I'm Tim Fitzwater, and moving into a new home in Florida means inheriting a lawn that grows year-round in one of the toughest climates for turf management in the country. I put together this 10-step checklist because I've seen too many new Brandon homeowners waste their first year making avoidable mistakes — wrong grass for the conditions, mower set 2 inches too low, irrigation pumping water onto sidewalks while the back yard goes brown. Whether you're from out of state and this is your first Florida lawn, or you just bought your first home here, these are the steps I'd take in the first 30 days if I were moving into your house.
Step 1 — Identify Your Grass
Walk your yard. The grass type determines everything else — mowing height, watering, fertilizer, even how often you mow. Here's how to tell what you have:
- St. Augustine — thick, wide blades, soft underfoot, often a bluish-green tint. Most common in Brandon (70–80% of yards).
- Bermuda — fine blades, dense, golf-course look. Common on full-sun lots.
- Zoysia — medium blade with a carpet-like density. Less common but distinctive.
- Bahia — coarse, sparse, lots of seed heads. Usually older homes that haven't been re-sodded.
Not sure? I can identify it in 30 seconds during a free estimate visit. The full breakdown of each type and which works best where is in my grass type comparison.
Step 2 — Test Your Irrigation
Run every zone manually from the controller and walk the yard while it's running. You're looking for:
- Broken or geyser heads spraying straight up
- Heads that won't pop up at all
- Misaligned heads spraying sidewalks, driveways, or the side of the house instead of grass
- Dry zones where coverage just doesn't reach
- Pooling water that signals a buried leak
- Whether your rain sensor exists and is functioning (state law requires it — see Hillsborough watering restrictions)
Note every problem zone. Irrigation repair is $85 for a service call and most basic head fixes — way cheaper than re-sodding the dry zone you didn't catch until July.
Steps 3–5 — Rules, Height, Schedule
Step 3 — Learn the watering rules. Hillsborough County enforces a two-day-per-week schedule year-round. Odd addresses water Wednesday and Saturday. Even addresses water Thursday and Sunday. Before 10 AM or after 4 PM only. Set this on your controller as one of your first tasks. Full details in my watering restrictions article.
Step 4 — Set your mower to the right height. This is where new homeowners hurt their lawns the most. The correct heights:
- St. Augustine: 3.5–4 inches. Anything shorter scalps the crown and invites chinch bugs.
- Bermuda: 1.5–2 inches.
- Zoysia: 2–2.5 inches.
If you're from up north, every instinct in your body says "mow it short, that's how golf courses look." Resist it. Florida grass needs height to shade the soil and protect the crown.
Step 5 — Set the mowing schedule. Weekly April through October. Bi-weekly November through March. Never cut more than one-third of the blade in a single mow — if you've let it grow too long, do two cuts a few days apart instead of scalping it back in one pass.
Steps 6–10 — Foundation Items
Step 6 — Look for existing pest or disease damage. Walk the entire yard slowly. Look for irregular brown patches (chinch bugs), circular brown patches with dark borders (brown patch fungus), and any thinning or yellowing areas. Document with phone photos so you can track changes. Diagnostic flowchart in why your lawn turns brown in summer.
Step 7 — Evaluate existing landscaping. Are the beds mulched? Are shrubs overgrown into the turf line? Are there trees that drop heavy leaf litter? These all affect how much grass you actually have to maintain and what kind of seasonal cleanup you'll need. The best time to refresh mulch and trim shrubs is right when you move in, before the first growing season takes off.
Step 8 — Check HOA requirements. Many Brandon neighborhoods — Bloomingdale, Oakfield, Providence Road communities — have HOAs with specific grass height limits, edging standards, and approved plant lists. Get a copy of the covenants before you make any changes you'd have to undo. I maintain properties in dozens of HOAs and know most of the local rules.
Step 9 — Schedule a professional lawn analysis. Even if you plan to DIY everything, having a pro walk the property once tells you exactly what you're working with — grass health, soil condition, irrigation issues, pest pressure. I do this for free as part of any estimate.
Step 10 — Set up a relationship with a local lawn care provider. This is my honest personal recommendation, even if you don't go with me. Having someone who knows your specific property — where the dry spots are, which corner gets brown patch, when the chinch bugs hit — makes everything easier. The difference between weekly mowing and the full Total Package is just $54/month and includes pest prevention you don't have to think about.
The first 30 days set the tone for your entire first year as a Florida homeowner. Get these 10 items right and you'll skip the most expensive mistakes — re-sodding chinch bug damage in July, fixing scalped fronts in August, replacing dead irrigation zones in September. Pricing for everything that goes wrong is in my Brandon lawn care cost guide, but trust me — prevention is cheaper.