Here are some frequently asked questions we receive from customers.
If you don't see your questions answered below, CLICK
HERE to contact us with any questions you may have.
The most common grass type here in the Triad, and the type we
usually recommend to our customers, is tall fescue. This grass
should be maintained at 3 - 4 inches long.
The lawn should be mowed frequently enough so that no more than
1/3 of the total grass blade is removed when mowing. The two most
important facets of mowing are mowing height and frequency. If
weather or another factor prevents mowing at the proper time,
raise the height of the mower temporarily to avoid cutting too
much at one time.
Because of recent rains, you may wonder if you should cut wet
grass. Ideally no, but if you have no choice because of frequent
rains, go ahead, just keep your mower blade sharp.
Thatch is a tight, brown, spongy, organic layer of both living
and dead grass roots and stems that accumulate above the soil
surface. Properly mowed grass clippings do not contribute to thatch
accumulation, and can be returned to the lawn during mowing to
recycle the nutrients they contain. In healthy soil, the plant
parts decompose quickly into humus. But in soil that is compacted,
over-watered, over- fertilized or under-populated with earthworms
and soil insects, you end up with thatch.
Thatch is normally not a problem on tall fescue lawns, but if
you have a warm season turf like bermuda or zoysia, thick thatch
layers can contribute to drought stress because water has a difficult
time reaching the soil and runs off instead of sinking into the
soil.
When it rains every dang day... NEVER! ;-) But our USUAL summers
require that your lawn be watered. Water in the early morning
(near sunrise) when water pressure is greatest, surface evaporation
is minimal and the lawn will soak up the most water. Do not water
in the evening because water will sit on the lawn and may result
in disease development on your turf. Do not water in the heat
of the day because the sun will evaporate a portion of your water
before it can soak into the root zone or your turf.
Your lawn needs 1-1.5 inches of water weekly depending on temperature
and weather. Mother nature provides water, but you may need to
provide supplemental water during the summer months. Telltale
signs of oncoming drought stress include areas of the lawn especially
near concrete or asphalts, under large trees and on slopes appear
to have a dark, silvery or smoky blue-green haze to the grass
blades. In extreme cases the grass appears to be yellowish or
tan.
Regular watering should penetrate to the depth of the roots of
your turf or to the depth that roots are desired. This should
be at least 5-6 inches. The next scheduled watering should occur
when half of the water is used via evaporation. Allowing much
more loss could result in plant stress. Regular deep watering
is better than daily light sprinklings. Deep watering and allowing
the lawn to dry out between watering will force the grass roots
to penetrate deeper in search of moisture.
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Surprisingly, yes. It is actually best to mow you lawn in different
directions. That keeps grass from developing permanent ridges,
ruts or becoming compacted from constant traffic.
You have probably removed to much of the grass leaf during your
mowing, which resulted in cutting the grass blade back to the
leaf stem. You should mow more frequently so you never remove
than 1/3 of the leaf blade or level out your yard's high spots
because the mower is cutting too low as it goes over bumps.
Yes. Weeds compete with desirable lawn grasses for water, space,
sunlight and plant nutrients. They are very aggressive and can
take over a lawn if not kept in check. The most cost effective
method to control weeds is to utilize a preventive approach to
eliminating weeds through property timed & pre-emergent applications.
Weather is the determining factor in how fast weeds die from a
GrowinGreen application. Weed control will only work when weeds
are actively growing. This means that in extremely hot, extremely
cold or dry weather, the herbicides will work much more slowly
than in moderate temperatures with good soil moisture. As a general
rule, you should see results from a herbicide application within
two weeks of a treatment. Look for curling leaves, yellowing and
other signs that the weed is dying.
We recommend that (if possible) water be applied after each individual
application to increase the effectiveness of the lawn treatment.
In many situation, watering or rainfall will increase the uptake
of the plant nutrients by your turf, or the absorption of the
herbicides by the weeds. We ask that you please wait 10-14 days
and inspect your lawn. If they do not seem to be dying, just give
us a call, and we will schedule a return service call to reapply
the treatment at no charge.
Plant nutrients that your lawn needs include Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus
(P) and Potassium (K). Nitrogen is the most important nutrient
for promoting good turf color and growth, while phosphorus and
potassium promote healthy turf grass especially in aiding root
development and disease resistance for the plant.
Liming the soil is done to adjust the pH of the soil. The pH of
your soil should be within a desired range of 6.0-6.8 for turf
type grasses. If the pH is above or below this range, then your
grass plants have difficulty absorbing certain essential nutrients
they need to grow. When the pH falls below 5.8, then lime should
be applied to increase it back to the desired range. Here in the
Triad, our soil is fairly acidic, and so a lime treatment every
year is usually recommended.
Lime can be applied at any time of the year, but it is important
to know that it will require at least 3-5 months to have the desired
effects on improving soil pH levels. Due to this delayed reaction,
we recommend summer application of lime on cool-season grasses
such as fescue in preparation for fall seeding, and winter applications
of lime for warm-season turf such as bermuda.
All fescue lawns should only be seeded in the fall. Fescue is
a cool-season grass that requires the fall & winter growing
season to establish a healthy root system. This established root
system is critical for fescue to survive the hot, dry summers
that are common for the southeast region of the US. Fescue seeded
in the spring will never have the opportunity to grow a deep root
system, which results in turf dying from heat stress in July or
August.
Soil compaction is a soil condition that makes it very hard for
grass to grow because the flow of air and water into the root
system of your turf is restricted. The more use a lawn gets from
such things as people and sports, the greater the risk of packing
down the soil. The best method to soften the soil is by core aeration,
or pulling plugs of sod up out the ground with a special machine.
We recommend that homeowners aerate their fescue turf in the fall
prior to seeding, and aerate their Bermuda grass in the spring/summer
months. Aerating your turf will encourage deep root growth, better
air exchange in the soil, and improved movement of water &
nutrients into the soil profile.
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If your question was not explained above, please e-mail us or
call at 336-854-7999 or 1-866-LAWN HELP.
At GrowinGreen, we are dedicated to your satisfaction, and we
specialize in developing and implementing a TEAM
APROACH to successful lawn results; working WITH YOU to create
and maintain the lawn of your dreams!
