How to restart lawn with "No Mow" Fescue?
leo_in_md
11 years ago
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grass1950
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help with my Bermuda/Tall Fescue Mixed Lawn
Comments (14)I suspect that's too much shade under the trees. Bermuda will not be the best for that spot. Ideally you would have seeded the bermuda in mid June to have the warmest conditions, but this year was not cooperating with the rain and overcast. Still you should have fit it in in the heat of summer for best results. That is crazy about the tree. Is the tree on her property or yours or smack in the middle? Are you renting or do you own the property? I would suggest taking down the chain link at this point, but don't waste the money if you're renting. It is amazing how much difference the deep and infrequent watering process makes. Also if you have not fertilized recently, you might try organic. I use alfalfa pellets or corn meal from Ful-o-Pep on Roland east of WW White. 50 pounds should be under $15 or $10. Application rate is 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet, and it takes 21 days to see the results. With this cold front it might take a few days longer if you were to put it down this weekend. If you buy it now and don't use it all, go ahead and use it all anyway. You cannot hurt anything by overdoing these products. If you leave it in the garage over the winter it will be buggy in the spring. It's still fine to use, but just a little icky. So next April is the time to evaluate what you want to do with the back yard. I think it could be too shady for bermuda. If it seems slow to awaken and turns thin, then shade is the problem. The best place to get St Augustine is Milberger's Nursery at 1604 and Bulverde Rd inside the loop. They sell 14 pallets of St Aug every day, so it's always fresh. Lowe's and HD sell 1-2 pallets per week, and it always looks diseased. Milberger's is also about 1/3 the price of Lowe's....See MoreHow do you like your sheep fescue lawn?
Comments (3)When I remove grass, I don't do so in order to replace it with a different cultivar of grass, I put in another flower/veggie bed/conifer bed instead. My goal is to pretty much get rid of all lawn grass - and all annual grasses (ha, wish me luck with that!) - so that the only grasses in my garden are the lovely ornamental grasses. I've been working towards this goal for about 20 years now. So, I obviously don't know anything about sheep fescue but from what I just read it seems as if it would be a good alternative to Kentucky Bluegrass, etc. in terms of drought tolerance and hardiness. Not sure what you use this area of your yard for, but one thing to take note of is that the leaves are supposed to be rather tough and sharp, so, at least from that description, probably not the turf grass on which you would want to go barefooting! Also, it apparently isn't good for high traffic areas as it doesn't tolerate a lot of foot traffic - recommended for a naturalized area with wildflowers and such scattered through it. Here is some info about fine fescue grasses, including sheep fescue, from the Colorado Extension Service which you might find helpful: Fine Fescue For Lawns. Holly...See MoreWhat height should a combo Kbg/RYe/Fescue be mowed at in (7a)?
Comments (1)I'm always amused at the university recommendations for mowing height. If you read the studies they will recommend something like 2.54069135 inches. Well, my mower doesn't have a notch for that height. Grasses seem to become most dense when mowed at a general height. There are three grasses which become more dense when mowed at a low setting. Those are bermuda, centipede, and creeping bentgrass. All three of these are often considered to be weeds in taller forms of grass. All three of these will do great when mowed at the mower's lowest setting. Bermuda and creeping bent look fine when mowed lower than 1/2 inch if you have a mower that will mow with that precision. On a golf course they might be mowed on a daily basis at 3/32 inches high. All the rest of the grasses seem to become most dense when mowed taller. How tall is good? Well, I've grown St Augustine as high as 32 inches (yes, thirty-two), and it looked excellent if you enjoy the look of grass flowing in the breeze. When the city finally twisted my arm hard enough I mowed it with a string trimmer down to 18 inches. When they twisted harder I lowered it down to 12 inches. It became more dense at 12 inches than it was at 32. If I had a regular mower that would do it, and a wife who would tolerate it, I would mow St Aug at 9 inches. As it is I mow at the mower's highest setting and skip a week or two mowing the St Aug. Weeds have to be mowed weekly in my lawn. For other grasses (turf type tall fescue, KBG, rye, zoysia), taller is better. Tall grass develops deep, drought resistant roots. How tall is perfect for those grasses? I don't really care, but you cannot go wrong with mowing at the mower's highest setting, so that's what I profess. If you want to come down a notch below that height, well, I can't come though the screen and choke you, so go for it. Dense grass is good because it keeps the sunlight off the soil. It also keeps rain and hail from smashing into bare soil and forming a crust. Tall grass is good because it tends to generate deeper and longer roots to resist heat and drought when it comes. For simplicity's sake I limit my advice to the lowest setting and the highest setting. The real research is mostly all over the place but within the same lowest and highest general guidelines. To me it's not worth the energy of fine tuning it beyond that. It's grass....See MoreCalifornia native bentgrass or fine-leafed Fescue no-mow sod?
Comments (8)Contrary to what some sales people tell you, the bentgrass does not thrive in partial shade. It needs a good 6 hours of direct sunlight. For areas with more shade, you will need a fine fescue for that. Something like red, chewings, hard or sheep fescue will tolerate the most shade. These are very fine bladed grasses which fall over when they get about 5 inches long. If you pick bentgrass it will be invasive to an extent. If the underground runners can reach sunlight, they will seem to jump many feet to establish in other sunny areas. In full sun it is fairly invasive to flower beds. Most people don't like the lime green color of bentgrasses as compared to the forest green of the hybrid fescues and Kentucky bluegrasses. How many days of the year do you have temps in the 90s. If you have 90s for more than a week, fescue would not be appropriate. Instead either the bentgrass or UC Verde Buffalo grass would work in the full sun. Then use mulch in the shade. Fescues simply need too much water in the heat. They are cool season grasses. In California fescue can do well above 4,000 feet or on the western slope of the coastal range. UC Verde spreads above ground and can be controlled better than bentgrass. UC Verde is also lime green as compared to fescues....See Moreleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agograss1950
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agograss1950
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agodchall_san_antonio
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoleo_in_md
11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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