule I should get on?


Thanks again!

Randy Lemmons (google it, I'm lazy)

For Houston, Randy Lemmon is typically regarded as the expert. It appears that his website is down, but here is his fertilizing schedule:

BTW-Ace Hadware carries the products on his schedule and can actually show you where in the store they are located.

Amazing.....

Awesome advice all around, much appreciated.