Tips For A Lush Green Lawn

 
            Hi everybody and welcome! For a homeowner, one of the greatest thrills is to have a lush, green lawn all year long. Unfortunately during the winter months in Florida, this can be a real challenge. In our area there are two types of lawns that the majority of Floridians share. St. Augustine and Bahia. Most people have the Floratam variety of St. Augustine grass.

            Before I get into winter lawn maintenance, I would like to talk a little about Floratam grass. The Floratam variety of St. Augustine grass was introduced to Florida in 1973 and is used almost exclusively to other grasses. Floratam grass has many advantages to other types of lawns. It is very adaptable and can thrive in a wide range of soils and environmental conditions. It does well in Florida’s intense sunlight. This type of lawn is also relatively chinch bug resistant. This is a good point since many of the insecticides that were effective for chinch bug control such as Dursban and Diazinon have been removed from the market. Floratam is also a fast grower that can fill in empty areas of your lawn fairly quickly. The thickness of the lawn also helps to control weeds.

            Bahia grass, on the other hand, offers some disadvantages over its rival. During the growing season it produces large seed heads and over time, the lawn can thin out which will allow weeds and other wild grasses to take over. It also needs a large amount of iron or the grass will yellow during the spring and fall. It also has a very course texture.

            Although not a concern this time of year, your lawn can suffer from thinning and browning during the colder winter months. One solution would be to overseed your lawn with rye grass. This method will help keep your bare spots to a minimum and when the summer comes. The rye grass will dye off and offer a fertilizer effect for the summer months.

            Proper watering and fertilizer is  essential for a healthy lawn. Always keep your lawn evenly moist. Under watering as well as over-watering can both cause problems such as drying out or fungus, for example. Be sure to follow your local watering schedule and follow all water restriction regulations in your area.

A regular fertilizer program is essential for a lush green lawn. You should apply a good quality slow release lawn food about once every 3 months. February is an excellent time to apply a good quality weed and feed. A weed and feed product has the advantage of both feeding your lawn and getting rid of annoying weeds. Care should be exercised when choosing weed control products because you can only use certain herbicides on certain lawns. If you have a Floratam lawn, be sure you choose a product that contains Atrazine. This is a safe herbicide for use in St. Augustine variety grasses. If you have Bahia grass, choose a product with 2.4D or an equivalent. Use of the wrong herbicide can have very undesirable effects. Always apply your fertilizer according to the package directions and always use a spreader. Never try to apply lawn food by hand.

With a little care and some work, you too can have a green lawn year-round! I hope this information useful as well as informative. Next week we will talk about choosing and growing tropicals and cool ways to display them. See you next week everybody.