The hot, dry summer has probably left your lawn needing a little extra TLC. Now that cooler temperatures are here, take advantage of the full fall days to help your lawn look and feel its best.

Although turf grasses are often dormant above ground in the fall, their roots continue to grow beneath the ground. The dry autumn weather weakens the turf grass and makes it susceptible to damage from cold weather, so a little preventive maintenance will go a long way toward a healthy lawn year round. Fescue is one of the most common grass turfs, in both warm and cold climates. In warm climates, it is often used in back yards (front yards tend to be sodded with Bermuda grass) because it remains green year-round. One of the advantages of using your back deck in cooler weather is the eye appeal of dark green fescue. Use the following items as a rough guide to a healthy, beautiful fescue lawn.

Fall is a good time to restore your lawn to its best condition by re-seeding or over-seeding. But first you might want to check for proper soil pH and other plant nutrients. Your county extension office will usually do this for a small fee. If your fescue lawn has not been aerated the past two or three years, aerate it this year for optimum results. Be sure you aerate with a core aerator before seeding. Put down good quality seed, and after the seed has established itself, make certain the lawn receives adequate water. This is especially important because fescue doesn’t tolerate dry conditions or drought very well. If you apply enough water to soak the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, that should be adequate. That is roughly the same as one inch of rain.

You will want to spray a selective broadleaf herbicide on your fescue lawn to remove weeds. Apply fertilizer, usually in the application 16-4-8 of fertilizer for every 1000 square feet during the autumn. Later, in November, apply fertilizer which has a high potassium content.

If you have Bermuda, centipede, or zoysia (the warm season turfs which usually tolerate hot, dry summers), you may not need to give your lawn too much extra attention. Usually by the end of September the final application of fertilizer should have been put down. If you do it much later than that, it will delay the turf from going into dormancy, and that could make the grass more vulnerable to injury from cold.

Allow your warm season grasses to go dormant in the coming weeks by cutting back on mowing. Raise the mower height half an inch, and mow only one or two times more before winter. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide by the end of September to control winter weeds.

Not too complicated, really, And not too time-consuming, either. In a nutshell, you want to restore fescue lawns, and you want to prepare warm season turf to go dormant. As always, follow all safety precautions and follow all label directions when using any type of lawn care chemicals.

Tuscany Homes LLC of Atlanta is pleased to provide you with these lawn care tips. We know that a well-maintained lawn adds value to your home.

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Mowing lawn is perhaps one of the most important aspects of lawn care. Proper mowing will keep your lawn healthy and green.

When you mow, you are actually clipping off the growing point of the grasses. This is the part where new leaves develop. When this happen, the grasses will branch out and fight for every available space to grow. This will eventually lead to a dense, tightly woven turf.

Mowing is a lawn care process that needs proper knowledge to accomplish. It is not just about cutting off the extra height of the grass.

First you need to understand what type of grass you have in your lawn. In general, there are two types of grasses used for establishing lawn. One is warm season grass and the other is cool season grass. As their names implied, each type of grass prospers under different climate condition.

Each grass type has a specific height that is the optimum for it to be mowed. If you mow that type of grass to the specific height, it would grow healthily and look better. In addition, mowing at the correct height also means that the grass has sufficient leave left for it to absorb water and nutrients. Many lawn care experts believe that the depth of the root system of the lawn grass is directly proportional to the height of mowing. This means that the higher you mow your lawn, the deeper would be the root system of your lawn grass. It also translates into getting more water for your grass and making less effort in watering your lawn.

For cool season grasses such as Fescue, Bluegrass and Ryegrass. they should be mowed at a range of two and a half to three and a half inches of height. Fescue is generally mowed to about three inches in height while Bluegrass should not mowed at less than two and a half inches in height.

For warm season grasses, they can be mowed at a low height as provided by most of the home owned mowers. Some examples of warm season grass include Bermuda, Zoysia and Centipede. If you planning to mow these grasses in your lawn, you can try to mow them at about one inch. You should have a smooth grade or else it would not look good.

Lawn mowing helps in keeping the grass alive and makes roots grow deeper. Mowing lawns at a proper height also makes it look better. One of the biggest advantages of mowing lawns is that it saves water and this in turn will save your money and time that could have been spent in watering your lawn.

For more useful lawn care tips, visit http://lushlawncare.com today.

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Southern gardeners are still talking about the severe winter weather we had and still taking inventory of the heavy toll, when some of the worst cold spells in history ruined many millions of dollars worth of shrubbery. Cold damage does not always show up soon after a cold spell. Some plants will not begin to show signs of trouble until April, May or even June when warm weather brings the plants into active growth. The tops may not show immediate signs of trouble unless the bark splits badly at the very beginning. The tops may stay alive a while on the stored up energy in the stems.

On the brighter side of the picture, this is still a month of breathtaking beauty in southern gardens where deciduous flowering shrubs and trees fill in the gap left by flowerless broad-leaved evergreens. Now the flowering dogwoods, wisterias, flowering peaches and crabs, cherries, redbuds, weeping cherries, spiraeas, bulbs of many kinds and fruit trees in bloom fill the air with the fragrance of spring.

Pruning Back Time

Prune back injured plants to sound, live wood that shows the healthy, moist, green cambium layer directly under the bark. Dead wood often becomes a host for decay organisms. Cut it off as fast as it develops to prevent further spread of possible die-back troubles.

Roses will not show the real extent of the cold damage until about now. If they fail to show new growth by this time, dig them up and destroy them. The hybrid teas were hurt worst of all. Don’t try to save plants where the tops have been killed back to the grafts. Only wild rose stocks remain below this point. So, dig and throw away plants injured to this extent.

Complete Fertilizer

A good feeding with a complete plant food at this time will help greatly in bringing back to healthy growth gardenias that have suffered from freezing. Careful trimming to live wood and feeding with an azalea and camellia fertilizer will do wonders in bringing out new growth on these plants.

Summer Flowering Bulbs

Planting of gladiolus, cannas, caladiums, tigridias and dahlias is in full swing. Be sure to plant glads every two weeks until the first of June in the Middle and Upper South to keep them blooming through the summer months. This is about the last planting in the Lower South. Thrips cause considerable damage to gladiolus flowers and foliage. So, spray with malathion.

While dahlias can be planted safely in April the best blooms are produced in the fall. This calls for June planting. They then escape most of the hot summer weather that fades and spots the blooms. Some experts even wait until the first week in July to plant their dahlias. In any case, divide your clumps in storage and have them ready for planting when the time comes.

Annual Flowers

All annual flower seeds can be planted directly in the garden or in the coldframe for transplanting into the garden next month in all sections of the South. It is too late for hardy annuals such as larkspur, sweet peas and cornflowers that grow and bloom best in the cool spring months.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are abundant in garden stores everywhere. When in a hurry to develop a colorful border get bedding plants already in bloom. They will provide attractive plantings a good part of the summer. Also select your bedding plants for flower boxes, urns and hanging baskets.

Lawns Call for Attention

Lawns need attention this month. Many of us will have to repair damage caused by the excessively low temperatures. Some plantings of centipede and St. Augustine grass have been damaged. Re-plantings may have to be made. Sprigging is still the only method of planting these two popular grasses. In the Middle and Upper South mixtures for sunny and shady lawns can be planted as well as Kentucky Blue and carpet grass. Sow these at the rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. In the Lower and Middle South, Bermuda seed can also be planted now.

Spray Schedule

Spraying starts in earnest in April. Gardeners are expecting everything from a slight to almost complete killing of insects from our cold winter but we must not relax our efforts at keeping pests under control. There will still be a good supply of aphids, scale and other bothersome pests ready to begin work on shrubs, flowers and vegetables as soon as new growth appears. Use oil emulsions for scale and white fly; Malathion to keep down red spider, discourage aphids and keep many other pests under control. Sevin is great for cutworms.

Mulching

Mulching is important with shrubs and all widely spaced plants such as roses and dahlias. A thick layer of “pine straw”, peatmoss or leaves will protect them during the hot summer months, conserve moisture and keep the feeding roots cool and moist.

Vegetable gardens will be in vogue this year. Gardeners plan to turn to food gardening to help offset high costs. You can plant practically everything you want in the vegetable garden now. You can even include a neem tree in your vegetable garden. Check with your local seeds man on recommended varieties for your section and be sure to try some of the All-America introductions. If space is limited, try parsley for a trim border and tasty garnishes.

For an early start set out plants of tomato, pepper, eggplant, cauliflower, celery, sweet potato, cabbage and onions. Shade newly planted vegetables from the sun for a few days. “Starter solutions” also work wonders in getting them under way quickly and develop extra-strong growth that produces heavy crops.

You can’t always get what you want but you can find what you need on the subject of neem oil for plants. Beginners and experts alike refer to us as their source for information on plant-care.com.

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Living in the country has its good points and bad points, its ups and downs, its recreation and chores. Quiet, peaceful days are only punctuated by the chirps and songs of birds; nights are silent save for the occasional horse sneeze. The country is beautiful, the views breathtaking to see – but the upkeep of country property can be a challenge.

The biggest challenge (and I dare anyone to find a bigger one) is springtime weeds. Not those odd offenders who sprout up amidst a well-kept lawn (we don’t have a lawn); real weeds. The obstinate, aggressive, vengeful type. The kingpin of weeds is wild barley, or foxtail, where we live. You poison it, it grows back. You cut it down, three grow back in its place. You hit it with a weed trimmer – it takes revenge.

The foxtail’s primary weapon is its seed heads or awns. They transport the seed into fur, wool, socks, hair, tires, noses, toes, or any other vehicle the foxtail chooses. The barbed fibers in the seed head act like tiny fish hooks, driving the seed head further into the soil, skin, or hair. It is quite common for veterinarians to remove foxtails from the ears, noses, toes, and body tissues of animals (mostly dogs and cats). It can be an expensive procedure – and is almost always very unpleasant for the animal involved.

The best defense against this weedy menace is prevention. Cut or mow the weeds (or hire goats … we’re not kidding). Early in the spring, when the wild barley appears as innocent and tasty grass for horses and goats, the plant is harmless. Allowed to progress to seed stage, it will sprout green awns that are still rather harmless. However, if the weed is allowed to dry out to its dreaded golden state, the awn becomes a tiny missile launcher; brush by it with new socks on, and you’ll have foxtails in the terry cloth until the socks are worn and done. The firing action is what also lobs the seed heads into the ears of dogs and cats – to nestle there against an eardrum until the veterinarian’s probe and forceps remove it.

Mind you, the offensive arsenal of weed poison (not popular if one has animals in residence) and weed trimmers is only partially effective. Cut the plants down, more grow in their place, with more awns than before. Sometimes the foxtails will fly up into the trimmer operator’s ears and nose. It goes without saying that sturdy pants and smooth boots are mandatory. Those seeds fly off of a trimmer’s head and stick to anything in firing range.

The coup de gras for high expense regarding this nasty weed is its final vengeance: weed trimmers tend to hit and launch rocks. A broken window here and there in the house seems to have the foxtails laughing. In one reported household, foxtails have run up a $1,000.00 bill due to vet bills for foxtails in dogs’ ears, and (so far – spring isn’t over yet) one broken window. Yes, indeed. The foxtails are laughing.

Bonnie Cox has grown up with horses and dogs since a very early age. Growing up on orange and avocado ranches, the country life has always been a constant. Ms. Cox graduated from Chico State University in Northern California with a Journalism degree and now freelances in writing, tutoring, and graphic arts. She also trains horses and dogs.
http://www.antlerhollowmillville.com
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Where does grass seed come from?

I have centipede grass.. How do I get grass seeds from it. When it grows a long black thin sprout with seed looking things on it, is that the grass seed? Please let me know how to grow grass seed, collect, and then use and plant it from my collection. I am not tlaking about buying a bag of seed from the store.

Spring Lawn Care

Spring is an especially important season for your lawn grasses. What you do or don’t do in the Spring can effect how your lawn looks year round. Basically what you do to your lawn in the spring is setting the foundation for a good growing season. There are basically eight steps you should take in the Spring to insure that you have a good foundation set for your lawn to prosper into the summer and fall.

Equipment Maintenance

I quite often see this as one of the last steps in a spring lawn prep program. I have to part from the crowd on this one. I can’t see why you would want to take care of your equipment after you’ve completed your Spring maintenance. Better to get all your equipment in shape before, that way your not trying to cut the grass with a dull mower or any other horticultural atrocities. If you haven’t done it in the fall now is a good time to sharpen the blades on your mower, do an oil change (Note, don’t change your oil over your lawn, any spills on the the grass will probably result in a patch of dead grass). Check your rake and straighten out the tines if necessary. Have you ever used a rake that had bent times and gone over the same spot a dozen times without getting the debris you were trying too? Check you Fertilizer and Seed broadcaster (spreader) oil if necessary, add air to the wheels and make sure they are free and clear of old chemicals. Same for your sprayer if you have one, clean out any old water or chemicals test to make sure it works and replace any seals or gaskets that may have deteriorated.

Cleanup

Now is the time to get rid of twigs, leaves etc. A thorough raking of the lawn is in order. It isn’t necessary to dig in with the rake but it is important to get rid of the debris so that your fertilizers and amendments as well as water have a chance to reach the soil.

Mow

You could of course be tempted to mow over all the winter debris but I wouldn’t advise it. A nice mowing, preferably on the high side for your grass type is a fundamental start to all the next steps you’ll be taking. Check out the section on mowing for mowing tips.

Aerate

I am a huge fan of aerating lawns. This is a key factor in your Spring Lawn prep. De-Compacting the soil, giving it room to open up and allowing the fertilizers to work their way into the soil is, in my opinion, one of the most important things you can do for a lawn. Whether you buy a pull behind core aerator or rent a power aerator, make sure it is a core or plug type aerator. The holes left behind will quickly fill in and the plugs will disappear back into the lawn bed over the next few weeks. Your lawn will love you for it! Here is a section dedicated to aerating that will be helpful. Read the section on aerating at The Lawn Place for a complete guide on aerating.

De-thatch

I’m not a big fan of de-thatching, I prefer to aerate and let the action of the aeration break into the thatch and help it along in decomposition. Many lawn experts highly recommend thatching so I have to believe there are circumstance where thatching is appropriate. I believe that this is chiefly with grasses that grow in clumps such as fescue’s. Grasses that grow via rhizomes and develop a mat of interlaced “runners” can benefit as well. My only caveat is that I would hire someone with a power de-thatcher rather then use a pull behind detatcher with the steel tines on it. A power de-thatcher will cut and pull the thatch up. A pull behind de-thatcher will tear apart the network of rhizomes, you lawn will recover but wont look very pretty after your done.

Fertilize & Add Amendments

Now is the time to fertilize, giving your grass the nutrients they need promote healthy growth. As a rule I dislike fertilizing in the summer. The warm season grasses tend to tolerate summer fertilization well but cold season grasses such as fescue will not do well with high nitrogen application, especially when the temperature is over 90F.

Your grass will benefit from other amendments as well. Lime is the most common amendment and should be added if your soil alkalinity is to low, in most cases it is ok to add lime to almost any grass type without testing. Don’t Lime Centipede or Carpetgrass though unless you have had your soil tested and the alkalinity is extremely low. Centipede and Carpetgrass prefer acid soils and lime will generally create an environment that Centipede and Carpetgrass will not thrive in.

Iron is another amendment that should be added at this time. Most experts agree that iron should not be added if the temperature is over 90F. Some fertilizers already have an iron amendment in them, if yours does not then products such as Ironite, chelated iron, or ferrous sulfate can be added at this time to prevent iron chlorosis. Plants require iron to manufacture chlorophyll, High PH as well as other environmental conditions can deplete your lawn of iron, resulting in yellowing or browning of the grass. Here is a link to a page on this site dedicated to Lawn fertilization .

Herbicides, Pre-emergent’s, Insecticide

A well kept and healthy lawn should have little problem with weeds as the dense turf and frequent mowing should keep out any weeds. However, since this is reality we are all occasionally plagued with weeds, crabgrass and other noxious plants. A pre-emergent is probably the best solution, applied in the spring this will help keep the weeds down and allow the lawn to develop a dense turf to further control weeds. One consideration to take into account now is whether you will be overseeding, if you are the use of a pre-emergent or herbicide is NOT recommended.

Since we keep a number of pets I generally apply Insecticide to my lawn several times a year. I usually don’t start applying until late spring and continue every four weeks until late fall. There are a number of insecticides suitable for use on lawns, most are broad spectrum so will work on fleas and ticks (Which is as a pet owner is one of my concerns). I prefer a liquid application as it is more economical. However, a granular application tends to last longer.I don’t think there is really any difference in overall effectiveness between the two.

Overseed and Top Dress

If you have any bare spots in the lawn that you did not overseed in the fall then you should tackle those spots now, in the early spring for the cool season grasses and in the late spring or even early summer for the warm season grasses. Preparation is much the same as if you were seeding a new lawn, just on a much smaller scale. Loosen the first several inches of soil, remove debris and rocks, rake in the seed to the desired depth for the grass variety you are planting and put a thin layer of mulch such as wheat straw over it. If you have access to a roller it is a good idea to roll the seed in as well. Water daily for the first several weeks and gradually space out the watering until your seedlings have matured and have at least three or more leave per plant.One exception to this is centipede, I like to wait until later in the spring season, even early summer before overseeding. Even then I use a nurse crop such as carpetgrass since centipede is a very slow grower and wont germinate until the soil is consistantly warm.

Top dressing is an option at this time of the year. For those of you that have poor soil condition top dressing with peat moss or screened topsoil may be a good idea to help your lawn along in the summer.

In Summary

The work you put into your lawn in the Spring will pay dividends during the rest of the growing season. You should be able to complete all of these steps in one day on a weekend, planning ahead will help. Getting the neccesary supplies ahead of time will also be a great time saver. Be sure to visit The Lawn Place for more information on lawn care and keep an eye out for more articles on lawn care. JN

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What is the best type of grass seed to use in Florida?

I live in florida, and my back yard looks horrible. Once it starts getting a little warmer outside i would like to buy a few bags of grass seed for my back yard. Any suggestions to the type of grass seed to use and about how long does it normally take to grow.
FYI: i would like something a little thicker then rye grass, and something that will last for a long time and work well with florida weather.
Thanks in advance

My centipede grass is full of weeds and the ph is too high. Can I correct this with ammonium sulfate?

I don't have access to a lot of chemicals for the lawn in my neck of the woods. I have found ammonium sulfate in a 4lb bag for $5 and read on the internet that if I apply 5 lbs per 1000 sq. feet this should lower the ph. My ph is 7.0. And centipede needs like 5.5. So I'm in trouble and this probably explains a thing or two. My nitrogen is also low, which means that the ammonium sulfate is the right answer correct? Cause ammonium sulfate is like 21-0-0.

As a second part, I put sod out in the back part of my lawn last September. It's not doing good either even though we received loads of rain this fall and winter. The ph in that soil is fine, though, cause I added a bunch of seed fertilizer and whatnot when I put the sod down. Weeds are trying to take over the sod, however. How can I prevent this without killing the sod until it becomes established? Thanks!

What is the differance between crabgrass and centipede grass?

AND if centipede grass is not a weed, why can't you use weed killers on centipede grass? Thanks so much!

A healthy lawn can endure grubs feeding on it.  The damage will not be as apparent as on a lawn that is weak or stressed.  Such lawns can prepare themselves.  Try to provide the best environment possible for your lawn, such as proper drainage.  When moisture levels in the ground are elevated, more damage will result.  Proper drainage for your lawn includes removing thatch, which can’t be done manually with a rake or with a dethatching machine.  This will help to aerating compacted soil, aiding in proper drainage.

The eggs that the beetles lay, generally in late July or early August, are done so in a short lawn.  Therefore, it is advisable to raise your lawn mower in order to lengthen the grass and discourage egg laying on your property.  The optimum height for grass should be between 21/2 — 3 inches.  Other benefits that come with longer grass shards are less watering, because the soil maintains hydration longer, reducing water consumption, hence, reducing costs.

With that said, water your lawn deeply once per week only.  What you are trying to achieve is water going beneath the roots to encourage deep grass roots. If you are unsure as to how much water is enough, this tip will help: place a container near your sprinkler to collect water; once the container fills with about one inch of water, that’s enough.

Clean your lawn in the fall, thoroughly.  Don’t allow it to winterize with dead leaves or weeds. Use a rake to remove the thatch as this can expose the grubs to animals that want to feed on them.

You can physically pick beetles by hand as well, although most of us don’t have the time or the desire to do so. If you notice grubs, you must understand that they will and are feeding on the roots of your grass, therefore, apply fertilizer with high potassium and seed in those areas in order to keep grass healthy.

Another method to control grubs in your lawn is by applying milky spore.  This literally kills them and it is an environmentally safe product which is a bacteria.

Does your lawn look like a tank drove through it or some people played golf on it while you were sleeping? If so, your lawn is probably infested by white grubs. You must act quickly, before they take control of the turf. Don’t miss the optimum time to get a hold of the situation. Get all the information you need about treating white grubs at Milky-Spore, it has the solution.

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