Winter Lawns In The Phoenix Metro Area

The Phoenix metro area has a great green lawn advantage.  You can have green grass all year long, even though the winter and summer climates are very different. The way this is done is by growing Bermuda grass in summer and Rye grass in winter. Although grass consumes relatively large amounts of water, an accurate understanding of how much water the grass really needs can minimize waste.

Transitioning from Ryegrass to Dormant Bermuda
Since Bermuda grass only needs to be planted once, subsequent summers will involve the Bermuda coming out of dormancy. The Bermuda will come in more fully and rapidly if the death of the Ryegrass is accelerated by letting it dry out in early May. Two weeks without watering is usually sufficient to kill the rye grass. After the Rye grass has turned brown, resume watering to encourage the Bermuda out of dormancy.

Ryegrass Life Cycle
Rye is grown in the Phoenix area in winter. Since Rye does not survive the summer, it needs to be replanted every fall, in the middle of October. Ryegrass stays a lustrous dark green until the middle of May, when it quickly dies off as temperatures approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Choosing a Ryegrass Type
Rye grass comes in two types, perennial and annual. In the lower desert, both types are more or less annual because the summer heat kills them. Perennial is more expensive than annual, but the extra cost is generally worth it, considering the effort involved in overseeding. Perennial germinates faster, has a finer leaf texture, a darker green color, and is more vigorous than annual. Also, perennial Ryegrass doesn't produce grass stains like annual does.

Planting Ryegrass
The best time to overseed Bermuda with Rye, in the Phoenix area, is from early to middle October. Plant too early and the sun can bake the seedlings. Also, when the weather is still hot the Bermuda is still growing and will compete with the Rye seedlings. Plant too late and germination is slow because the weather isn't warm enough. So, there is a relatively small window of opportunity.

More importantly you can let Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance do all the landscape work for you and take the burden off your shoulders all together.  Give us a call at 623-848-8277 and let’s talk about it.

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Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
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