Show #52/5013. Landscape Installation - Maintenance Tips
Maintenance Issues With Existing Turf
In the next area Eric notes that the turf is nicely establishing but we've got a few problem spots. How do we go about evaluating what's going on here? Brian explains, this area is an example of an existing turf that was put in about a year ago. One can see some areas in the turf where it's a little patchy and has some open areas. A lot of his comments about this stem from conversations with the homeowner. This is common for Brian he talks with homeowners to figure out what's going on with the situation. One do they have a dog, because dogs using the bathroom on a turf can cause a high concentration of nitrogen and that can cause patchy bald spots or two it could be a product of not enough watering which means that the grass would be going dormant, or three it could be too much watering which can cause a fungal infection. In talking with this homeowner Brian has learned that this area hasn't had an irrigation system in the past so it wasn't watered heavily. Number two they don't have pets and so we know this is not a dog issue, and number three the homeowners said that they are not the best at watering their grass, so this is kind of a classic example of the turf not getting enough water. So the grass is starting to go dormant in particular areas, it starts getting patchy and those patchy areas will grow and grow. This doesn't necessarily mean that this fescue grass is dead, it's just going dormant from low water at times and that's what you see here.
By Barbara Schneider, Gibbs Gardens
Photos courtesy of Gibbs Gardens
Gibbs Gardens' Inspiration Garden was designed especially for home Gardners. And, it provides great plant ideas throughout. click here. to read the article.
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