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There's hope for your lawn
Now's the time to get most lawn grasses off to a good start
When the weather heats up, so does the urge to have a beautiful lawn. And spring through early summer is the time to get that sod or seed down.
Grass really takes off when temperatures are above 70 degrees at night and in the mid-80s to low-90s during the day, says Dr. Jim McAfee, Texas Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist. That makes mid- to late-April ideal. Although temperatures aren't that hot yet, it is perfectly OK to get started now.
One exception: Tall fescue is best planted in early fall.
When replacing dead grass or laying down a whole new lawn, Extension recommends starting with good, amended soil, at least 6 inches. Once the sod or seed is down, water it immediately, and keep it moist while it is being established.
Here's a look at seven grasses recommended by TAMU for homeowners. The Aggieturf.tamu.edu Web site has many more helpful tips for lawn care.
Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf From the Guru of Grass, (New American Library, $15 paperback), is an easy-reading and authoritative book by Trey Rogers, professor of crop and soil sciences at Michigan State University. Some interesting observations and facts from his book:
"The average lawn contains six grass plants to every square inch. If your lawn is eighty-seven-hundred square feet, a fairly typical size, you have close to 7.5 million little plants to tend to."
"The bottom line on zoysia grass and Bermuda grass , if you're trying to choose between them, is that Bermuda grass is going to be a lot easier to establish."
Centipede grass: "This is one of the reasons why it's called lazy man's grass: It will stay kind of green without a lot of care ... bottom line, it's a pretty hardy grass. ... It has short, upward-growing stems that, when coupled with its creeping growing form, make it resemble a centipede – hence its name."
"Once established, buffalo grass can grow in areas that receive as little as 10 inches of moisture a year. ... If you want a green lawn, buffalo grass might not be for you."
"Here's a pro tip: With warm-season grasses, particularly Bermuda grass, you can save money by cutting your own sprigs or plugs from pieces of sod and spreading them around. It takes some muscle power, but the effort can be worth it if you're on a tight budget." Comparing lawn grasses
A quick guide to help choose which turf is right for you:
View the complete chart
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Source: Texas A&M University
Seed it or sod it?
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Source: Lawn Geek by Trey Rogers
Other methods include planting plugs, which are handful-size pieces of sod, 6 to 12 inches apart (cheaper than sod); sprigs, tops and roots that you can plant in furrows or poke into the ground (also inexpensive); hydroseeding, which combines seed, water, fertilizer and mulch into a slurry that you spread over a prepared bed; and strip sodding, essentially putting down strips of sod with space between each strip.
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