Tips to have the greenest grass on the block

The year has been quickly passing by, and we have already found ourselves in the early summer months. We have been greeted by a fair share of rain in the early parts of June, and our local landscapes have been thankful for it. Along with the additional rainfall our thermostats have slowly continued to climb as we get into the summer season. Grass has begun growing more aggressively along with our plants and we wanted to take a minute to talk about what to consider at this time.

Have you ever passed by a home lawn and thought, “wow, this looks just like a golf course.” Those types of results do not come on their own, it takes an attentive home owner who spends hours in their lawn each week making sure every detail is pristine. Now not everyone has the time, or desire, to spend hours in their yard each week but routine maintenance is essential to a nice lawn.

The first thing to consider this time of year are our cultural practices, most importantly mowing and watering schedules. Knowing what type of grass you have is the first step, as each of our warm season grasses have their own preferred mowing height. Once you know the height needed for your grass type it is important to maintain the lawn at that height throughout the entire growing season.

Different grass types and nutrient applications may cause the lawns to grow at different rates but the important thing to remember is you do not want to take more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time, knowing that will help establish how frequently mowing is needed.

With the additional rainfall many homeowners have temporarily turned their irrigation off, which we recommend, but don’t forget to switch it back. The goal is to get a little more than an inch of water per week this time of year. We recommend watering 2-3 times per week if we are not receiving heavy rainfall, any more frequent than that and you run the risk of shallow roots and fungal damage.

We have begun seeing grey leaf spot fungal activity in many St. Augustine lawns. This fungus usually appears around the summer time in only St. Augustine lawns. It begins by making small dark spots on the blade and eventually wilting and discoloring it. If you see the signs in your lawn we recommend treating with a fungicide.

In addition to fungal activity, we are seeing the presence of more and more insects. Many of the insects you come across are harmless to lawns but there are a few to be cautious of. In St. Augustine, you want to look out for chinch bugs, which usually hit the hottest parts of the lawn and turn the blades yellow before killing them.

In Centipede and Bermuda, you want to keep an eye out for mole crickets, which attack from the root leaving the grass on the surface brown then bare. Lastly in all turf types you want to watch for grub damage and incoming sod webworms. Sod webworms typically start later in the summer and into the fall.

At this point in the season everything should be fertilized and growing nicely. If you have not fertilized yet, go ahead and put out a safe rate for your grass and soil type. As long as you stick to the proper cultural practice and keep an eye out for pest (treating accordingly) you should expect some good results in your lawn.

Zach Deloach is the owner of Lawn Doctor of Beaufort County.