Articles on Lawns | Topics: lawns, lawn, lawncare
by Aaron O'Neal
Lawn care is not only hard work, but it can also be very confusing. If you live in a suburban neighborhood, you know how much peer pressure there is to have the perfect lawn, but that there is a lot to keep track of in the process. You have to know when to fertilize, which fertilizer to use for the time of year, and then there is the decision of which grass type you are going to use for your lawn. There are many factors that may determine what type of grass you want to seed in your lawn, but the first will likely be the climate in which you live.
For instance, if you live in the southern United States, where the weather is warm almost year around, you will likely want to plant what is called a warm season grass. Warm season grasses do their active growing roughly between the months of April and October. Warm season grasses, as you may guess, prefer warmer climates. For proper growth of warm season grasses, your area needs soil temperatures to be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Be careful; don't make the mistake of trying to plant a warm season grass if you live too far north. The grasses are genetically bred to grow in warm climates and will not be able to survive a Midwestern or northern winter. Bermuda grass is an example of warm season grasses.
If, however, you live in the Midwest or northern part of the country, then you will want to think about planting what is called a cool season grass. Cool season grasses do most of their growing in late spring and early fall. Because they are bred for cooler weather, their growth usually slows down considerably during the heat of the summer. The best time to plant your cool season grass is the early fall. If, however, you want to plant at a different time of year, be careful that you do so when soil temperatures are around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which would likely be in the spring. Kentucky bluegrass is cool season grass for example.
| Bit of History |
I’d take off all my clothes
& cross the damp cold lawn & down the bluff
into the terrible water & walk forever
under it out toward the island.
| —John Berryman (1914–1972) |
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A third option, and one that is best for beginners, is to plant a grass seed mixture. The mixture will contain a number of different grass species in it. Planting a mixture will help you to avoid disease in your lawn. Most fungi that attack lawns are specific to certain species of grass. If there are various species growing in the yard, it is hard for fungi or other diseases to spread from one plant to another when there are other species buffering them from one another. Mixed lawns will tend to adjust themselves to differences in the soil makeup or sun exposure in different parts of the lawn. All in all, a mixture is lower maintenance for a lawn care beginner.
Another kind of grass you will want to think about for your lawn is not one you would make your base grass in the lawn, but can be a big part of the overall look of your landscaping. That type of grass, of course, is what is called ornamental grass. Ornamental grasses are becoming an increasingly popular way to improve the look of lawns and landscaping all over the country. While ornamental grasses can be grown from seed, the most popular way of raising it is to buy pots of the grass. Each pot can be divided up to make more grass, and if you are savvy with grass you will be able to grow all of the ornamental grass you could want.
Growing and maintaining a lawn can actually be stressful if you don't know what you are doing. When it comes to seeding a lawn, the number of species and options in the grass seed aisle of your local garden store can be intimidating. However, if you educate yourself through a little research, you can make good decisions about the grass to plant in your lawn. Talk to a representative at your local nursery or garden store and find out what is best. If you decide to go with a mixture, the same representative can help you select the mixture that will work best for you and require the least maintenance.
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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Green with Envy What's the Best Lawn Grass for You" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by FlowersPlantsGardening.com. |
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