Garden
Lawns - Tips and advice
Chinch
Bugs
Chinch bugs become active in garden lawns when
temperatures reach the high 70s, and their damage
peaks in periods of hot, dry weather. Damage shows
up as areas of turf that become yellowish and
turn to a lifeless brown. The damage is often
mistaken for drought, but the grass does not recover
with watering. Indeed, the damage is a complete
kill, and the grass can not recover.
The
bugs are tiny (from about the size of a pin head
to 1/5 inch for adults), and they are extremely
difficult to see in the lawn. Often they ruin
garden lawns completely before their presence
is known. They do their damage by sucking vital
plant fluids from grass plants.
Chinch
bugs can be controlled with Scotts Scotts Diazinon
Lawn Insect Control or Turf Builder with Insect
Control.
Army
Worms
Armyworms chew the grass blades of garden lawns
along the edges and skeletonize the plants, giving
the lawn a ragged appearance. In severe infestations,
the grass can be chewed almost to bare ground.
The
worms are up to 1½ inches in length, and
their color varies from light green to a brownish-black,
with several stripes along the side. They are
the larvae of dull grey-brown moths that hide
during daylight and become quite active on garden
lawns in the evening. The moths have a wingspread
of about 1½ inches.
Armyworms
can be controlled with Scotts Diazinon Lawn Insect
Control or Turf Builder with Insect Control.
If you live in the UK, you
can buy Lawn edging irons, lawn rakers, lawn scarifiers
and grass trimmers from my associate site as below
:
Sod Webworms
Sod webworm damage shows up as irregular patches
of dead grass in garden lawns, appearing any time
from late spring through fall.
The
worms themselves are a dull tannish color, but
occasionally some species take on a greenish cast.
The head is dark brown. At maturity they measure
about 3/4 inch in length and do their damage on
garden lawns at night, when they feed on grass
plants. During the day, they burrow into the turf
and the layer of thatch below.
The
worms are the larvae of small tannish lawn moths,
which fly about the lawn as you mow or walk across
it. The moths lay eggs which hatch into new worms
in 6 to 10 days. A good sign the worms are present
is many birds on the lawn, which poke tiny holes
(about the size of a pencil) in the garden lawns
to eat the worms.
Sod
webworms can be controlled with Scotts Scotts
Diazinon Lawn Insect Control or Turf Builder with
Insect Control.
Brown Patch
In temperate areas of the country, brown patch
on garden lawns is most likely to be a problem
in late spring and summer. It first appears as
circular patterns of brownish grass only a few
inches across. As it progresses, the infected
areas may grow to several feet in diameter.
Sometimes
the circular patterns are surrounded by a "smoke
ring" of dark gray color or “cobweb
looking” fungus mycelium, that is apparent
in the morning hours and disappears as the sun
rises. Garden lawns that are closely mowed seems
to be more susceptible to this disease than grass
mowed at a greater height. When temperatures range
from 80°F to 85°F, damage can be most
severe.
Brown
patch can be controlled with Scotts Lawn Fungus
Control.
Dollar Spot
Dollar spot first shows up as brown spots in garden
lawns which vary in size from a fraction of an
inch to approximately three inches in diameter.
Left unchecked, the spots become so numerous that
they join together to form large areas of brown
grass. Diseased grass blades contain "hourglass-shaped"
tan lesions. During early morning hours, when
moisture is on garden lawns, tufts of white, cotton-like
mycelium spread in tiny webs across the infected
spots; these disappear as the sun rises.
Dollar
spot often attacks lawns that are suffering from
a lack of moisture and/or a lack of nutrients.
Dollar spot can be controlled with Scotts Lawn
Fungus Control.
Fusarium Blight
This disease is most likely to occur in garden
lawns areas that are exposed to long hours of
direct sunlight, especially on sloped areas. It
does not occur in heavily shaded lawns.
The
disease first appears as patches of pale green
grass (from a few inches to several feet in diameter)
that wilt and turn to straw color. Frequently
the grass in the garden lawns center of the patch
stays green, surrounded by the area of brown grass,
which has given the disease a nickname of "frog-eye."
When temperatures remain near 90°F in the
day and 70°F at night, the disease spreads.
This
disease can be suppressed with Scotts Lawn Fungus
Control.
Leaf
Spot
In spring and fall, leaf spot appears on grass
blades of garden lawns as small, oblong, black
lesions with a tan center. As the disease progresses,
the lesions run together, causing the grass blade
to wither into a lifeless, dull brown.
During
hot summer weather, the lesions are not as obvious,
and at that time the disease attacks the crown
and roots of the plant, thinning and destroying
large areas of garden lawns. Leaf spot can be
controlled with Scotts Lawn Fungus Control.
Red
Thread
Red thread creates discolored patterns in the
lawn from two inches to several feet in diameter.
Unaffected grass blades are usually interspersed
in the diseased area. When viewed closely, the
affected garden lawns grass blades reveal pink-to-red
thread-like strands at their tips. When moisture
is plentiful, a pinkish, cotton-candy-like mass
also often appears in the affected areas.
As
the disease progresses, the affected blades collapse
and turn brown. During the active stages, it can
spread from one area of the lawn to another by
foot traffic, mowing etc. Although it thrives
best in temperatures from 60°F to 75°F,
it is also commonly found on garden lawns in summertime,
when temperatures are higher.
To
prevent or cure red thread, apply Scotts Lawn
Fungus Control.
Watering
Your Lawn
When watering your garden lawns, it is best to
do one really good watering each week, as opposed
to frequent "sprinkles". Its best to
water to a depth of 1 inch so that the water reaches
the roots of the grass. If you aren´t sure
how long that takes, then get a small can, like
a tuna can, and put it within reach of your sprinkler.
When the can is full, its time to move the sprinkler.
Water your garden lawns when the grass is dry
enough that you leave footprints as you walk across
the yard.
Ornamental Grass Groundcovers
There are ornamental grasses that can be used
as attractive and interesting groundcovers. Texas
sedge, dwarf lilyturf, striped Japanese Muhly
grass, pygmy bamboo, alpine foxtail grass and
buffalo grass. These can provide a rich textural
and contrast element to your garden lawns.
Ornamental Grasses for Screening
Blue tower switch grass and giant maiden grass
are two excellent choices for screening ugly views.
Variegated giant reed and golden bamboo are also
excellent choices for this purpose. The tallest
of them, variegated giant reed, can reach 25 feet
in height, under ideal conditions.
Shady Garden Lawns Grasses
Other good grasses for the shady spots in your
garden are:
giant fescue-zone 5, height: 5 feet
golden Hakone grass- zone5, height: 1 foot
tufted hair grass- zone 4, height: 2 feet
weeping sedge- zone 8, height: 3 feet
Northern sea oats- zone 6, height: 6 feet
Most if not all of these grasses prefer light,
moist slightly acidic soils.
Ornamental Garden Lawns Grasses for Shade
These are some very good choices for shady spots.
Keep in mind, that some grasses can be invasive,
and may be best left in containers.
Bottlebrush grass-zone 4, height 3 feet. Olive
green foliage, and pink bottlebrush like flowers.
This grass likes a moist, sandy soil.
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