All Green Lawn Care & More

Lawn Care Guide

The first thing to learn about having a great lawn is, there is no easy way to do it.
A great lawn involves knowledge, dedication, and the proper equipment. If you fall short on any of the three, your lawn will show it. Fortunately, hiring a lawn care operator can help you to not fall short on any of the three. An LCO, as Ill refer to them throughout the remainder of the text, can also help tackle the harder tasks of lawn care you may not want or are not able to handle. Not to mention, the equipment an LCO uses is of professional grade and is typically going to yield superior results.

It is important to remember that every lawn is unique, and is actually its own micro-ecosystem. Often, an average sized yard will actually contain multiple micro-ecosystems. Thus, care and maintenance for each lawn will be different. It will take a little time to get to know your yard, but spend the time and be observant; your vigilance will be rewarded. You will come to know the areas that are most prone to certain types of weeds, the areas where the grass never grows thick and lush, and so on. This is why you need to develop a lawn care plan tailored just for your lawn that treats the real problems not just the symptoms. Often times, the problem you are experiencing with your lawn is just a symptom of the real problem that needs to be dealt with. Please keep in mind though; no one can perform miracles, not you, or your lawn care provider. But, given diligence, hard work, and knowledge, a great lawn is almost assured. It is the intention of this text to better inform you of the specific elements that are involved in a properly orchestrated lawn care program.

Know Thyself

1. Goals - The very first step is to establish the goals you have for your yard. Are you looking for lush green perfection that your neighbors will envy, or will a fairly healthy yard satisfy you. The answer to this question will determine what actions to take, and which services you will require for your yard.

2. Whats Growin' - Next you want to find out what varieties of plant life you have growing in your yard. What type of grass you have growing in your yard? Each variety of grass has its own care requirements that need to be followed. Furthermore, some types of grass are more susceptible to disease, pests, and drought. These grasses may require more care to maintain their health. Also take notice of any invasive species of plants that may need attention or removal.

3. Soil Test - a soil test will give you a wealth of information that will take the guesswork out of your lawn care. A soil test can tell you and your lawn care operator what type of soil you have, the PH levels, and make you aware of any nutrient or oxygen deficiencies your soil may have.

4. Make a Plan - take a look at your yard. What is it going to take to make your vision a reality? Is your soil too compacted and needing aeration? Can you just throw some seed or patch some sod and fertilize it? Or, do you need to start over from scratch?

5. Follow the Plan - a strictly adhered to maintenance schedule has to be developed and followed. This is the single biggest factor for yards not reaching their potential. Not properly caring for a yard is not only unsightly, it affects the yards health, as well. An irregularly or improperly manicured yard is more likely to suffer pest and disease problems, as well. Where as, a yard properly and routinely cared for, is often strong enough to fight off most pests and diseases without any additional care.

Not All Turf Grasses Were Created Equal

Whether you are starting a new lawn or just trying to care for an established lawn, it is important to realize that there are many different turf grasses and each one of them has its own care requirements. Furthermore, some grasses are much easer to maintain than others. It is important to remember when selecting a new turf grass to always consider the soil, light, and water requirements of the grass, and also the amount of maintenance required, as well. Below are the key considerations in deciding a turf grass:

Considerations When Choosing a Turf Grass

Maintenance Required - Overall ease of care.
Climate Conditions Favorable regional climatic characteristics.
Temperature Tolerance Type or range of temperatures that a species can withstand.
Drought Resistance The ability to recover after going dormant due to a period of drought.
Shade Adaptation The degree of ability to grow in shaded conditions.
Wear Resistance The ability to exhibit initial wear recovery from foot traffic and/or recreation.

When it comes to turf grasses, there are Cold Season Grasses and Warm Season Grasses. Typically, cold season grasses are used in the northern latitudes, and are usually less heat tolerant than warm season grasses. However, the drawback to warm season grasses is they go dormant and turn brown in the colder months unless you are very far south.

Warm Season Turf Grasses

Since, where we live is warm, to say the least. We will focus mainly on warm season turf grasses. Warm season turf grasses tend to perform best in temperatures between 70 and 95 degrees. Providing these temperatures, proper nutrient levels, and ample water, warm season grasses will grow very fast during certain times of the year. In climates cooler than ours here, but still considered a warmer climate, warm season grasses will go dormant and turn brown. Fortunately for us, this is not a problem in Central Florida.

St. Augustine - the predominate turf grass in our area, St. Augustine grass is a very coarse, wide bladed grass that turfs very well. While requiring a little more water than some other warm season grasses, St. Augustine grass is among most shade resistant of the warm season turf grasses. As St. Augustine grass does not produce much seed, it is usually established through a process called sodding rather than seeding. It is a very attractive grass when manicured properly, but it does not like cold weather and tends to have some insect problems such as chinch bugs and grubs. St. Augustine also tends to yellow if the soil is too compacted.

Maintenance: Low to moderate
Climate: Coastal regions, hot
Temperatures: Thrives in heat, poor in low temperatures
Drought Resistance: Excellent to fair
Shade Adaptation: Excellent to moderate (depending on cultivar)
Wear Resistance: Moderate

Bermuda Grass - one of the most attractive warm season grasses, Bermuda is easy to establish and grow. Bermuda is more drought tolerant than St. Augustine, and thrives in intense heat. However, this is not a shade tolerant grass. Bermuda requires full sun to thrive. Starting this grass is usually with sprigs or seeding. This grass also tends to hold a lush green color easier than most warm season grasses.

Maintenance: Varied, extensive, deep root system
Climate: Hot, dry
Temperatures: Excellent heat tolerance
Drought Resistance: High
Shade Adaptation: Full sun
Wear Resistance: Heavy traffic

Centipede Grass - a low maintenance warm season grass, centipede grows aggressively and is very weed resistant. This grass spreads by runners, but it is very easy to maintain edges and borders. This grass takes longer to establish than most other warm season grass and is done using seeding or sprigs.

Maintenance: Easy
Climate: Hot, dry
Temperatures: Excellent heat tolerance
Drought Resistance: High
Shade Adaptation: Full sun
Wear Resistance: Moderate traffic

Carpet Grass - this is one of the quickest turfs to establish. While, it is not considered to be an attractive grass by many, it is easy to care for and maintain. This grass can handle low cuttings, but recovers slowly from drought and cold weather.

Maintenance: very low maintenance
Climate: Hot humid
Temperatures: Very tolerant to high temperatures
Drought Resistance: Moderate
Shade Adaptation: Good, but full sun better
Wear Resistance: Poor

Zoysia Grass - This is one of the most beautiful warm season turf grasses. However, it is labor intensive and takes more time than most grasses to establish. Furthermore, zoysia is not a very drought tolerant grass. This is a grass that is not for people seeking a low-maintenance yard. This all being said, if you have the time and diligence this turf grass requires, it will reward you with one of the best lawns possible.

Maintenance: Difficult
Climate: Hot, humid tropical
Temperatures: Exceptionally heat tolerant
Drought Resistance: Moderate to good
Shade Adaptation: Good, slow growth in partial shade.
Wear Resistance: Superior, best of any grass, heavy traffic

When I Say Cut; You Say How High?

When it comes to mowing height, every type of turf grass has its own range it responds best to. Typically, cutting too short is worse than too long. Cutting a lawn shorter than its recommended height increases water evaporation and run-off, weakens the roots of the lawn, and results in a higher likelihood of insect and disease problems. This repeated scalping of the lawn can severely affect the overall health of a lawn. While nobody exactly agrees on the optimum heights for each turf grass, below is a chart of the height ranges each type of grass best responds to.

St. Augustine .............................2 ½" 4" inches
Bahia..............................................2" 3 ½" inches
Bermuda Grass ..............................1" - 2" inches
Centipede Grass ........................ 1 ½ 3" inches
Zoysia ............................................ 1" - 2" inches

Many lawn professionals agree that keeping your lawn taller has a number of advantages to the health of the lawn. A taller lawn will be more resistant to weeds, insects, and disease. Not to mention, it will also lower water consumption while forcing roots to grow deeper to finding deeper sources of moisture. These general heights below will help you. However, in time you will find the exact height your lawn responds best to in terms of water conservation and pest and disease resistance.

Water Everywhere but . . .

In Central Florida irrigation is a must to maintain a healthy lawn. Rainfall alone is not usually enough to sustain adequate moisture for grass during the summer months. While it may rain commonly during the summer, the lack of consistency and length of the storms often do not supply enough water to keep a lawn healthy. Unfortunately, even though we are literally surrounded by water, we have water conservation restrictions here in the area we live. The current rule is to water your lawn not more than two times per week. Those who do not follow these guidelines, are issued fines by way of their water bills. In some areas where reclaimed water is used for irrigation, the water is only piped in to your neighborhood's irrigation systems on the days you are scheduled for watering. For most areas of Central Florida two times a week along with natural rainfall is sufficient. However, the hotter the air is, the more water grass uses to grow. So, during extremely hot weather lawns may suffer from these water restrictions. But, proper watering application goes a long way. While the sandy soil of our area suffers a lot of run-off, the water penetration rate is quite good. What this means is that is a deep watering is easily achieved. Deep watering does couple of beneficial things. First, it allows the water to sit well beneath the surface where it will not evaporate during the hot part of the day. Second, scattered deep watering encourages the grass to grow its roots deeper into the soil, so the roots can find more water. Running sprinklers in the early morning or the late evening will conserve water by reducing evaporation. This will allow more water to make its way the roots of your precious lawn.

When to Say When

It may seem hard to believe. But, even in Florida, it is possible to have too much water. Depending on factors like the amount of shade, how much of a slope your lawn is on, and the composition and compaction of your soil, over watering may be more or less of an issue. None the less, over watering can be just as harmful as under watering. Typically, an over watered lawn will be starved for oxygen. This will translate to weak and limp growth for your grass, and will invite the inclusion of weeds better suited to this microclimate, such as clover or moss. A shaded area of a yard such as between two houses is more likely to be over watered. On the other hand, while shade itself usually means less direct sunlight and evaporation, if the source of shade is a tree, the soil under the tree will likely be drier than the surrounding soil. It is often necessary to water the trees directly through drip irrigation in addition to normal lawn irrigation to maintain proper moisture. Slopes can be an issue to watering for two primary reasons. Mainly, slopes allow water to run off very quickly, not allowing much absorption into the soil. Secondly, the water run off makes both initial seeding and seasonal over seeding more difficult to establish. However, since the majority of lawns in our area are St. Augustine sod, this is less of an issue. Composition and compaction are two elements of a soil that are closely related. What a soil of composed of directly relates to how easily it will compact. For instance, most of our local soil is mainly comprised of sand. Sand has absolutely no resistance to compaction. Among other problems we will get into later, compacted soil allows very little oxygen to get to the roots, and suffocating them in water.

Feed Me Seymour

Perhaps, one of the least understood elements of proper lawn care is fertilizing. The purpose of fertilizing is to replace the nutrients being used up by your lawn. Without the replenishment of these nutrients on a scheduled regime, your lawns health will diminish. This lack of healthy growth in your lawn will also cause less resistance to diseases, pests, and weeds. A properly fertilized yard will actually go great lengths in preventing or minimizing the damage caused by common yard nuisances. Setting up a fertilizing and soil aeration schedule with your LCO will yield the emerald green lawn that will have the envy of your neighbors. It is important that the proper type and amount of fertilizer is applied. This is not only for the health of your lawn, but the ecology surrounding you as well. It is a fact that one of the single largest contributors of pollution to the water is over use of dangerous chemical fertilizers. Use of a quality organic fertilizer is the best choice to avoid these harmful chemicals.

Give Me Some Room to Breathe Here Buddy

While fertilizing remains the least understood, soil aeration is probably the most neglected lawn treatment. Oxygen is absorbed by the roots of grass to create sugars from fertilizers that the plant needs to grow and maintain health. Lack of oxygen to the roots of grass will cause a lawn to appear yellow in-spite-of an otherwise complete lawn care regime. The purpose of soil aeration is to allow more oxygen to reach the roots of your grass. As we know, Central Floridas soil is in most areas comprised largely of sand. Unfortunately, sand compacts very easily, and suffocates the roots of grass, causing a decline in the health of the lawn. As a compounded effect, wet compacted soil will quickly drown the roots of grass. However, compaction is not the only cause for root suffocation. The building up of excessive amounts of thatch will starve the roots for oxygen as well. Thatch is the build up of organic decomposing material below the grass line at the surface of the soil. Fortunately, bi-annual soil aeration will commonly solve both of these lawn ailments and prevent them from reoccurring. LCOs use special equipment that pulls small cylinders of soil out and deposits them on top of the lawn. These plugs of soil quickly break down to lose soil at the surface. The holes left behind allow ample amounts of both oxygen and water to the root level. This is ideally done before fertilizing and seeding. Then the fertilizer or seed can be directly deposited into the soil, making the application more effective.

The End of the Beginning . . .

In parting words let me say, this text was only meant as a starting point on your path toward botanical bliss. All the topics covered in this primer are subjects worthy of more in-depth study themselves. Achieving the seemingly elusive green thumb is the culmination of years of knowledge and application. Some things can be learned in a book, but never by hand, and the same is true in reverse. Do not be afraid of mistakes. They will happen, and will in time, make you a better gardener. I bet your thumb is looking a little greener already.