The
Seven Rules of Lawn Care
Why
is it that having a nice lawn seems difficult for so many people? Why
are some lawns green and lush, while others slowly turn to dust?
Actually, there are only seven
possible reasons
why a sad lawn isn't nicer. You need a list of these seven rules so you
can make sure you are following the rules. The rules are surprisingly
simple:
Rule
#1:
"Start with real grass, not
weeds"
 If there are too many
annuals (plants that die
yearly) or seasonal weeds, it's not a real grass lawn. That's why it's
important to start with at least 60% of desirable, perennial grasses
(those that
stay green all year long). Watering weeds that die
yearly or grass that
is seasonal will not make for a nice lawn.
The annual
shown above is poa annua (annual bluegrass). It dies in summer and
returns in fall from seeds. Watering winter annual grasses (such as poa
annua) will not keep them alive in summer.
If necessary, renovate
(dethatch, aerate and reseed) or re-sod. If you are not sure whether
your
lawn is "desirable," send some images of your lawns using thie Contact Us link at the top of this page.
We'll call you with free
advice as soon as we have seen your
images. If your lawn is not at least 60% desirable grasses, we won't
aerate it because aerating is not the correct thing to do.
 To learn
how to control
annuals and all other weeds growing in your lawn, click on Weeds at the top of this page.
There, you'll see photos of weeds so you can identify which weed you
have.
In addition, you'll find information about how to control each weed.
You
can buy "selective" weed killers that don't harm the grass, and you
don't have to spray the weeds individually. You simply spray the area
of lawn that has weeds; they all die and the grass remains.
Controlling weeds is easy and can be done by the homeowner whenever
needed at a fraction of the cost of a pest control visit.
Rule
#2:
Grass
Won't Grow on a Brick
Remember the Adobe
Indians? They
fashioned bricks from clay and built houses using the bricks. Since
clay soil is very dense and compacts easily, the sun-hardened bricks
became nearly waterproof. This was good for the Indians, but it's bad
for your lawn. Our soil is mostly clay and tends to compact, limiting
water and root penetration. The only way to relieve compaction is by
aerating. For more information about aerating and how it saves water,
click on the Aerating link in the left column on this page.
Rule
#3:
"Limit
Shade"
Grass doesn't grow well
in shade. No matter what you
do, grass in the deep shade gets thinner and thinner.
Replacing
the sod simply puts off the inevitable thinning.
Lawns need at least
2-3 hours of direct sunlight daily. So if you have lawn areas that get
less sun, either trim out some tree branches, move the garage to the
left, or consider an alternative to grass in those shady areas.
 Rule
#4:
"Water!"
Water is essential for
lawn maintenance. Whenever there is
less than 1" of water in a week (from rain), additional water is needed
to sustain
proper plant life. The capacity of the soil to store water for plant
use depends on two factors: permeability and retention. If the water
runs off and does not penetrate, retention cannot occur. Likewise, if
the water penetrates but runs through the soil, it will not be there
when the plants need it.
Clay
soils retain water well but have penetration problems, mostly because
of compaction. Once the compaction is alleviated, the penetration
factor goes up and the lawn is able to hold more water.
To
determine how many minutes to water to get the required 1" of water
every week, do this test: Using a bunch of empty yogurt containers or
coffee cups, distribute the cups all over the lawn, then water for a
set amount of time, such as 15 minutes. Measure the amount of water in
the driest cups, ignoring the cups that seem to have twice or three
times the amount of water in them. If 15 minutes got you an average of
1/2" water in the driest cups, then 30 minutes would equal 1" of water.
Do this test for each station or valve, then set the timer accordingly.
For more about watering click on the link at the left side of this page.
 Rule
#5: Feed Me!
Unlike humans, lawn
plants don't grow old; they can grow
new blades and new roots. But, if the rate of decline is greater than
the
rate of regrowth, the lawn goes downhill (if you'll pardon the pun). If
you only ate once a week, you'd be hungry all the time. Your lawn is no
different.
If you fertilize every six to eight weeks year round, your lawn
will always be making new blades and roots, and the regrowth will be
greater than the rate of decline, and your lawn will improve.
To feed your lawn,
we recommend using the same fertilizer we use, which is
not
available at your local big box store. You can get the right fertilizer
at Site One Landscape Supply. It's not
as convenient as your local big box store, but Site One has the
fertilizer
you
need. And, if
you use Green Lawn's Customer Number, you'll get over 30% off!
Green
Lawn's Customer
Number at Site One is 1113909.
This is the same fertilizer that golf courses use.
In winter, we use 21-7-14 (Best Turf Royale).
In summer, we use
16-6-8. (Best Turf Supreme)
Wait
6 weeks from when we fertilized, then apply 5-7 lbs fertilizer per
1000 square feet of lawn area.
Do NOT cast the
fertilizer by hand; it won't be
even! Use a whirlybird type spreader to apply the fertilizer evenly. If
you aren't sure how big your lawns are, call us; we know!
Rule
#6:
"Never Cut it Short"
If your lawn is being
cut any
shorter than 2 1/2" or if mowing removes more than 1/3 of the grass
blades, you're asking for trouble! Just look at the list of
problems that mowing short causes:
a.
shallow roots (roots
die back and re-grow annually; shallow roots are a response to the
shorter cut)
b.
thatch buildup (another
response to cutting too short)
c.
weeds (weed seeds need
the sun to germinate; cutting short exposes the seeds to the sun)
d.
crabgrass (same seed
issue as above)
e.
Bermuda grass (Bermuda
grass tolerates short cuts - fescue and bluegrass do not)
f.
wasted water (requires
up to 30% more water to keep the lawn green)
Lawns
that are mown at 3" (after mowing) retain more water in their blades,
have deeper roots, and provide shade for the soil, preventing
evaporation. You'll have a much nicer lawn and you'll use much less
water when you mow long. Mow as often as needed, so you aren't cutting
off more than 1/3 of the blade. For more information about mowing,
click on the link in the sidebar.
Rule
#7:
"Watch for Damage"
If you see brown areas
forming in your lawn,
immediately check your sprinklers for adequate coverage. There may be a
blocked or broken head.
If there seems to be enough water, pull on the
grass to see if it pulls out easily. If it does, you've got grubs like
the the picture on the right above. If the grubs are active (spots are
getting
worse), use an insecticide such as Bayer Advanced Grub Control, or Spectracide or Ortho Grub Killer. The two pictures on the right show new
grub damage
and old grub damage.
If
the grass seems well-rooted, the brown grass may be an annual or have
gone dormant, like the grasses in the hills do as soon as it gets warm.
This seasonal browning of annual grasses occur as soon as the
grasses in the hills
turned brown.
If you don't see your
lawn's problem here, you can take photos of your lawn and
send them to Green Lawns by using the Contact Us link at the top of this page and we will call you
when we get them.If
you need help with
any
of this, call Green Lawns at 1-800-281-6482.
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