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Thicken Your Lawn: It's Time For Overseeding!
Overseeding, sometimes called reseeding , is the process of distributing grass seed over an existing lawn. According to information provided by Pennington Seed, there are two primary reasons for seeding existing turf in this manner. First, to either rejuvenate a patchy or thinning lawn or to prevent one. Many grass types will thin out as part of their natural maturing process. Your turf may also develop thinning or bare spots due to the stresses of heavy traffic as well as certain diseases or pests. Simply put, if your lawn is receding, consider reseeding. Purpose of Overseeding a Lawn L
Lookout and Prevent Fall Armyworms On Your Lawn!
In northern climates, where cool season turfgrasses grow, Fall Armyworms attack as summer gives way to fall. In the south, where warm season turfgrasses thrive, their threat begins earlier and lasts longer. As often as not, by the time a serious infestation is diagnosed, substantial permanent damage has already been done. And with a name like Fall Armyworms , you know the news can’t be good. Even their scientific name, Spodoptera Frugiperda spells trouble, as “frugiperda” is Latin for “lost fruit.” Fall Armyworms aren’t really worms at all, but caterpillars, the larvae stage of Fall Arm
Late Season Bloomers: How to Take Care of Fall Mums!
Fall may be fast approaching, but your flowering colors are far from finished. Of course, many summer flowers continue to bloom into fall, at least until the first hard frost. But no plant is more associated with autumn than chrysanthemums , better known as mums. This is because mums tend to continue blooming long after many other flowering plants have ceased for the season. Thousands of cultivars offer varying shapes, sizes and styles, from button mums to single or daisy mums. These perennials come in many different colors, including some two-tone varieties. They are easy to care for and can be trans
Spots on Maple Tree Leaves? It's Maple Tar Spot!
Every year about this time, I start receiving questions on the ugly black spots that homeowners are seeing on their maple trees. These spots are caused by a fungal disease aptly called Tar Spot. In many cases, these leaves with the black spots are dropping early, which adds to the concern. The black spots that look like big drops of tar look ugly, but the disease doesn’t hurt the tree or affect it’s over all health. There are three different, but related fungi. All three produce the similar symptoms and can affect almost all species of maples, but mainly occur on Norway, silver and red maples. How Does Ma
Is it Too Late to Apply Nitrogen Fertilizer to Warm Season Grasses?
The simple answer if you are reading this in late August or early September is “No.” This decision is based on several different factors. A general rule is to apply the last nitrogen fertilizer to a lawn that contains warm-season turfgrasses two months before the first frost. Unless you live in the deep south, the last application of a fertilizer that contains a high amount of nitrogen would be September 15 at the latest. If you live in the more northern areas, you run the risk of turf damage and lawn disease development if nitrogen is applied after September 1st. Of course, the
Picking the Right Grass Seed
If your lawn is comprised of cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue or tall fescue, late summer through early fall is the perfect time to reseed your lawn. Soil temperatures are warm to allow for faster germination, air temperatures are favorable for the growth and development of the new grass plants and natural irrigation increases. Having the lawn aerated before seeding is a great way to incorporate the new seed into the lawn. The biggest question is what type of seed should you use to meet your lawn’s needs and grow well in your location.
Closer Look at Yellow Nutsedge
Yellow nutsedge, annual nutsedge, purple nutsedge, green kyllinga – these are just a few of the types of sedges that can be found in the US. Sedges grow across the entire world in the temperate to tropical zones. The scientific name for yellow nutsedge is cyperus esculentus, which loosely translates to edible nut, and refers to the tuber that grows on the roots of the plant. Some other names for yellow nutsedge is nut grass, chufa sedge, tiger nuts or earth almond. It is native to the Mediterranean and was cultivated in ancient Egypt for its tasty oil and rich tubers. Yellow nutsedge can gr
Identify and Repair Lawn Disease
Having to repair your grass that has succumbed due to lawn disease can be time consuming and expensive. How the repair is accomplished is different for cool-season grasses than it is for warm-season grasses. This article will provide some basic information for repairing lawn disease. Regardless of where you live or what type of turfgrass is in your lawn, the most important thing to determine is the name of the lawn disease. Some lawn diseases like Red Thread or Rust will ex
Rejuvenate Your Lawn with Core Aeration and Reseeding
For cool-season turfgrass, fall is a time of renewal and recovery from the stresses of summer heat. As the temperatures start to moderate and rainfall increases, the turf plants will start growing new roots and new plants to replace those that were damaged or even killed during the summer. Spring may be the time when other landscape plants start to grow, but fall is the time of regrowth for cool-season turfgrasses with core aeration. Cool season turfgrasses like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and tall fescue have varying degrees of tolerance to heat and drought: <
Don’t Forget About Your Trees and Shrubs This Fall
Many landscape plants that are growing in your gardens and flower beds are plants that were brought in from other countries over the last 150 years or so. Being that many of these plants are not native to the US, they may require extra care to maintain them in a healthy and vibrant condition. As we slowly move towards the cooler weather of the fall, most insect and disease activity starts to slow down, except in the warmer parts of the country. In those areas, insect and disease activity can occur all year long. Wherever you are, here are the maintenance tasks and fall tree and shrub ca