Grasses And Weeds In The Modern Garden | Gardening

By gordonwarre
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Word Count: 522

Lawns were seen as a luxury expense for only the wealthy who could afford grounds keepers to maintain the fine bladed plants using scythes. Lawns do not have to be, and have not always been of grass. Lawns that have been weakened by plant pathogens or insect pests are also likely to become weedy because there is more open space for a weed to establish.

Lawns provide open views and a wear-tolerant soft surface for active recreation and they are relatively inexpensive to install. Our lawns have become a major player in our eco-system, after all lawns cover about 50 million acres in America (2003 estimate). Aerification of home lawns corrects soil problems but generally is not a routine practice. If mowers are moved from weedy lawns to other lawns, be sure to wash off the blades to avoid transport of weed seeds and propagules. Special care should be taken when applying herbicides on newly seeded lawns because of the sensitivity of seedling plants.

The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week enough to water 81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long. Many of the nation's leading gardening communicators and landscape consultants are available to help make America's homes, lawns and gardens a safer place for your families and the planet.

Grasses

Some lawns, if grown in difficult conditions for grasses, become dominated by whatever weeds can survive there; these include clovers in dry conditions, and moss in damp shady conditions. Annual grasses such as crabgrass, foxtail, and annual bluegrass can be effectively controlled in established lawns with preemergent herbicides such as benefin, bensulide, dithiopyr, oryzalin, pendimethalin, and prodiamine.

This allows you to find your state and location so that you can better determine what grasses will survive and grow best in your lawn location. Several species and/or cultivars of zoysia grasses are available in Georgia. Cool-season grasses grow best in the spring and fall and less actively in the summer. During dry weather lawn grasses may start to suffer, especially once the top 10cm (4in) of soil dries out.

Because most grasses grow poorly in winter, mosses are able to invade and often dominate lawns in only a few months. Weeds not only detract from the aesthetic quality of an otherwise well-maintained turf grass, they are extremely worthy competitors with lawn grasses for the basic factors of growth space, light, water, and nutrients.

Weed

Weeds thrive where grass once flourished and topsoil blows away with the slightest breeze. Three general categories of weeds may be found in lawns: broad leaves, grasses, and sedges. Before resorting to herbicides, try managing weeds by improving the general condition of the lawn and doing some occasional hand weeding. If spring seeding is necessary, do it as early as possible to take advantage of cool weather and absence of weeds.

The shaded environment near the soil surface in a high-mown lawn helps deter weed seed germination. Discussions are underway to reconcile the growing trend towards more diverse lawns and natural plantings with the need to control noxious weeds.

About the Author

Gordon Warre writes about lawns

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