Carolina Lawns A Guide to Maintaining Quality Turf in the Landscape Carolina Lawns A Guide to Maintaining Quality Turf in the Landscape awns are smooth, living carpets that add beauty and recreational space to your home. The benefits of a healthy lawn go beyond the obvious. As Lyour grass grows, it helps the environment by stabilizing soil and reduc- ing air pollution, noise, heat, dust, and glare. Surveys show that an attractive, well-landscaped lawn can even add to the value of your home. To reap the rewards of a handsome lawn, take great care in the selection, establishment, maintenance, and renovation of your lawn grass. By making the proper choices, you can create a durable lawn that will grow with minimal maintenance and pesticide use. C O N T E N T S Recommendations for the use What to Plant......................................................................................................................................... 4 of agricultural chemicals are . Cool-season.grasses........................................................................................................................ 4 included in this publication as a . Warm-season.grasses..................................................................................................................... 5 convenience to the reader. The Establishing a New Lawn.................................................................................................................11. use of brand names and any . Site.Preparation.............................................................................................................................. mention or listing of commercial . Soil.Preparation................................................................................................................................ products or services in this pub- . Fertilization.......................................................................................................................................2 lication does not imply endorse- . When.to.Plant..................................................................................................................................2 ment by the North Carolina . How.to.Plant.....................................................................................................................................4 Cooperative Extension Service nor discrimination against Caring for a New Lawn......................................................................................................................15 similar products or services not . Irrigating,.Mowing,.Pest.Control...............................................................................................5 mentioned. Individuals who Maintaining an Established Lawn................................................................................................16 use agricultural chemicals are . Irrigating............................................................................................................................................6 responsible for ensuring that the . Mowing..............................................................................................................................................7 intended use complies with cur- . Fertilizing..........................................................................................................................................7 rent regulations and conforms to . Coring.(Aerification)......................................................................................................................8 the product label. Be sure to ob- . Power.Raking.(Verticutting).......................................................................................................8 tain current information about Renovating a Lawn.............................................................................................................................18 usage regulations and examine . When.to.Renovate.........................................................................................................................8 a current product label before applying any chemical. For . Weed.Control...................................................................................................................................20 assistance, contact your county . Preparation.for.Seeding...............................................................................................................20 Cooperative Extension agent. Seeding..............................................................................................................................................20 Professional lawn care com- . Plugging............................................................................................................................................2 panies may use a maintenance . Sprigging.Large.Areas..................................................................................................................2 schedule that differs from what . Care.After.Planting.........................................................................................................................2 is described in this publication, Integrated Pest Management........................................................................................................21 and it may be equally effective. Glossary...................................................................................................................................................22 For.More.Information..........................................................................................................................23 What To Plant season grasses remain green throughout most of the Whether you are establishing a new lawn or renovat- winter. They are better adapted to the mountains and ing an existing one, deciding which type of grass to piedmont. These grasses perform best in spring and plant will be the first step. No one type of grass is best fall and have a tendency to show signs of stress in the suited to all situations. A number of factors should be summer. This is especially true as you move toward the considered before deciding which lawn grass to plant. coastal plain. Cool-season grasses are best seeded in Your decision should be based on region, climate, in- early fall, but fair results may be obtained from seed- tended use or wear at the site, and desired appearance. ing in early spring (mid-February to late March in the Find your region in the map in Figure 1. Both piedmont). Generally, late winter or spring seeding of cool-season (northern) and warm-season (southern) these grasses is not recommended. grasses are grown in North Carolina (Table 1, page 5). Tall fescue is best adapted to the mountains and pied- Cool-season grasses grow best in the spring and fall mont but can be successfully maintained on the heavy and less actively in the summer. They stay reasonably silt loams in the coastal plain. It is a reliable performer green in the winter. Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and easily started from seed. It is the best grass to fine fescue, and perennial ryegrass are common types plant if you want a year-round green lawn. Tall fescue of cool-season grasses. Table 3 (page 9) rates the per- thrives in sun or medium shade. It will not perform formance of various cultivars of these grasses in North well in full sun in the coastal plain, especially if the soil Carolina. Warm-season grasses are slow to green up in is sandy. It can be seeded by itself or mixed with Ken- the spring, grow best in the summer, and go dormant tucky bluegrass, fine fescue, or both, particularly where after the first heavy frost. Table 4 (page 10) lists many shade is a concern. Tall fescue is a bunch-type grass, so warm-season cultivars. damaged or bare areas will need to be re-seeded. It ex- Also consider the characteristics of each site and hibits good disease resistance, drought tolerance, and your goals to determine which types of grass are cold tolerance; tolerates moderate traffic; and persists appropriate. Choose the grass that best meets your with minimum care. Several improved tall fescue culti- preference for color, density, and texture. Choose a vars have been developed that are more shade tolerant, tough, aggressive, wear-tolerant grass where heavy denser, and finer textured than Kentucky 31, a com- traffic is expected. And consider the amount of time, monly used older cultivar. These characteristics become effort, and money you are willing to spend for turf- more evident as the turf matures and the maintenance grass maintenance. level increases. Research has shown that some of these improved cultivars also have darker green color, Cool-season Grasses improved disease tolerance, lower growth habit, better Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, wear tolerance, and drought tolerance. and fine fescues—such as creeping red, chewings, Experts recommend that a blend of two or three and hard—are cool-season perennial grasses used for cultivars be planted rather than seeding just a single lawns, mostly in the mountain and piedmont regions cultivar. This broadens the genetic base and gives of North Carolina. Unlike warm-season grasses, cool- the turf a better chance of withstanding a variety of Mountains Piedmont Coastal Plain Figure 1. Area of adaptation of turfgrasses in North Carolina. 4 challenges. Use a seeding rate of 6 pounds per 1,000 is also common for Kentucky bluegrass to be seeded in square feet (sq ft). Don’t assume