The
Phoenix Metro area has wonderful weather that gives us year round opportunities
for plants and grass. But it isn’t something
that happens with no effort on the part of your commercial property manager.
Planning and the right maintenance program areall part of a beautiful property
for your clients and customers. Some steps are outlined in the following
article.
Aeration
To
maintain a healthy lawn through periods of stress, the soil should have
adequate water, air and nutrients in the top 6 to 10 inches. Soils that are
hard and compacted impede root growth, which prevents the grass from developing
the deep root system that is essential to survive hot, dry periods.
Core
aeration is the process of mechanically removing plugs of thatch and soil from
the lawn. Aeration opens the soil, helps reduce compaction, improves water
infiltration, improves rooting, reduces thatch and acts in many other ways to
improve the lawn and to reduce stress.
Power
raking is also an effective way to reduce thatch buildup, but it does not have
the soil stress alleviation effects of core aeration. These techniques are
labor intensive processes that require specialized equipment, but they may be
necessary to maintain your lawn in top condition over an extended period of
time.
Core
aerification can be used to minimize thatch accumulation, to modify its
physical characteristics, and to remove certain amounts of thatch. Core
cultivation is not as effective as power raking in removing thatch debris, but
serves more immediately to reduce soil compaction. Soil cores are either
removed or allowed to stay in place after the cultivation process. When left on
the surface, cores can be allowed to breakdown and redistribute soil throughout
the thatch. Surface cores when dried can be broken up by raking or dragging the
lawn with a weighted carpet mat or chain link fence. Cores can be mowed by
using a rotary mower at a low travel speed when using a vertical spring blade
(dethatch) attachment. This will usually lift up the dry core and pulverize it.
The soil within the core modifies the physical structure of the thatch, making
it a better growing medium. Soil incorporation also enhances thatch breakdown
by improving physical properties of thatch and introducing microorganisms. Core
cultivation can be done once a year during the vigorous growing season for
bermuda grass to minimize thatch accumulation. Most turfgrasses growing on
heavy clay or layered soils require annual cultivation to restrict thatch
buildup and more importantly, to relieve soil compaction. Core cultivation is
not a substitute for dethatching!
It
is not necessary to add topdressing as an attempt to fill in the holes in most
cases. Most soils will respond to a topdressing of organic matter, but it is
difficult to fill the holes entirely with an amendment. However, this is a
logical time to topdress. Aerification can be done once a year on home lawns.
It is best done on warm season grasses during the first third of the summer and
in the early fall at higher elevations on Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, and
ryegrass lawns (see Maintenance Table).
Spring
Transition-Back to Bermudagrass
The
return of bermudagrass in the spring is lessened and sometimes a struggle due
to the overseed ryegrass. Twenty years ago, simply shortening the mowing
heights with more frequent mowings would kill the ryegrass. This is still true
for annual ryegrass and the hybrid ryegrass, but not for perennial ryegrass.
Spring transition can be a unsightly time for turf. For a better transition,
start these practices only when the minimum nighttime temperature is 60ºF or
higher for five days in a row. Fertilize the lawn once per week with 1/4 pound
of water soluble N. Scalp the lawn slightly every other mowing. Apply regular
irrigation amounts as usual. Do not shut off the water for 10_14 days. This
will damage the underlying bermudagrass. Keep on this schedule for 3-4 weeks.
Then return to the normal base height for the underlying bermudagrass. Mow
regularly, as you would for the bermudagrass variety you are growing. Areas
with poor transition by mid-summer are probably growing in shaded and/or wet
areas, which heavily favor ryegrass.
It
doesn’t matter to us whether you want desert landscaping, lush lawns or some
type of landscaping in between, we can help.
We serve businesses like yours all over the Phoenix Metro Area. To find
out how give us a call at 623-848-8277.
Presented
by:
Greens
Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
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