Ernie's Pro Lawn Co

Lawn Care for Frisco, Little Elm, Prosper, McKinney, Plano, Carrollton, Flower Mound, Lewisville,

You are here: Home / Archives for Jeremy Langlitz

St. Augustine Grass

by

St. Augustine Grass

St. Augustine grass is a Warm Season grass.  St. Augustine is a strong grass in warm climates.  It has a high shade tolerance, usually requiring a minimum of four (4) hours of sunlight.  Its water requirement is medium compared to other Warm Season grasses.

St. Augustine grass has a medium tolerance to salinity, and a low tolerance to cold, usually not surviving temperatures less than 15 degrees Fahrenheit.  Additionally it has a low tolerance to traffic, and has a high disease potential.  St. Augustine grass should be mowed every five to seven (5-7) days, and should be maintained at a height of two and one-half inches to three and one-half inches (2.5” – 3.5”).

St. Augustine grass can be grown from springs or from sod.  It cannot be grown from seed.

In the correct areas of the country, St. Augustine grass is one of the strongest grasses available.  Some of the varieties available include Floratam, Seville, and Raleigh.

 

Selecting the Correct Grass for Your Landscape

by

Selecting the Correct Grass for Your Landscape

Selecting the correct grass for your specific landscape, and soil, is very important to having a successful landscape.  First, you should take a soil sample from each area of your landscape and have it tested.

There are home soil test that can be done.  Usually, garden centers, nurseries, Home Depot, and Lowes have home testing kits.  Also, many county extension services offer soil testing.  Contact your county extension agent, or lawn care professional, to see if they offer soil testing and for their procedure.

Grasses are divided into two categories.  There are Warm Season grasses and Cool Season grasses.  Warm Season grasses include St. Augustine, Bermuda, Buffalo, Centipede, Zoysia Japonica, and Zoysia Matrella.  Cool Season grasses include Annual Bluegrass, Annual Ryegrass, Canada Bluegrass, Chewing Fescue, Colonial Bentgrass, Creeping Bentgrass, Hard Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Red Fescue, Rough Bluegrass, Sheeps Fescue, and Tall Fescue.

Selecting the correct grass for your landscape will depend on your location, soil composition, and specific landscape need.

How to Properly Line-Trim Your Lawn

by

How to Properly Line-Trim Your Lawn

First, protect yourself by wearing proper personal protection clothing.  Proper personal protection clothing include, shoes, long pants, shirt, protective headwear, safety glasses, or preferably safety shield.  Line-trimmers can exceed 14,500 RMP, and will throw anything that it comes in contact with, including, grass, weeds, sticks, limbs, rocks, toys, etc.  There should not be any people, especially children in the area when using the line-trimmer.  The line can also cut you or anyone that it comes in contact with, please use that line-trimmer responsibly.

The common word for a line-trimmer is “weed-eater”.  Line-trimmers come in various models.  Basically, they can be electrical, battery powered, or gasoline powered; and come with either straight or curved shafts.  Personally, I have found that a straight shaft is more precise and easier to use.

When should you use the line-trimmer?  Every time that you mow your lawn, you should also use the line-trimmer to trim the lawn.  The line-trimmer should be used after you have used the mower to mow the lawn.  When using the mower to mow the lawn, you should not let the wheels get off the grass onto the sidewalk, and you should only mow close (within 3” of the sidewalk, planting bed borders, etc.  The line-trimmer should be used to put the finishing touches on the lawn, around the planting beds, foundation, etc.  Please take caution using a line-trimmer around plants and trees, as the line-trimmer can damage them.

The height of the line-trimming done by the line trimmer, should match the height of the newly cut lawn.  You should not allow the line-trimmer to cut lower than the cut lawn, or scalp an area.  This can be accomplished through practice and diligence.  Don’t run the line-trimmer at the fastest speed.  If you are running the line-trimmer at the fastest speed, and make a mistake on trimming height, it will usually leave a scalped area.  Line-trimmers can reach speeds up to 14,500 RPM or higher.  At the fastest speed it can cut through small plants, high weeds, and grass.  If you are mowing your lawn regularly, then you should not need to run the line-trimmer any faster than approximately one-third speed.  Remember, line-trimming puts the finishing touches on your lawn, slower speed will give you better control, and better results.

Line-trimmers should not be used to “edge” the grass along the street curb and sidewalk.  You will get much straighter lines and better results by using a steel blade edger for these areas.

If you are using a lawn care company and the line-trimming is resulting in un-even trimming, scalped areas, or they are using the line-trimmer as an edger, you should find another lawn care company, as the one that you have is not a professional lawn care company.

How Often Should I Mow My Lawn?

by

How Often Should I Mow My Lawn?

The most important rule here is never cut off more than 1/3 of the grass leaf length.  During the growing season, it is recommended that Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass be cut every 4-5 days.  However, no one other than golf courses follow this practice.  Most commercial and residential lawns are cut on a weekly basis.  Therefore, simple math shows that if you mow your lawn on a weekly basis, then you are 40% over the recommended time.  Some people want to have the lawn cut on a bi-weekly basis.  Mowing on a bi-weekly basis would be letting the lawn grow almost 200% more without cutting than recommended.

To have a healthy lawn, you need to mow regularly (at least weekly during the growing season), adequate watering, and proper fertilization.  Mowing your lawn, during the growing season, any less than weekly, results in weak grass, allowing weed invasion and/or loss of turf.

Bermuda Grass

by

Bermuda Grass

Bermuda grass is a Warm Season grass.  Bermuda is a strong grass in warm climates.  It has a low shade tolerance, usually requiring a minimum of six (6) hours of sunlight.  Its water requirement is medium to low compared to other Warm Season grasses.

Bermuda grass has a medium to high tolerance to salinity, and a medium tolerance to cold, usually not surviving temperatures less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  Additionally it has a high tolerance to traffic, and has a medium to low disease potential.  Bermuda grass should be mowed every three to seven (3-7) days, and should be maintained at a height of one inch to two inches (1.0” – 2.0”).

Bermuda grass can be grown from seed or from sod.  There are many different varieties on Bermuda grass.  The Common Bermuda is mostly adapted for lawns, however, there are also many hybrid varieties including Celebration Bermuda, Quickstand Bermuda, Texas Turf 10 Bermuda, Tifgreen 328 Bermuda, Tifway 419 Bermuda.

In the correct areas of the country, Bermuda grass is one of the strongest grasses available.