Admit it. The first thing you brag about when people visit isn't your
lawn. You'd rather crow about your azaleas, peonies, roses, and other
special plants. Yet your grass deserves its own time in the spotlight
because it sets the stage for all of the plantings around it. The
following tips will help your lawn look great.
Shape up--Most lawns have no shape at all. They just merge into the
neighbors' lawns on either side. But border the grass with a walk, brick
edging, or planting beds, and it suddenly becomes a dynamic design
element. Your lawn can be round, square, rectangular, or curvilinear.
Downsize--A big lawn means big maintenance and big water bills. So
unless you like trudging behind a mower or dragging hoses, devote more
yard space to mulched planting beds, ground covers, and paved areas and
less space to grass. You'll thank yourself in July and August.
Seeding and sodding--You can seed Kentucky bluegrass, perennial
ryegrass, tall fescue, Bahia, Bermuda, carpet grass, and centipede this
month. Or you can sod Kentucky bluegrass, Bermuda, centipede, St.
Augustine, Bahia, and Zoysia lawns. Ask your Cooperative Extension
Service which grasses are suited to your area. Keep newly seeded and
sodded lawns well watered until the grass is established and has been
cut several times.
Feeding--May is prime time for fertilizing warm-season grasses such as
Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine, and Zoysia. Use a slow-release
product formulated for your type of grass, and follow the directions on
the bag. Except in the Upper South, May is a bit late for the spring
feeding of cool-season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass,
and tall fescue). March or April would have been better. But if you
haven't fed cool-season grasses at all this year, feed them now. Again,
choose a fertilizer made for your type of grass, and follow the
directions.
Weed control--Sorry, it's too late to put down crabgrass preventer.
The crabgrass has already sprouted. You can kill existing broadleaf
weeds such as dandelions and clover using a drop spreader to apply
either a granular weedkiller or granular weed-and-feed product.
Remember, the granules must stick to the weed leaves for at least 24
hours, or they won't work. So only apply them to moist grass (the
granules stick better) when rain isn't expected for 48 hours. And don't
water the grass for a day afterward.
Mowing--Mow Kentucky bluegrass at 2 to 3 inches; tall fescue, 2 to 3
inches; perennial ryegrass, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches; Bahia, 3 to 4 inches;
Bermuda, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches; buffalo grass, 1 to 6 inches; carpet grass,
1 to 2 inches; centipede, 1 to 2 inches; St. Augustine, 2 to 4 inches;
and Zoysia, 1 to 2 inches.
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This article is from the May 2005 issue of Southern Living. |
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