Producing quality lawns in the southwest can be challenging. In low elevations (3500 feet and less), warm-season turfgrasses are dominate in lawns. During the fall and winter, over-seeding with ryegrass, a cool-season grass can be grown to have a green lawn year around. In high elevation locations (6000 feet and above), cool-season turfgrasses are dominant in lawns. In mid elevation areas (3500 to 6000 feet elevation), known as the transition zone, either warm-season or cool-season grasses can be planted. This means that the climate can be hostile to either type of turfgrass during different parts of the year. However, with proper cultural practices, a good lawn can be established and maintained.
Grasses, Turf, and Groundcovers
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Question:
When should I dethatch my lawn?
Answer
It depends on the type of lawn you have. Dethatching is done with either a machine rented from a rental shop or with specialized rakes that give the user a very good workout! Dethatching is done to remove excessive build up of plant materials that lies just beneath or just on top of the soil. The former are rhizomes and the later stolons. Stolons are stems that creep" on top of the soil and rhizomes are underground stems. Both serve as sites from where new grass plants are formed. Dethatching is not for the removal of built-up grass leaf blades in the sod. These normally decompose naturally. Fescue type lawns do not have rhizomes or stolons and are never dethatched. Bluegrass has only rhizomes. These are cool-season plants and grow best with cool temperatures. Burmudagrass can spreads by means of seeds, rhizomes and stolons and is a warm-season grass, growing best in warm weather. Dethatching is a damaging procedure and should be done only when plants are vigorously growing and have plenty of time to recover from the damage caused by the machine or rake. Therefore, dethatch burmudagrass lawns about a month after it is growing well, normally the end of May or June. Bluegrass is rarely in need of dethatching but if need should be done in later September or October. Fescues never need to be dethatched because they do not produce stolons or rhizomes."
Question:
When is the proper time to plant a turf lawn?
Answer
Because of our climate in Cochise County we can grow two general classes of turf. They are warm season and cool season grasses. Warm season grasses are those that flourish during spring and summer and then go dormant (brown) in the fall and winter. Warm season grasses include bermuda, buffalo grass, grama grass, sideoats, St. Augustine and zoysiagrass. These grasses should be sown, plugged, stolonizing or sprigging, (planting shoots with leaves) or sodded in the spring when temperatures are warming up. Cool season grasses grow best during cool weather but are green during the heat of summer if they are watered. They will remain green if winters are mild. Cool season grassed include Kentucky bluegrass, the fescues and ryegrasses. Cool season grasses are best sown or sodded in the late summer (late August or September) or early fall. The second best time to plant or sod these grasses is in early spring.
Question:
When should I plant native warm season grasses and how should I prepare the soil?
Answer
Warm season native grasses include but are not limited to the bluestems, buffalos, gramas, Indian rices, lovegrasses, sideoats and wheatgrasses. Planting of most of these grasses should occur just before the monsoon rainy season begin in July. Seeding rates vary between different grass species. For example Buffalo grass is seeded at 3 to 4 pounds and blue grama grass is seed at 1 to 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet. In most situations it is advisable to mix 2 or more compatible species together and sow them so there is more diversity in the planting.
For best germination and stand till the soil 4 to 6 inches deep, (this is very necessary on new construction sites because of compacted soil), rake smooth, spread seed, and top dress with compost or composed manure. The dark compost will warm the soil and hold moisture which aids in germination.
Many of these warm season grasses make attractive landscape areas but are not suited to heavy traffic and play. However, breeding programs are currently developing turf type lawn grasses from native warm season grass species that will withstand traffic. Also, many of these grasses are more drought tolerant than the more traditional turf grass and require less water than bermuda grass.
Question:
Last year my bermuda grass lawn seemed yellow in the spring so nitrogen fertilizer was applied. The lawn looked better but later in the summer it looked yellow again. Nitrogen was applied but the lawn was still yellow. Why did the spring application of nitrogen work and the summer application did not?
Answer
Nitrogen is needed for fast spring growth. Iron becomes less available in alkaline soils as the season progresses. Nitrogen deficiency shows up in older leaves that are yellow. Plants can break down nitrogen containing compounds and move it where the greatest need is, normally growing points, leaving older tissues yellow. On the other hand iron is used by plants to produce several compounds including chlorophyll. Plants can not broken down iron and moved it to other parts of the of the plant. As the growing season progresses alkaline soils bind iron and it becomes less available. So new leaves become chlorotic. Iron chlorosis has visual symptoms of green veins on new leaves but the interveinal spaces are yellow. Excessive watering can also cause iron chlorosis because soil oxygen pore space is filled with water. No oxygen- no root growth and little if any iron uptake.
Control
To correct iron deficiency, apply either ferrous sulphate, ferrous ammonium sulphate, or a chelated iron source to the lawn following label directions when first symptoms appear. Chelates are more expensive but will last longer than the other products, which will need to be applied more often. Usually two to four ounces of product are applied per 1,000 square feet. Mix the product with enough water to apply one to three gallons of water per 1,000 square feet of lawn area. Spray the lawn in the morning letting the spray dry all day long. Water the lawn before mowing. Excess iron spray will be stored in the soil and/or taken up by the turfgrass. Be careful not to stain concrete areas with the iron spray. Within a few days the turf should start greening up.
Question:
I have two things growing on my lawn. One is a black material that feels greasy when I touch it. It is on the ground and also on the blades of grass. The other material is orange-white in color and is moist to the touch, but dries out and is chalky the next day. Any ideas of what these things are?
Answer
Did you change your oil over your lawn? If not then the black substance is a slime mold that is dormant in the soil until large amounts of moisture fall on the ground. The environmental conditions are then right for this organism to reproduce and migrate. The other material is a spore mat of a fungus that is in the soil. Again when environmental conditions are right the fungal organism, which lives in the soil, will send up a reproductive structure to spread spores there by reproducing.
Control
There is nothing that needs to be done to control these organisms. They were in the soil all along and have just put up reproductive structures. As the ground and air dry out they will disappear only to reappear when the environmental conditions are right.