AgriLIFE Extension -Denton County

306 N. Loop 288, Suite 222

Denton, Texas 76209-4887

March 7, 2007

GET YOUR LAWN BACK WITH THE PROGRAM

 Contact:  John N. Cooper, County Extension Agent-Horticulture, 940.349.2883

  e-mail: jn-cooper@tamu.edu

          Nothing looks and feels quite like a broad expanse of dense green turf.  No other landscape element requires as much work to achieve peak performance but nothing rewards that effort in overall landscape beauty like a high-quality lawn.

          Lawns are still dormant but we are already in the lawn management season.  Our spring pre-emergent herbicide for control of warm season weeds ideally went out on March 1, but a mid-March application will still do a lot of good.  The sooner you get this out now the better.

          As lawns transition from winter to spring a sound cultural program will get your turfgrass off to the best possible start so it can enter the summer in good condition.  Since you are going to manage your turf anyway, you may as well do it right.  Each kind of lawn grass has its own specific cultural requirements to which they positively respond, and which only you can provide.

          People want their lawns to be uniform in color, texture, and height and weeds detract from the lawn in all three aspects.  Good culture, including proper fertilizing, mowing and watering, not only helps combat weeds but is necessary for your lawn to look and do its best.

          Fertilize hybrid bermuda once per month beginning April 1 and ending October 1; common bermuda, every six weeks beginning April 15 and ending October 1; St. Augustine and zoysia, April 15, June 1, and October 1; tall fescue March 1, September 15, and November 15; and buffalo, May 1 and October 1.

          Soil tests are recommended every two or three years, but in the absence of a soil test, regardless of the turf type, apply three-quarters to one pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in the form of a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio fertilizer.  For instance, if you have a 15-5-10 fertilizer, apply 5-7 pounds.  Use the higher rate for higher performance but be ready to mow more often.  Use fertilizers with at least half the nitrogen in a slow-release form for a more uniform release.

          Some lawns are so weak they could use extra soil conditioning.  After spring green-up, if your lawn remains thin, rake the loose debris out of thin patches of turf and spread one-quarter inch of well-digested, finely-screened compost to help it run and cover more quickly.  Lay new sod in bare spots larger than a square foot but smaller areas should fill in by mid-summer.

          Mow often enough to remove no more than one-third of the leaf blade at a time.  Mow hybrid bermuda at one inch; common bermuda at one and one-half inch; St. Augustine at three inches; tall fescue at two and one-half inches; zoysia at two inches; and buffalo at 3 inches.

          Watering is a year around activity.  In the absence of rain, apply one inch of water to bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine monthly in the winter and weekly in the summer.  In the absence of rain, apply one inch of water to tall fescue every ten days in the winter and every five days in the summer.  Once established, do not irrigate buffalograss or it will be invaded by bermudagrass.  If you water buffalograss you may as well have planted bermudagrass.

          The ultimate demise of any lawn is shade.  As trees grow through the years, they cast increasingly more shade over your lawn eventually shading it out.  Bermudagrass requires eight hours of direct sunlight, zoysia needs four hours, and even St. Augustine, our most shade-tolerant lawn grass, needs two hours of direct sunlight during the growing season.  Our best choices include mondograss, Asian jasmine, English ivy, and Vinca major.  Each has its own strengths and weaknesses but they all grow in full shade and use less water than any of our turf grasses.

          For a quick guide to lawn care go to http://denton-tx.tamu.edu, click on publications, then horticulture, and download, “Prescription Lawn Care”.  Also check out http://aggie-turf.tamu.edu for cultural care information plus color photos to help you diagnose and treat lawn pests.

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The information given herein is for educational purposes only.  Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by AgriLife Extension is implied.

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