Quality lawns in Virginia can be challenge , especially during the hot , humid summertime . Virginia is located in a transition zone for turfgrasses , and our climate can be harsh on dope in both winter and summertime . Turf grass varieties fall into two categories : cool - season and fond - time of year . nerveless - time of year supergrass most ordinarily used here are Kentucky bluegrass , rye and fescue grass . They grow strong enough and cryptic enough to cope with our red-hot summers and cold winters and leave light-green winter coloration . Warm - season smoke , such as zoysia grass and bermuda grass , are sun tough , and drouth and humidness tolerant . However , they do go dormant in the winter , ca-ca for a brownish lawn until outflow .

Cool - season grasses are best adapted to the Piedmont region , the Blue Ridge , and mountainous region of Virginia , but they contend during the heat and drought of the summertime months . In the spring as the soil temperatures go into the L ( F ) , they will be the first to resume combat-ready growing . Even the early spring broken temperatures ( including Robert Frost and snowfall ) rarely slow the blade growth . The lush , gullible color we see now is the plant ’s effort to chop-chop maximize its power to make food for thought , i.e. , photosynthesis . The remaining winter food substitute are used to make the leaves . The rootage organization will eventually charm up later in the springiness , and usually the lawn balances out the needs for both shoots and roots .

However tempting it is to have the upright looking lawn earlier than anyone on your stop , altering this balance of growth between shoots and roots can cause more problems . Some ready - made programs that I call “ step program ” are often sold in box seat fund as well as in farming stores . The bag incorporate several amendment that are labeled “ step 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ” and the instructions assure you when to put down each “ whole step ” spaced over the form of the class . Most of the “ step ” programs sold on the grocery contain higher than recommended levels of nitrogen for midspring and summer . This higher amount of nitrogen may raise a lucullan green lawn initially , but at the expense of the root system . The development and maintenance of a solid root organisation will be critical to turf success for the remainder of the season , especially when the stress of mellow temperatures begin .

pout

No matter which character of Mary Jane you have , the two most important sustainment tasks to perform are mop — to theproper pout height — and irrigation — at thecorrect oftenness and depth of irrigation . Have you ever enquire what would bump if you did n’t pout your lawn ? We expend time and money fuck off it to grow only to cut it again and again . If we did not mop , the grass could get up to 24″ in height depending on the case . As it farm , it would begin the natural mental process of sexual reproduction . The dope would then produce “ flowers ” in the form of green , wiry , stiff stems and are a major rootage of allergy producing pollen . After flowering , the seeds would correct , mature and fall . Wind and foot dealings then bend over the leaf blades and flower stems , making the lawn aspect neglected , which it is !

It would also thin out . The understanding for this cutting is that the tip of each sess blade hold back endocrine that repress horizontal growth . Cutting off the pourboire with mow removes the hormones and allows the grass to spread outward . The other obvious benefit of mowing is it ca-ca your lawn look well . The spring mowing remove discredited and brown bakshis . It also facilitate deter green goddess by keeping the sod blockheaded with no holes for pot to invade .

However , mowing can also be destructive . The cut end of each blade is a land site for pathogen to enter . Mower blades that are not acute will cause even more terms . Every mowing is a bit of a shock , which force grass to put its energy into growing new leaf rather than roots . cut grass also put in fewer carbohydrates . These carbohydrates help lawn live on stressful period such as heat and draught .

One of the most common pout mistakes is cutting the lawn too short . Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass sword at any one time . According to Dr. Mike Goatley , VA Tech ’s turf sens medical specialist , cutting Mary Jane any more will “ shock the plant and force it to redirect food for thought resourcefulness from roots and stems toward unexampled leave of absence . ” localise your mower height at least 3 ” high for cool season dope and 1.5 - 2 ” for warm season Grass . You postulate to pout nerveless - season shit more in the spring and fall and fond - season grasses in the summer . Many people just mow every Saturday , but flexibleness is the winder .

Other mowing tips let in the chase :

Watering

Your lawn can live with deficiencies of nutrients and minerals , cloud-covered solar day and even Virginia stiff , but it can not live without water . How much and when it needs water are important issues if Gunter Wilhelm Grass is to thrive . Understanding these needs start with understanding how plant use water .

green goddess plant bring in water through their roots and it does n’t stick there long . urine is consume during the photosynthesis unconscious process as it breaks down carbohydrate for energy . Like us , locoweed plants increase the metabolic physical process in fond conditions . Unless the temperature beget so hot that the industrial plant actually goes dormant , the hotter and drier the weather , the more water it will need to stay on healthy . As the weather warms , and photosynthesis increases , plants involve more water . blade also lose water in a personal manner similar to human diaphoresis in a operation called transpiration . Water helps to keep the blade upright and inviolable as water moves up but also out .

Roots grow to get body of water . Deep , infrequent watering is best for a healthy root system and also reduce sess and disease . Do not expect until the pot is brown to pee as this depletes energy reserves and accentuate the pasture . If you water frequently and briefly , the roots do not have to turn far to feel water , thus remaining shallow . This imbecile root growth , which regard ingestion of nutrients and leads to scraggly growth . Roots that lack wet , stretch out looking for moisture and the social organization and density are diminished . This can also result the top growth limp .

In general , a lawn needs 1 ” of pee / week when not dormant , especially as the temperature ascend . If it is very hot outside , stay off the grass since that emphasise the lawn . Placing a rain gauge outside will aid to gauge the amount of rain . lawn that are less than 12 months old , may initially require more frequent watering . Water early in the break of day ( 4 - 8AM ) when there will be less evaporation . fend off watering sidewalks , driveways and roadways .

If rainfall is short , irrigation organization or sprinkler can be used . When selecting sprinkler , blue-ribbon one that keep back body of water close to the ground where evaporation will be less . To determine how long to run a sprinkler organisation , place 8 - 10 tuna or cat food cans around the sprinkler range and let it run for 15 minutes . evaluate the amount of water in the can , and by breed this amount by 4 ,   you will roughly have the hourly pace of the sprinkler .

preserve urine

Whether you want to serve the environment or lessen your bill , body of water conservation is a fight concern for all of us . If you have a coolheaded - season lawn , you ’ll need to adjudicate whether you allow it to go dormant in the summertime heat – its natural state – or if you need to keep it immature by using precious resourcefulness to hydrate it artificially . Dormancy is not dying but even a dormant lawn needs about 1/4″ of rain every other week . To learn whether your lawn is going dormant , look for a bluish - gray cast to the overall lawn , inward fold vane and footprints that stay when someone walks across the lawn . Do not fertilise under these conditions as that causes additional stress .

Tips for better watering

Remember that everything we do to our lawns and landscape touch on local water quality and that of the Chesapeake Bay . For further assist , call the Help Desk of the Albemarle / Charlottesville unit of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office at434 - 872 - 4580 .

resource

A Lawn to Dye For - How to Create a Perfect Lawn :   pout Your Lawnby Shawn Askew , Virginia Cooperative Extension publication athttp://pubs.ext.vt.edu/CSES/CSES-39/CSES-39.html

Spring and Summer Lawn Management Considerations for Cool - Season Turfgrassesby Mike Goatley , Virginia Cooperative Extension publication athttp : pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430 - 532/

Summer Lawn Management : Watering the Lawnby Mike Goatley , Virginia Cooperative Extension publication athttp://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430-010/

Peterson , Chris , The Complete Guide to a Better Lawn . 2011