Helpful Terms

Below you will find quick links to the terms described here:

Controlled Release Fertilizers
Crabgrass
Drought Stress
Girdling
Grassy Weed Control
Hot Spots
Mowing Damage

pH Level
Post Emergent Weed Controls
Potbound Plants
Pre Emergent Weed Controls
Root Rot-Wet Feet
Thatch
Winter Injury

Controlled Release Fertilizers:
These types of fertilizers are designed to release nitrogen over specific periods of time. The most common forms of controlled release fertilizers have the nitrogen source encapsulated in sulfur. As the sulfur coating wears off, the nitrogen releases. Most sulfur coated nitrogen fertilizers release over an 8-12 week period. There are other types of controlled release fertilizers that require microbial activity, warm temperatures, and moisture to release the nitrogen. These fertilizers can take up to a year to fully release.

Crabgrass:
Crabgrass is a summer annual grassy weed. It grows during the spring and summer. The best way to control crabgrass is to apply preventative treatments in the spring that stop the germination of crabgrass seeds.

Drought Stress:
Drought stress is caused by periods of hot, dry weather. Even lawns with in-ground irrigation systems can turn yellowish brown in areas due to drought stress. Natural rainfall, and the other conditions that go along with it, is the best means of watering ornamental turf. Sometimes rocks, gravel, sand, or other buried debris in the lawn can cause areas to go into drought stress. This debris causes the soil to heat up and it burns the turf.

Girdling:
Girding happens to a tree or shrub when wire or nylon ties are not removed or loosened to allow for growth. As the tree expands, it is damaged by the obstruction and sometimes the flow of nutrients will be cut off to the plant material behind the obstruction. This can cause serious injury or death of the material.

Grassy Weed Control:
Grassy weed control refers to herbicides that are designed to kill one type of grass growing in another type of grass ( the target crop ) without causing irreparable damage to the crop grass. Damage can and sometimes does occur to the crop grass, but if used at the proper rates during the proper temperature periods, control of the grassy weed can be achieved without killing the crop grass.

Hot Spots:
Hot spots are drought stress areas caused by buried rock, gravel, sand, or other debris close to the surface of the ground. The debris heats the soil, which causes moisture to evaporate. This causes dry, brown or yellow areas to show up in the grass.

The only true way to rid your lawn of hot spots is to remove the material that is causing the damage. That may be easier said than done.

Hot Spot

Mower Damage:
Mower damage is most often seen in bermuda or zoysia lawns. When these grass types are not frequently mowed, all of the parts of the grass plants that produce chlorophyll are removed. This leaves a brown stalk, and the entire turfgrass area turns brown. Consistent frequent mowing, along with putting sand in low areas or ruts will stop mower damage from occurring.

Turf repairing itself from mower damage often has splotchy, irregular green and brown areas a week or so after it was damaged. The lawn uses any stored nutrients and fertilizers much faster when it is forced to repair itself from mowing damage. This leads to color and density problems.

pH Level:
The pH level of the soil refers to its level of acidity or alkalinity. The scale runs from 1 to 14, with 7 being neutral, 1 being highly acidic, and 14 highly alkaline. Red clay soils tend to be acidic. We apply pelletized limestone yearly on our lawns to help keep the clay from becoming too acidic.

Post-emergent Weed Control:
This refers to a herbicide that is designed to control weeds after they have germinated and began to develop. Some post-emergent herbicides are selective; they are designed to control weeds without causing irreparable damage to the grass. Other post-emergent herbicides are non-selective; they are designed to control all types of vegetation.

Potbound Plants:
Plants become potbound if the root balls are not disturbed and broken loose before they are planted. The feeder roots are constrained in the pots in which the plants were growing, and they will continue to grow in the same pattern unless the root balls are broken up at least slightly. the plant will be unable to take in enough water and nutrients to survive and develop unless its roots are able to grow outwards to find the nutrients.

Pre-emergent Weed Control:
This refers to a herbicide that is designed to control annual weeds when they are still in seed form. A pre-emergent herbicide interferes with a weed seed's ability to germinate and develop. this is the most effective way to control summer or winter annual weeds. Some weeds come back each season from roots, and some annual weed seeds are much larger than others. These weeds will most likely not be controlled by a pre-emergent herbicide.

Root Rot:/Wet Feet:
This is a condition that occurs to trees and shrubs that have been planted in an area that holds too much water. Only a select few plants can survive in extremely moist conditions. The excess water in conjunction with heat and humidity will often cause the roots to develop fungus or disease. Planting trees and shrubs in areas that drain well will lessen the possibility of plants having this condition.

Boxwoods are often affected by this condition. Improving soil drainage and pruning out the damaged limbs will help them to recover.

Root Rot

Thatch:
Thatch is a dense, spongy collection of living and dead grass stems and roots lying between the soil surface and green grass leaves in established lawns. As a grass plant grows, the older plant matter from roots, and stems is often slow to decompose and begins to accumulate at the soil surface forming this thatch layer.

A thatch layer greater than ½ inch thick makes watering difficult, since thatch dries out quickly and is difficult to re-wet. It also restricts the movement of pesticides, thus reducing their effectiveness. Nutrients and water cannot be properly absorbed by the grass roots that tend to grow into this area.

Heavy thatch promotes the grass roots to grow shallow. Shallow roots are more susceptible to damage from freezes, frosts, and wind-chill. Thus, lawns with heavy thatch are more prone to winter damage.

Thatch

Winter Injury:
Several different things can cause winter injury to turfgrass. One of the most common causes is lawns that are mowed low during the summer being left low over the winter. It is better to leave bermuda and zoysia grass a bit taller going into the winter in order to protect the roots and crowns from freezes, frosts, wind chill and any snow we may have. Another main cause of winter injury is heavy thatch. When a lawn has a heavy thatch layer, bermuda and zoysia roots will grow in the thatch layer rather than in the soil. This makes the roots very susceptible to freeze damage. Yet another cause of winter injury is excessive nitrogen levels in conjunction with extended warmer temperatures in winter. Bermuda and zoysia will begin to try to green up if the soil temperatures rise for several days in a row.

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