Depending on the herbicide and the goal of the herbicide application there are better or worse times to apply the herbicide. At all times we recommend following the product label for safe application to ensure you do not cause harm to your lawn or yourself. In general, pre-emergent herbicides are best to apply in the early spring to prevent summer weeds and early fall to prevent winter weeds, while post-emergent herbicides are best to apply when temperatures are below 85 degrees fahrenheit. If for example you are applying a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate to remove all grasses and weeds, then you should be fine to apply the herbicide at any time and may have a better result in warmer weather if your goal is to remove your existing lawn and all weeds. Read more in The Best and Worst Times for Herbicide Applications.

Grass plugs can be installed at almost any time of the year. The best time to install plugs depends on the type of plugs you are installing. In general warm season grass plugs are best to plant in the early spring where cool season grass plugs are best to plant in the early fall. You can plant plgus in the summer, but the weed pressure may be harder to overcome due to the bare soil between the plugs and temperatures are often too warm for herbicide applications.

Similar to grass plugs, sod can be installed at any time of the year. Each season provides different benefits to installing sod. The spring is an ideal growing climate with warmer and typically more precipitation than other seasons. In the summer warm season grasses have ideal growing temperatures, but will need to ensure you keep the soil moist and properly irrigated. Cool season grasses typically can go dormant during the summer months, so you will need to be extra careful with making sure you properly water your lawn. One downfall to summer planting is that if weeds start showing up, you will be very limited in the herbicides you can apply due to higher temperatures. In the early fall, there are warm season sod is best to plant in the early spring where cool season sod is best to install in the early fall. For warm season grasses they excel in warmer climates and thrive when the weather is hot, one thing to beware of is that in the heat of the summer you will need to ensure you properly water your newly laid sod and keep it wet so the grass can grow.