Spruce Up Your Lawn

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Ten Tips for Fescue Lawns in May

Water

  1. Work with Mother Nature to keep your lawn watered. It is important to keep your soil moisture level consistent. The soil needs water to move water down through the soil profile. If soil is allowed to dry out it will become much harder to re-wet. Water the lawn deeply only after 10 days of no  rain. As th e summer droughty season develops and nature’s rains come less frequent, you should shorten your watering intervals.
  1. Use a chemical wetting agent to help move and hold water in the hard to wet locations in your lawn. When an area in your lawn becomes stressed and thins the dark soil draws in more of the sun’s radiant heat. The additional heat causes more damage and thus makes the problem area even bigger. By applying a wetting agent to the area you can slow the thinning and reduce the damage.
  2. Prevent standing or soggy areas from developing. Use soil amendments such as ceramic clays or compost to help break up heavy soil or puddle water areas. 

Weed

  1. The weeds of late spring and early summer are mostly broad leaf or cool season annual type weeds. (Dandelion, clover, chickweed etc.) These weeds can be easily treated with “three way” selective herbicides over the entire lawn (broadcast treatment). The herbicides come in granular and spray able forms. I recommend the spray able form because it coats every weed with a solution of herbicide. The granular material requires that two steps happen before the herbicide is taken in by the plant. One, the plant must have moisture on the leaf and two; the chemical dust must fall on the moisture coated leaf to form a weed killing solution. Use the liquid spray able herbicides if you can.
  2. Hard to kill perennial sages and grassy weeds with deep roots or waxy leaves require a “Spot Treatment” method. This method uses specific chemicals that in most cases are too costly to spray over an entire lawn. However, if used in small “Spot Treatment” areas they can be a very cost effective way to remove these hard to control weeds. These chemicals are weed species specific and you should bring a sample in so that we can advise you on the proper treatment. 

Cut

  1. Cutting the lawn frequently and at a higher setting allows for more roots to grow and less disease pressure. Cut grass at 3 ½ inches or more to allow for maximum roots to develop. Also, cut the lawn when the height is no greater than 5 inches so that the plant is not stressed from too much foliage being removed.
  2. Keep your equipment in good shape and blades sharp. Cutting grass with a dull blade bruises the leaf blade and will create favorable disease conditions that will thin your turf.

Fertilize

  1. Use only high end slow release fertilizer for your lawn. Many garden centers and big box stores offer less expensive fertilizers that are “quick” acting. This is the last thing your established lawn wants or needs. Slowly available fertilizers come in only a few forms. I prefer the product know as MESA from Lebanon. This Fertilizer is a Methylene Urea reacted with Ammonium Sulfate. It provides a brilliant dark green color. Read the bag or get clear instructions on how to properly use all fertilizers. The effectiveness of the fertilizer is directly dependent on its proper application. 
  2. Pay attention to the color and texture of the grass. Rapid growing grass is normally pail and structurally under developed. The light green soft flesh of young grass is perfect for disease and insect problems. That is why using slow release fertilizer in small frequent applications allows the plants to grow more slowly and properly develop. Properly developed lawns have deep green color, deep root systems and turgid upright growth habits. If your fertilizer practices are giving you a burst of limp lime green grass, change fertilizer and frequencies of applications.
  3. Never fertilize in the hot summer months. If you fertilize a cool season grass in 90 degree heat and high humidity, it will produce disease conditions that could destroy the entire plant. It is normal for the top of fescue grass to die back under hot, humid conditions. However, if the roots are kept moist they will normally survive and allow the entire plant to return when conditions are more favorable. This topical die back is normal and is not a signal to add more fertilizer. Use the proper watering methods mentioned above and wait for the heat to break before applying any more fertilizer.