Lawn Care
Stress on Fescue – Summer
Fescue lawns can look devastated in the summer. I often see brown, lifeless patches in front of homes across the region. While extreme summer daytime heat is partly to blame, a less noticed factor is also at play: high night...
Zoysia – Watering
The best time to water a lawn is in the morning, preferably before noon. This allows the grass to dry before nightfall, reducing the risk of disease. Take into account recent rainfall when deciding how much to apply. Watering restrictions...
Turfgrasses – Selection
There are usually several varieties of each turfgrass from which to choose. Which is the best for your situation? The information below, taken from a University of Georgia publication should help. COOL SEASON GRASSES Cool-season grasses grow well during the...
Centipede – Fertilizing
Centipedegrass is a warm season grass. It does its productive growth between April and September. For this reason, fertilizer applications should be done in the late spring, after green-up and in mid summer. The amount of fertilizer to apply should...
Zoysia – Fertilizing
Lawn fertilizer is manufactured by many companies. Each manufacturer uses a slightly different blend of plant nutrient chemicals to arrive at a final product. • Chemicals such as urea, ammonium nitrate, urea formaldehyde and ammonium phosphate provide the nutrient nitrogen...
Bermuda – Fertilizing
Lawn fertilizer is manufactured by many companies. Each manufacturer uses a slightly different blend of plant nutrient chemicals to arrive at a final product. • Chemicals such as urea, ammonium nitrate, urea formaldehyde and ammonium phosphate provide the nutrient nitrogen...
Lawn Fertilizer – Choosing
My son came home the other day complaining about his math assignment. “Why do I have to solve all these word problems?” he protested. “I’ll never need this long division when I grow up. I’ll use a calculator!” I thought...
Fescue – Fertilizing
Fescue grass is a cool-season grass. It does the majority of its productive growth between September and June. For this reason, fertilizer applications should be concentrated in the fall, winter and early spring. The amount of fertilizer to apply should...
St Augustine – Fertilizing
Lawn fertilizer is manufactured by many companies. Each manufacturer uses a slightly different blend of plant nutrient chemicals to arrive at a final product. • Chemicals such as urea, ammonium nitrate, urea formaldehyde and ammonium phosphate provide the nutrient nitrogen...
Lawn – Growing in Shade
OK. I admit it. I have given up. I came to the conclusion that grass just would not grow in the corner of my lawn near the ornamental cherry trees. The shade there is so dense that my grass, no...
Lawn – Leveling Low Spots
Despite your best efforts, your lawn may have spots that are lower than their surroundings. The best time to level lawns is while they are growing rapidly (fescue: fall; warm-season grasses: early summer). There are two ways to correct low...
Soil Temperatures – Apply Pre-emergent
Summer weeds, like crabgrass, must have several consecutive days of temperatures above 55 degrees before they germinate. If the seed is right on the surface of your soil, it becomes warm quickly. If the seed is buried a bit deeper,...
Weeds – Identification with Pictures
Weed control in the landscape is a tough business. You have to know a lot about the weed in question just to get started! As in most situations, a picture is worth a thousand words. Websites Preen has terrific weed...
Nutsedge (Nutgrass) – Identification
Nutsedge is one of the toughest weeds to control in a lawn or landscape. To further confuse matters, there are two kinds: purple nutsedge and yellow nutsedge. The kind of nutsedge you have might determine how you’ll control it. Here...
Lawn – Leveling
A new home in my neighborhood had bermudagrass sod planted in March. By May, one area was a perfect checkerboard of straight lines, composed of weedy plants, surrounding the individual squares of sod. Evidently the sod installers were in such...
Sod – Installed in Fall or Winter
In the Southeastern United States, horticulturists routinely recommend transplanting trees and ornamentals when they are dormant during the late fall or early winter. The root-ball is typically buried deep enough so that soil temperatures are conducive for continued root growth...
Lawns – Light Needed
Choosing the right grass for a lawn is initially based on how much sunshine the site receives and how much water you are able to apply in the summer. Consider also the amount of labor you are willing to invest...
Lawn – False Advertisements
The advertisements are colorful and seductive: “Lush green lawn guaranteed!”, “Miracle sod!”, “Even grows in impossible spots!”. Is there any truth to the claims? As with a lot of advertisements, there is usually some truth to be found. The four-color...
