Lawn care and landscaping in Four Corners, FL

Four Corners grew from 26,116 residents in 2010 to 56,381 in 2020, spread over about 51 square miles where Lake, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties meet. There is no city government; each home follows its own county’s ordinances and its own water management district. Two neighbors a few streets apart can have different watering days and different fertilizer seasons.

Here is how the rules line up, as checked on October 7, 2026:

• Lake County side: St. Johns River district, Phase III order — odd addresses Saturday, even Sunday, never 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Unincorporated Lake County bans nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer from June 1 to September 30.
• Orange County side: Orange County bans nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer from June 1 to September 30, asks for at least 65% slow-release nitrogen the rest of the year, and keeps fertilizer 25 feet from waterways. Which district sets your watering days depends on the address, so we confirm it with the district before programming a controller.
• Osceola County side: South Florida district, two days a week — odd Wednesday and/or Saturday, even Thursday and/or Sunday, never 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. No summer fertilizer ban, but none during storm watches or warnings.
• Polk County side: Southwest Florida district, Modified Phase III through March 31, 2027 — one day a week by the last digit of your address. No summer ban, but none when more than 2 inches of rain are likely within 24 hours.

Before we set a fertilizer program or an irrigation schedule, we look up your parcel’s county and match it to the right rule, so you are not following one meant for the subdivision across the road.

For crews, the four-county map changes what we do in summer more than anything else. On the Lake and Orange sides, there is no nitrogen or phosphorus from June through September, so summer color has to come from good mowing, iron or micronutrient products the ordinances allow, and steady watering on the allowed days. On the Osceola and Polk sides, a light summer feeding can stay in the plan when the weather allows it. Our lawn fertilization page explains both programs.

Mowing is the same everywhere: the right height for your grass, never more than a third of the blade at a time, and sharp blades. UF/IFAS puts standard St. Augustine at 3.5–4 inches and bahia at 3–4 inches. See lawn mowing and the lawn care in Four Corners guide.

Four Corners sits about 25 miles southwest of Orlando, next to Celebration and the Walt Disney World area. Margaritaville Resort Orlando opened on the former Splendid China site, and ChampionsGate, with its golf courses, lies inside Four Corners on the Osceola side. Many homes here are vacation rentals or second homes, so owners ask us for a fixed visit day, photos instead of phone calls, and one company for the lawn, beds, palms and pressure washing. Read our page for out-of-state owners.

The census once called this area Citrus Ridge, and the land around it still shows its past: sandy, fast-draining soil on the higher ground, and the wetlands of the Green Swamp and Lake Louisa State Park to the north. Sand holds little water or nutrients, so lawns here respond to deep, infrequent watering and to slow-release fertilizer rather than heavy doses. Beds benefit from 2–3 inches of mulch to keep roots cool and moisture in.

With the population doubling in ten years, a large share of homes still have their builder landscape: young sod, a few shrubs in a row and a bare corner or two. Those yards are a good fit for a first upgrade — fuller beds, a landscape design that suits the house, and palms trimmed before hurricane season. If you just moved in, our guide for new homeowners walks through the first year.