Watering
Your Lawn
The proper watering or irrigation of your lawn will vary, but
there are some general rules to follow:
- "It is better to water less frequen tly (once or twice a
week) for a longer period of time, than to water every day
for a short time. Infrequent deep watering promotes greater
root development.
- "Wait until the soil becomes dry before watering. One of
the biggest mistakes homeowners make is watering too often.
It is better to wait until the soil is dry to a depth of 3"
to 4" before watering. This will promote deeper root growth
and a stronger root system." A good goal for watering your
lawn is to apply 1 to 1 ｽ inches of water per week during
summer growing season. Exact amounts will vary due to soil
types, soil compaction, etc. For more help on your specific
conditions and needs please contact
us.
- "Slope and soil compaction will affect watering amounts/time.
If your turf does not want to accept water and the water begins
to run off quickly, you should consider aeration for your
lawn.
- "It is helpful to know how much water your sprinkler puts
out. If you are already one of our valued customers, just
call our office for your free rain gauge!
- "We should all remember, that water is our most precious
resource and a lot of the water we use to irrigate our lawns
and shrubs is wasted! The helpful watering tips above will
help insure the health and beauty of your landscaping and
prevent our most precious resource from being wasted!
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Irrigation
Systems
While irrigations systems can be a tremendous asset to a landscape
maintenance program there can be some equally difficult negatives
with an irrigation system. Developing a good understanding of
the needs of your landscaping and your soil goes a long way
to delivering maximum effectiveness for a system. Sometimes
this can be a difficult equation and please know that will be
happy to meet with you and help in developing a program for
your system if you would like, just give us a call.
Some Irrigation System thoughts:
- Irrigation systems can provide for precise and accurate
irrigation/watering
- They can save large amounts of time and trouble for you
when watering your lawn & landscaping
- Many times, homeowners with irrigation systems will over
water their lawns while appreciating and utilizing their new
system! Sometimes new system owners will run the system because
they “like to see it working” rather than calibrating
and setting it according to the need of the landscaping.
- Most systems are opened in the spring during March and April
or during the rainy season which can lead to over watering
if the system is not monitored.
- Many systems do not utilize sensors to address over watering
- Some systems lack the ability to separate ornamentals from
turf creating a disparity in need!
- Too many times, there is a disconnect between the sprinkler
company's knowledge of the landscaping needs and lawn care
company's knowledge of irrigation systems operation and the
turf and landscaping are the big losers. We will be happy
to meet with you to develop a good program for your lawn and
landscaping.
- Jamison Pest and Lawn can offer you consultation surrounding
the set up of your irrigation system and the irrigation needs
of your lawn and landscaping. We are happy to work with you
in this most important area.
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Mowing
Your Lawn
Mowing practices will vary some by grass type but there are
several rules of thumb that basically apply to all turf grass
types. We have listed several of them below:
Your mower blade should always be sharp!! A good rule of thumb
would be to sharpen your mower blade twice each summer or cutting
season to assure a good cut. A dull mower blade can change the
way your lawn will look!
When mowing your lawn, you should mow frequently enough so that
you never remove more than 1/3 of the blade or 1/3 of the current
height of grass with any one mowing.
Spring time mowing: The only exception to this rule
is with warm season grasses in the spring. It will aid the turf
in coming out of dormancy to cut the dead blades of dormant
grass and bag and remove them. By cutting lower at this time,
you will allow the sunlight to reach the crown of the plant
and stimulate new spring growth. Cutting it shorter at this
time does not include cutting so short that it cuts into the
soil or damages the crown of the plant.
Avoid “scalping”, that is setting
your mower blade so low that it cuts down to the soil! This
can lead to severe turf damage to the scalped areas.
As a rule of thumb, it is best to mow on higher settings as
the fall approaches. This will help the grass develop a deeper
root system which will in turn promote better survival in case
of a very cold and severe winter.
Best Mowing Heights by Grass Types:
Bermuda – Best when maintained from 1”
to 2” in the spring time. Bermuda can be cut taller as
the growing season progresses. Bermuda is more wear tolerant
when cut at shorter heights (1/2” to 1”) but for
many homeowners, a playground is a secondary plan for a Bermuda
lawn and chose to maintain the turf at a height of 2”
to 3 ½” because the turf will maintain a deeper
green color and a stronger root system.
Zoysia – Best mowing heights for Zoysia
lawns is between 2” and 3” and cut every 5 to 7
days. Mowing at lesser height or less frequently will generally
result in poor turf quality. It is imperative that the mower
blade be kept very sharp for this turfgrass. A dull mower blade
can damage this turf and cause it to take on a “brown
hue” due to the “torn edges” produced by a
dull mower blade.
Fescue – Fescue is best maintained at
heights of 1 ½ to 2 inches. A sharp blade is important
to provide a clean cut and lessen the opportunity for diseases
to damage turf.
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Fescue
Turfgrass
Fescue turfgrass is a cool season grass and has a completely
different maintenance plan than Bermuda and Zoysia Turfgrasses.
The growing season for Fescue is the fall and winter, but it
will remain green throughout the entire year. It is a popular
choice for the shady portions of your lawn and being a cool
season grass, Fescue does not like the heat of the summer season.
Fescue growth will be slowed in the summer and many varieties
of Fescue will not tolerate direct sun.
- Watering Fescue is imperative. A good rule of thumb would
be to water it twice each week and more in the hotter summer
months.
- Even in the best of conditions in our area, Fescue will
not do as well as Bermuda or Zoysia. The summers are just
too hot for vigorous growth of Fescue in our area.
- Fescue, due to its nature will need to be re-seeded every
year or so to maintain a thick stand of turf.
- Fescue Seeding should be scheduled in October and November
- Following Fescue seeding, more water is needed to assure
good germination! We would recommend watering each day following
seeding until germination occurs.
Fescue Seeding...
Why fescue seeding? In the mid-south region, our warm season
turfgrasses, Zoysia and Bermuda are better suited for our climate
and require more than 6 hours of direct sunlight to prosper.
Fescue on the other hand, will grow well in the shade of your
trees and can eliminate those “undesirable bare ground
areas” under the trees.
To learn more about our Fescue Seeding Program, visit our Services page.
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Bermuda
Turfgrass
Bermudagrass is the turfgrass of choice in our mid-south area.
This may be true because Bermuda requires little work to take
good care of it. If it is properly watered, fertilized and mowed,
it has fewer problems with weeds, insects, and disease and is
a fast growing turf that will provide a thick dense lawn.
Some thoughts on Bermuda:
- Bermuda is the most easily maintained turfgrass for our
area
- Bermuda is fast growing, wear tolerant, and reasonably resistant
to disease
- Bermuda does best in full sun with 8 hours of sunshine.
- Bermuda will recover quickly from any type of damage, as
opposed to Zoysia that has a much slower growth rate that
would require 2 to 4 times longer to recover
Bermuda should be mowed with a sharp mulching mower blade and
the clippings should remain on the lawn. Removal of the clippings
will remove many nutrients unnecessarily. During the summer
months it should be mowed from 1 ½” to 2”
in height and in the later summer and early fall at 2 ½”
to 3”. The extra height going into the winter will offer
protection for the root system from the winter freeze.
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Zoysia
Turfgrass
Zoysia is another turfgrass of choice in our area because of
its slower growing nature and thick, dense, “carpet-like”
presentation. Due to its thickness, Zoysia will actually help
prevent weeds by preventing the sunlight from getting to the
soil where the weeds seeds are waiting to germinate.
- There are many new varieties of Zoysia Turfgrass and most
are somewhat more susceptible to disease.
- One of the more prevalent diseases in Zoysia is “Brown
Patch or Zoysia Patch” is a fungus and can produce an
orange cast or look in the turf. It is a very difficult problem
to control and will infect lawns in both the spring and fall
seasons.
- Should damage occur in a Zoysia lawn, re-growth will be
slow process (Substantially less than Bermuda)
- One of the more difficult problems with Zoysia is over watering
by homeowners with irrigation sSystems and to add to the problem,
“Zoysia does not like standing water or saturated soil
- Due to the thickness of Zoysia, thatch build up can become
a problem and can harbor disease.
When mowing Zoysia, a sharp mower blade is imperative! It is
recommended that the mower blade be sharpened at least twice
a season. It is recommended that the clippings be removed during
the later season cutting to prevent the thatch build up. Alternating
the direction of your mowing is recommended. During the summer
months it is recommended that it be mowed at a height of 2”
plus and later in the summer at the mowers highest setting.
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Shade
and How it Affects Your Lawn
If you have large trees and lots of shade,
establishing a thick, healthy Bermuda or Zoysia Lawn is tough
to impossible! If these two turf grasses do not have at least
6 hours of full sun each day they will not flourish! If you
have a question about what turf grass you should use, just give
us a call and we will be happy to make and assessment and share
with you our recommendations and the foundations for them.
If you have large bare areas under the large trees and you would
like green grass to grow there, there is an answer for you.
Fescue Turfgrass!
Below are some “Need To Know Facts” about shady
conditions and turfgrass:
- Less than 6 hours of sunlight, will produce thin Bermuda
and Zoysia Turfgrasses
- Bermuda thrives in 8 plus hours of sunlight each day
- Zoysia thrives in 6 plus hours of sunlight each day
- With any amount less than 5 to 6 hours sunlight each day,
the use of Fescue turfgrass should be considered.
- There is a common misconception that some types of Zoysia
may do well in shade! In fact, several sod farms and landscape
companies have sold and installed Zoysia in areas where it
will not receive at least 4-5 hours of sunshine per day and
the turf thinned gradually and was gone in 3rd year!
- In areas of limited sunshine, it is recommended for best
results, mowers should be placed on the highest setting possible
to allow for more photosynthesis to occur.
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pH
and How it Affects Your Lawn
(pH is the measure of alkalinity or acidity in soils)
- Why do we take pH reading in your soil?
With a poor pH balance in your soil, the turfgrass (no matter
the type) cannot feed itself properly. The ability of the
plant to take up nutrients will be limited if the pH is not
at an acceptable level.
- How many readings will you take in my lawn?
We will take 6 to 12 depending on the size of the lawn.
- The pH level in your soil should be a reading of 6.5 (that
is considered neutral)
- When soil pH is out of balance, growing quality turfgrass
becomes difficult.
- Signs of poor pH include an inability of the grass to hold
color, late to green up, and thinner than normal turf even
in good conditions with full sunlight.
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