Mowing
Proper mowing is the single most important thing you can do to improve the quality and health of your lawn. Knowing when to mow and how high to mow is extremely important. This regulates many things, such as turf density, color, thatch, and even the lawn's ability to manufacture and store food. Improper mowing is, without a doubt, the most devastating problem a lawn can encounter. Remember - the lawn is grown in a micro-environment and must be treated as such.

Generally speaking, you should never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade. In order to do this, you must mow frequently enough to keep from removing too much. You cannot mow too frequently, however, you can wait too long. For the most part, during the cooler months, mowing less than every other week is sufficient. During the growing season, usually once per week is good. If you mow every other week during the growing season, you will cause a thatch buildup which will eventually kill the lawn. In the winter, excessive thatch will smother the lawn.

Normally, mulching is best because leaving clippings does not produce thatch. It is best to bag your clippings if you are leaving piles of grass because you waited too long to mow. Mulched clippings also return valuable nutrients and organic matter back to the soil.

The type of mower you use is not a factor unless you have hybrid grasses, such as hybrid Bermuda grass or hybrid Zoysia grass. In this case, a reel-type mower is necessary because it does a better job on these lower-growing grasses. Also, lower-growing grasses require increased mowing frequency. Unless you enjoy mowing, it is best to stay away from lower-growing hybrid grasses. Rotary mowers do a very good job on most lawn grasses.

When mowing your lawn, it is a good idea to mow in different directions each time. This will make your lawn appear more evenly-mowed and will reduce rutting caused by riding mowers following the same path each time.

We recommend that you mow Centipede grass at 1 1/2" to 2", St. Augustine grass at 2" to 2 1/2". If you have a combination of both, as many lawns do, simply mow at 2". Common Bermuda grass should be mowed 1" to 1 1/2" high. Once you select a mowing height, stay with it all season long. Do not gradually raise your mower deck height as the season progresses as this practice will increase thatch. Remember, after the first frost, or after your lawn turns brown in Winter, lower your mower one notch and remove the brown leaf blades of the grass.

Bagging will be necessary as you do this, because you will be getting a whole lot of brown grass blades and thatch out of your lawn. Leaving the grass short over Winter will decrease problems with Winter Kill, diseases, and will help your lawn "green up" faster in Spring.

After completing this one-time short mowing, raise the mower deck back to your normal season long cutting height. In case your lawn greens up and turns brown again with a late killing frost in the Spring, simply repeat this procedure.

Remember: On Stoloniferous grasses, such as Centipede and St. Augustine, the depth of the roots is more closely related to the length of the stolons rather than to the height of the grass. You can actually increase the quality and depth of your root system by adhering to proper mowing height and frequency.

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WATERING
Proper watering is the second-most important thing you can do to help your lawn look good. We want you to water in such a manner as to strengthen and deepen the root system of your lawn. Normally, it is not necessary to water from October through the beginning of the Spring dry period in May. This normal Spring drought period is good to relieve the high water tables caused by excessive rainfall in Late Winter. It is best to go along and not water during most of the drought because letting the soil dry out will bring air back to the soil, which will help stop root rot caused by the stagnation of excess wetness.

Field capacity is when the soil is completely saturated with water and no air is present. If your lawn stays wet too long, the soil will stagnate, driving out all of the air. As your soil dries, air will return to the soil. Remember: Lawns cannot take up water unless air is present in the soil. Stagnated soils kill the lawn. Flooded areas will also kill the lawn through stagnation and blocking light, which stops the lawn's ability to manufacture food.

If the ground moisture stays high too long, the roots will become shallow and surface-oriented. The ower roots rot and die. Sometimes, droughts occur immediately after this and will cause the lawn to die by shock. It is best to gradually allow your lawn to dry out. Excessive heat combined with saturated soil can cause steaming, so it is best not to water in the middle of the day during the heat of Summer. Morning watering is always best. This will allow your lawn to dry out before nightfall.

It's best not to water in the evening because this will leave your lawn with still (not moving) water on the leaf blades, which can contribute to disease formation.

In the Summer, when the lawn turns brown, you can water in one spot all night long. This moving water will not allow infection to develop because of the cleansing effect of the movement. You only want to do this to break the drought, then you can return to regular morning watering.

When watering, it is better to water frequently in a given area and not too frequently. Light, frequent waterings cause shallow surface-oriented roots, which is not healthy. Allow your lawn to dry between waterings to increase the depth and health of your lawn's root system.

Normally, watering for one to two hours in one spot is best. Do this only during dry periods, and, depending on how hot and dry it is, you may want to do it once or twice per week.

If disease activity is present, do not water. Most diseases require water to survive. If you have St. Augustine grass, pay particular attention to your watering because St. Augustine grass is so prone to disease.

If you have an irrigation system, leave it off in the Winter. During the heat of Summer, you can turn it back on and water about 20 - 30 minutes two or three times a week. Please do not water every day.

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LEAF REMOVAL
Allowing leaves to remain on the lawn over the Winter is bad for your lawn. Leaves can smother the lawn and increase disease activity. You can remove leaves by mowing and bagging, raking, and mulching. Soil in our area is very low in organic matter, and mulching will tend to improve this, usually without increasing thatch. However, too much of a good thing can be bad. If you live in a forest, you may need to do all of the above.

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THATCH MANAGEMENT
Thatch is a layer of undecomposed stems, roots, leaves, and debris that accumulate between the above-ground stems, or solons, and the soil. This layer can compress and is called "mat" As this layer thickens, the grass roots may root into the mat rather than into the ground. Lawns rooted in this manner may have dead spots during extreme dry or cold periods.

There are two ways to get rid of thatch. First, don't allow it to develop. Second, remove it. Following proper mowing procedures will help keep thatch from occurring. This is discussed further in the mowing section above.

To remove thatch, we recommend that you do this only when your lawn is brown in the Winter.
First: Lower your mower deck one notch lower and bag clippings. This will remove brown leaf blades and undecomposed plant debris. You must bag it because if you don't, it just goes right back to form more thatch and mat.
Second: Rake hard with a regular leaf rake and remove litter. Some mowers have "Tine Rake" attachments which flick out thatch, which is then bagged by the mower.
Third: Core aerate the lawn. This process removes cores of soil and deposits them on top of the ground. By allowing more air movement, remaining thatch is decomposed aerobically. Core aeration also improves drainage, increases root depth, and relieves soil compaction, as well as helping to modify thatch by adding soil to the thatch layer. This allows soil bacteria to aid in the breakdown of the thatch layer.
We offer core aeration service in the Late Fall.

Never power dethatch your lawn with hook blade attachments or power dethatchers such as vertical mowers. These should only be used on rhizome-forming turf grasses, such as Bermuda and Zoysia, or on clump-type seeded grasses like K-31 Fescue. Centipede and St. Augustine grasses do not form rhizomes (below-ground stems) and form only stolons (above-ground stems). Using power dethatchers set too low can remove not only the thatch, but also the lawn itself.

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CORE AERATION
Earlier, in watering, we discussed the benefits of allowing air to be present in the soil. Without air in the soil, the grass cannot take up water even if it is present. There are many ways of adding air to the soil, such as soaking and drying out the soil, slicing, spiking, and Core Aeration. Of the mechanical means, Core Aeration is best. This process improves fertilizer uptake, increases drainage, improves rooting, reduces soil compaction, increases thatch breakdown, and improves drought tolerance.

We have found that Core Aeration can also break the pre-emergence barriers and increase weed problems. For this reason, we offer Core Aeration between the Fall and Winter pre-emergence applications only. We recommend Core Aeration at this time because it will not interfere with weed control and it will help in the thatch management process. This service is available at additional cost.

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MULCHING SHRUBS
Placing mulch around your shrubs is very important. Mulch is applied to provide even moisture for your plants, protect plants from heat and cold stress, help control weeds, and to beautify beds and areas where the lawn is shaded out beneath the shrubs.

Generally, a mulch of 2 to 4 inches is sufficient. Mulching materials such as shredded oak bark, pine bark nuggets, pine straw, and leaves work well. We do not recommend grass clippings; this green litter will act more like fresh compost than mulch. Fresh compost will generate heat during the decomposition process, and older compost is much like soil. You can smother roots by adding more than 2 inches of soil under your shrubs.

Before applying mulch, you can lay down a mesh cloth that will aid in weed control. We do not recommend black plastic because it will eliminate the soil's ability to breathe. Remember: air must be present in the soil for plants to utilize moisture.

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PRUNING SHRUBS
Pruning becomes necessary as shrubs mature in order to maintain the original landscape effect achieved by planting the shrubs. Pruning is almost always successful in Late Winter, however, it is important to consider flowering cycles. Plants such as Azaleas need to be pruned immediately after flowering. Since they flower on last year's new growth, late pruning will remove the flowers for next year. Roses and Crepe Myrtles need to be pruned in Late Winter because thse plants flower on the new growth of the season. Generally, if you are pruning flowering shrubs, it is best to do so immediately after the flowering cycle is complete.

If you are pruning to control size, it is best to remove 1/3 of the limbs each year for three years in order to reach the appropriate height. In this process, simply cut back only the long limbs, leaving the shorter ones. This process is called selective pruning and is always the best method of pruning to promote plant health.

Shearing shrubs to maintain a ball shape is never recommended because this process reduces the size of flowers and causes the leaves to only be found in the outer inches of the ball. The limbs are barren inside and air circulation is reduced. This encourages insect and disease development. Also, the lower parts of the ball become shaded out, causing an umbrella effect.

We don't recommend shearing. However, if you do, your plants will be healthier if you do not box or ball when you shear. If you must shear, we prefer that you leave your shrubs in an upside-down "V" shape on top rather than flat and sloping out "Christmas tree style" on the lower parts. This process will help your shrubs maintain fullness down to the ground. The ever-remaining problem with shearing is that the shrubs tend to lose limbs, leaving you with gaping holes on the outside of the shrub.

Again, with selective pruning you can maintain your plant's size and help your shrubs have a more natural appearance. Remember: It is risky to the life of your shrubs to prune too deeply when you are trying to drastically reduce the size of overgrown shrubs. If you are doing drastic pruning, please do it in Late Winter, just before the sap rises in the Spring. This is the time when survival is best for larger shrubs.

Some shrubs have inherent disease problems. The Rose family is the worst for this, including Red Tips and Indian Hawthorn. If you are pruning these shrubs, it's best to clean your pruners between plants to help reduce spreading systemic diseases throughout the row. Washing with soap and water or dipping in rubbing alcohol should be sufficient to sanitize pruning equipment.

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