WHEN
WILL IT END…
The simple answer
is when God chooses it to end, but that can be said about everything we need to
end in our lives. We just need it too rain and cool off and it will. I’m
guessing by October 15th someone will be saying…”I wish it would stop raining
already”! We all have short memories. It was hotter, drier and more humid this
time last August, but few of us recall it.
Things we
should continue to do to COOL SEASON lawns, as long as we have been doing so…
*Water the lawn
every day as long you finish by 8-9 am. Everyday is extreme, but that is
exactly what we are in…an extreme drought. If you haven’t been watering the
lawn regularly, don’t start now. Let the lawn go dormant and start watering
about August 25th or so. That is in preparation for aerating and
over seeding around September 5-10th
*Mow your cool
season at 3.5 to 4 inches. Mowing any shorter will guarantee a disaster. Even
with watering regularly, you should only be mowing every 12-15 days at best.
Non irrigated lawns have all but shut down and probably won’t need to be mowed
but every 21-25 days.
*Do not apply any
spray herbicides, fertilizers or fungicides unless it’s at 5-7 am. It’s too hot
for them to do any good and you may burn up what’s left of the good grass!
Granular applications are OK, but water them in to activate them. Keep your
expectations low!
Cool Season
grasses are not supposed to look good in the type of weather we are having, but
keep the faith…good looking cool season grass is only about 8-10 weeks away!!!
Warm Season
grasses…
*These should be looking very good right
now. They need to be watered in the morning too, but maybe for only for 20-30
minutes and 4 days a week. You can water zoysia lawns in the afternoon, but
make sure the drift isn’t hurting your ornamentals!
*Mow these at 2
inches and weekly.
*Apply high
nitrogen fertilizers (totally opposite of cool season lawns) every 30 days, but
not past August 1-5th.
*Apply
insecticides and herbicides as directed on the label or lawn care professional.
I have seen a few zoysia lawns with insect (bill bugs to be exact) problems
that have been misdiagnosed as “fungus” problems. Get professional advice if
you are not sure what is going on!
*It’s not too
late to aerate and or power rake zoysia. Just make sure you can water
afterwards because both of these practices will cause rapid water sue in the
plants.
Stay positive and
think September…the fescue lawns will be green before you know it!
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