Thursday, May 3, 2012

May 3rd 2012


Between the hail, allergies and strange horticultural growth…I’ll be glad when summer finally arrives.

Cool season grass things to do in May:

*MOW HIGH! 3” minimum and 3.5 is better!
*Watch for moths flying out of the lawn when walking in or mowing. These are Sod Web Worms and can hurt the lawn. You should apply an insecticide in either spray form (hose ends for small yards) or in granules (large yards). You may have to do this twice about 3 weeks apart.
*Consider applying organic forms of fertilizer towards the end of the month. Milorganite® and other 100% organic fertilizers at 10#/1000 ft. sq is a good way to prepare the lawn for summer.
*Consider starting your preventative fungicide applications. These are expensive and HAVE to be repeated on 25 day cycles so be sure you are doing all of the other cultural practices (mowing, fertilizing and watering) correctly before starting this program. Fungicide products do nothing to kill the fungus in the soil.
*Start watering when we stop getting rain. Usually, one or two days a week in May is sufficient. June will be a whole other story, stay tuned.
* Preventative grub treatments with Acelepryn® can be applied any time this month. I really like this product because it’s the only insecticide that covers all grub species, but doesn’t have an “indicator” word (caution, warning or danger) on its label. It’s also very pet friendly. Read the label as with any pesticide application.
*Continue to spot spray the weeds as needed.

Warm season grass things to do in May:

*Go ahead and schedule a power raking and or aeration if needed. We should be out of the woods as far as anymore frost (I hope).

*Fertilize immediately after doing this or not. If you do some type of aerating or power raking, you will want to fertilize with some crabgrass preventer combination product. You will wake up crabgrass seeds this time of year. You should try to put out a pound of nitrogen per 1000 ft. sq.
*Apply insecticides if you have any dead spots in the lawn. We have seen a lot of damage from surface feeding insects in the last 30 days and expect bugs be very aggressive this year.
*Consider using “plugs” or sod to repair damage as needed in the next 3-4 weeks. I don’t like to have people buy zoysia sod until it’s good and hot. Wait a few weeks for the good zoysia weather to be here permanently.
*You may spot spray weeds as needed, but be sure the zoysia is 100% green before using any spray herbicides!
*Mow at 1-2” for best results

Let me know if you have any questions?
Glennon Kraemer/Owner
GR Robinson Seed & Service Co
314-432-0300

PS How are doing Mary Ann? 

1 comment:

  1. Thank you
    Glenn for asking and to all the others who wish to know, the short answer, I am managing with the love and support of my friends and family. God has given me much including this opportunity to manage Glenn's blog which keeps me "plugged" (turf talk) in to many of my friends who share my green heart!

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