| A Beutiful Lawn |
| There are probly a million questions I get about lawns. I hope to cover most of them in this section. We will start with the basics, like types of grass and will will grow in Greenville and the upstate area. There are two main catagories of grass, hot season grass and cool season grass. In the upstate we are not well suited for either grass, but we can grow them both.here. Hot season grass which includes Centipede, Burmuda, and Zoysia anre probly the most common grass in the upstate. These grass like hot semi-dry weather and thrive in those conditions. Centipede is my personal favorite. The advantages of centipede is it is a very thick grass and does a good job of choking out weeds in the summer. It likes to be cut about 1"-2" high and is a fairly low maintenance grass. It is a very beutiful green grass for about 7 months of the year. This grass has a fibrous root system which means that the roots run under ground and where they surface a new blade of grass will emerge. This grass can take over bare area in a short period of time. Centipede can also accept a lot of traffic on it before it will die off, which is good if you have kids or pets. The disadvantages of centipede is it turns brown in the winter months, and weeds grow rampant in the winter and spring. The fibrous roots also mean this grass will run into your flower beds. Once that happens it is very difficult to get rid of even if you keep up with it. It also tends to be a favorite grass of grubs and other inscects to eat, and will develop bare spots because of this, Centipede will not grow in shade areas(less than 5 hours of sun) at all, which means you will have to use a differen grass for shade. We will look at this problem later on. Bermuda grass has all the same advantages and disadvantages that centipede do, however it is impossible to control once it invades you flower beds. I do mean impossible. It is said once you get a Burmuda lawn you will soon have Burmuda flower beds. It is a beutiful lawn though, and virtually weed free. It also has a fibrous root system. Zoysia the final hot season grass has the same qualities of Burmuda and Centipede grass. However it is a very thick grass and usually reqires a special lawn mower to cut. It will be weed free, but is also difficult to keep out of you flower beds. It also requires a lot of water to stay green. All three of the hot season grasses can be purchased in seed, plug, and sod forms. I would not recomend purchasing any of them in seed forms. Seeds are very expensive, much soil preperation is needed, and it take 4-5 months for germination if you are lucky. Plugs are small pieces of sod that you you in the ground and wait for them to take over the area you put them in. Plugs are fairly cheap and are good for filling bare spots. The ground you put them in shoud be loosened up first. Sod it you best bet for new lawns and large bare spots. The gound should be tilled and amended with cow manure for a good start. The roots on these grasses dont run very deep so you dont really need to till more than 2 " deep. After laying sod or plugs it is VITAL that you water these areas at least 2-3 hours a day in the early morning for 6-8 weeks. If you do not you will not have success. Also remember to make sure you get full sum in areas you plant this grass or it will not survive. Cut these grasses about 1-2 inches high. Keep an eye on them as they will grow real fast after a good rain. Try not yo cut off more than 1/3 of the blade when mowing. Also of note the Grasses have been know to completely die off with colder then normal, or prolonged winters. I have found that burning my hot season grass in the winter helps to dethatch it good. Always check with you local fire department before using this method. Cool season grasses are whole other world of grass. ther are 2 basic grasses in this catagory, Fescue and Rye. Fuscue grass comes under many different names. Some claim to be better in sun and some better in shade and some for both sun and shade. Keep in mind most fuscue is made for the north and the directions are generalized for everywhere and not specifically for the upstate. Fescue can be purchased in sod and seed form. Fescue does not have a fibrous root system so it will not run into your flower beds. Fescue also tends to stay green all year. It thrives in the spring and fall and does not do well in our hot summers without lots and lots of water. Fuescue may die if gets to much sun. If you have a shade lawn Fescue is an ideal grass. It will even grow under our huge oak trees. If you plan on using Fescue seed it it best to plant in the fall. I wont even plant it in spring unless I am desperate for some greenery. Aerate you soil, speard the seed, cover it with straw, and as always water it every morning for 1 -2 hours for a minimum of 6 weeks. Then it is best to seed it again and continue watering for at leat 4 more weeks. you will then have a great lawn. If you plan on using sod It will work better in the spring, but make sure you water it. I recemond a timer for you watering, even thoug you say you will water it, you probly wont. Fuscue tends to have more weeds in it and weeds will take over if not controlled. Fuscue is a high maintenance grass. it shoud be bagged and not cut lower than 3 " high. It also can grow in quick spurts, so keep an eye on it. You should never cut off more than 1/3 of the blade when you cut it. You also need to dethatch it about every two years. Fescue also like to be fed with nitrogen(28-0-0) twice a year. make sure you follow directions on fertilizer or you can burn your lawn. Rye grass is also a cool season grass. It comes in annual and perrenial forms. Niether will survive here in the summer. These grasses are generally used as a starter grass as the will germinate in about 24-48 hours with water. It is sold in seed form only. It is also used to plant in between hot season grasses in the fall for those you do not like their grass turning brown in the winter. It helps to keep the soil loose. Also keep in mind that any grass you purchase in seed form has a percentage of weed seeds in it, That is unavoidable. Check the lable for contents of weeds. |