Any advise on low lit lawn area?
Christopher Sgroi
4 years ago
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krnuttle
4 years agoRelated Discussions
North San Antonio Lawn care advise (bermuda grass)
Comments (5)Are your thin and bare areas in shady parts of your garden? That's the only reason bermuda would be thin. Bermuda needs full sun all day. If you have a fence, building, tree, or shrub anywhere between the grass and the horizon, bermuda will suffer. Overseeding is a mistake. Your current turf is a sodded variety. You cannot buy seed for that variety. The seeded varieties have some problems with appearance. Of course you have weeds now so there is already a problem with appearance. If shade is the problem, then there is a fine bladed zoysia that looks like bermuda and grows well in the shade. It is called Shadow Turf and is available at Fanicks Nursery on Holmgren Road (off of WW White north of Rigsby). It's a little expensive, but it would work. A much less expensive idea is to put a piece of St Augustine sod in the shady areas. The problem with that is the St Aug is a very coarse bladed grass and will look weedy as it encroaches into the bermuda. In San Antonio the St Aug will take over the bermuda in full sun and shade. Bermuda grass is most dense (thick) when mowed low. If you have not already, lower your mower deck to the lowest setting and leave it there....See MoreNeed advise on reviving lawn
Comments (2)what's your climate like down there right now? you could probably plan some perennial ryegrass to get you by while you plan out a bermuda sprig or seed. riviera is a relatively new variety of bermuda that establishes from seed. otherwise, you're best best is to get some sprigs and try to re-establish a decent variety of bermuda. common bermuda, which you lawn may well be is considered a weed by many nowadays. you don't have to remove the dead weeds, but it might help to till them in a little with a rake or something prior to seeding. one thing i often tell people is to stay away from the fertilizer + ________ products, most of the time they are a marketing gimmick. if you can keep a healthy, thick lawn, you don't need any of that stuff. but it sounds like you got decent results from the weed n' feed, so if it works, keep at it. bottom line, get some sprigs, keep em fertilized and the bermuda SHOULD outcompete the weeds if they don't have too much of a stronghold. otherwise, you might want to consider calling in a professional to sod your lawn....See MoreLawn advise
Comments (11)If you live in the Katy area of Houston your kyllinga itâs probably a flatsedge. Green kyllinga (kyllinga brevifolia) resembles smallflower umbrella sedge (cyperus difformis). Umbrella sedge is a rice field weed that grows alongside the rice crop. The entire Katy area used to be a rice field, and its residential communities are full of dormant difformis seed. Kyllinga is an invasive ornamental. It responds to halosulfuron (Sedge Hammer). In contrast, umbrella sedge is a crop weed with a history of exposure to agricultural herbicide. It exhibits a wide range of immunity, including an immunity to halosulfuron. I treat umbrella flatsedges with sulfentazone based herbicides (like Bonideâs Sedge Ender). I apply in the early Spring, when the sun is less abundant and the sedge is actively re-growing root stock. This mitigates risks to my Saint Augustine and encourages the uptake of herbicide into the weedâs root zone. Houston water is quite hard, so I add a surfactant. I use an inexpensive spreader-sticker product from Bonide, but Iâve heard Palmolive works fine. Wait several days before mowing or watering to give the herbicideâs time to absorb. The most effective âgreenâ alternative would be to till the land repeatedly, waiting for the sedge to grow, just to smother the young plants with so additional tilling. Over time, the rootstocks and seeds exhaust themselves of carbohydrates, leaving a rich, sterile soil. Unfortunately, my home owners association frowns on this approach. So Iâm stuck taking a chemical approach. Yet . . . my own lawn is far from perfect. Symptoms: 1. Long yellow-grey runners of Saint Augustine, that cannot penetrate certain areas in the lawn, away from sprinkler heads. 2. A few lush areas of thick green lawn, by the sprinkler heads. 3. Indicator weeds: Flatsedge, wild garlic, and powderpuff mimosa. 4. Three visible patches of grey slime mold with more mold in the beds. 5. Predictable reemergence of chinch bug damage, near the hot concrete. Iâm getting mixed signals. The grass looks healthier at low points: against the back of the house, against the A/C slab, in between the homes, and at the side walk in the front yard. This indicates water and/or fertilizer is collecting and providing the sod a much needed boost. Everywhere else, the lawn looks overwatered: yellowing and graying of solons, invasive marsh weeds and compacted soil. The live oak looks nitrogen deficient and has shown signs of chlorosis. It seems to me that the ground is almost impermeable. Water and fertilizer pool in the low areas, while the higher grades (in Houston an 8 inch slope constitutes a grade) dry out, harden and are washed clean of nutrients. My response has been to fertilize frequently and water frequently, but this is unsustainable due to fungal concerns. My builder did a sloppy job grading the surface. He did not bring in any viable topsoil, and the grass was installed with very little of its own. It seems to be a highly susceptible cultivar. I saved my lawn, with a biphenthrin spray, while others succumbed to chinch bugs very first year. How their lawns are looking far better than mine. The fertilized with an atrazine based "weed and feed" so they never developed the flatsedge concerns. Now Iâm wishing I had let it all die then, before the HOA became more aggressive, and I'm considering using atrazine next year despite the ground water concerns. I want to go organic but this is untenable given my current soil and lawn problems. So, I began spraying the soil with milk and beer and J&J shampoo. No phenomenal changes in the soil or the fungal outlook. Iâm considering installing a more hardy cultivar, in sparse plugs, with the anticipation of it out competing the existing sod. I would like to core aerate and top-dress with slightly sandy compost. Any advice on this operation, specifically in Houston area clay? Should I get Media soil activator in the interim, or use a foliar spray? Who can I call to test my soil needs and prescribe my best path forward, preferably someone who wonât sell a service? Any tips on automatic sprinkler settings and no-nos?...See MoreBest low maintenance lawn
Comments (6)We live in eastern North Caroline, about 15 miles west of I-95 and 25 miles east of Raleigh. There was a large yard (4 or 5 acres) that I admired as the yard always looked perfect. Then we went to an estate sale at the house and I discovered the truth. The area around the house, down the drive, and along the road was a good quality grass, as I remember fescue. However in those less accessible parts (read some distance from the house, drive, and road) of the yard, the native grasses had been encouraged, but mowed regularly. From a distance you could not tell the difference between the part with the quality grass and the part with the native grasses. Point being on a large yard, you do not need quality grasses through out the whole yard to have a beautiful lawn. One of the things I do when I have an area of the yard that is quite rough, is to make a flower or shrub bed. These do two things. One cover up and area of the yard that is dificult to grow grass, and the other to add focal points with flowers and other pretty bushes....See MoreChristopher Sgroi
4 years agomishmosh
4 years agoChristopher Sgroi
4 years agoUser
4 years ago
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