Choosing the Right Lawn Grass for Georgia: Warm Season vs. Cool Season Grasses, Slides of Botany and Agronomy

Download Choosing the Right Lawn Grass for Georgia: Warm Season vs. Cool Season Grasses and more Slides Botany and Agronomy in PDF only on Docsity! Selecting Lawn Grasses Docsity.com Importance of a Lawn The lawn and other landscape components should complement the house and provide a pleasant area for family activities. Docsity.com Selecting Turfgrasses The first and most important step is to choose the proper grass species. Docsity.com Building a Good Lawn The characteristics of your site should be considered when selecting a turfgrass. Grasses will not grow in incorrect conditions without any regard to your effort. Docsity.com Selecting Turfgrasses Do not make the assumption that all grasses are alike. There are several grasses to choose from and they require various conditions and treatment for good growth. They also differ in appearance. Color variation is easily seen here. Docsity.com Types of Grasses Warm Season Grasses • Common Bermuda • Hybrid Bermuda • Centipede • St. Augustine • Zoysia • Bahia • Seashore Paspalum Cool Season Grasses • Tall Fescue • Fine Fescue • Rye Grass • Kentucky Bluegrass Docsity.com Cool Season Grass Characteristics • Cool season grasses as the name implies, grows best during the cool part of the year; fall, winter and early spring. • They are recommended only north of Atlanta and Athens area. • If properly managed the grasses will remain green all year. • The major problem of cool season grasses is the lack of heat tolerance. Docsity.com Types of Cool Season Grasses • Tall Fescue • Fine Fescue • Rye Grass • Kentucky Bluegrass Docsity.com Tall Fescue Reseeding is recommended each fall to reduces the gaps between clumps. Docsity.com Tall Fescue • Should be mowed to about 3 inches. • Shorter mowing will stress the grass especially during summer. Docsity.com Tall Fescue • Very Coarse Texture • Wide Leaf Blade • Unappealing to some Docsity.com Fine Fescue Tall Fescue Docsity.com Fescue Varieties of fine fescue are being researched and there is promise of heat and drought tolerant varieties for the south. Docsity.com Kentucky Bluegrass • Most popular lawngrass in the Northern United States • Limited to only the northern part of Georgia due to poor hear tolerance Docsity.com Ryegrass • Two types: Annual and Perennial • Not usually grown in Georgia as a single grass lawns. • Used mostly to overseed dormant warm season grasses for winter color. Docsity.com Cool Season Grass Mixes • Sold commonly in Georgia. • Suitable for Georgia in or north of Athens or Atlanta or if your lawn has a variety of conditions such as sun and shade or dry and wet • Usually more expensive than single grass seed • There may not be any advantages over a single grass lawn. Docsity.com Warm Season Grass Characteristics • A major disadvantage is that they become dormant and turn brown in the winter. • They can be overseeded with ryegrass to provide green color in the winter. • Grow during late spring, summer and fall. Docsity.com Bermudagrasses • Most popular warm season grass • Most adapted grass to Georgia • Can be mowed at short desirable lengths Docsity.com Bermudagrass • Selecting and breeding of bermudagrass has been present since 1950. • The University of Georgia Coastal Experiment Station in Tifton has been a leading producer of successful cultivars. Docsity.com Bermudagrass Seed Heads • Seeds are most abundant on common bermuda. • A very unattractive characteristic. • Hybrid breeds have been selected for their lower number of seed heads. Docsity.com Bermudagrass The difference in texture of the finer hybrid bermuda and the more course common Bermuda can be seen here. Docsity.com Bermudagrass Hybrids Hybrid bermuda grasses can be very beautiful if given the extra care that is required. Docsity.com LiichauiAl. DaAwrwnn. | Ar eA eon * Bermudagrass- Ultradwarf • Used only for golf greens • Selected for their close mowing ability • Have a high maintenance requirement Docsity.com Bermudagrass Characteristics • Bermuda is commonly confused with Zoysia • The leave angles are different for the two species. Bermuda leaves are at 45º angles, while Zoysia leaves are at 80 º angles. • Zoysia is also much stiffer and spindly to the touch than Bermuda. Docsity.com Zoysiagrass • Provides a neat and clean appearance. • A slow grower • Cannot be grown from seed • Zoysia sod is expensive and the sprigs grow slow. Docsity.com Zoysiagrass Hybrid Bermuda Docsity.com Zoysiagrass Zoysia makes a beautiful lawn but grow slowly and requires a lot of extra care. It can be grown in light shade, unlike bermuda. Docsity.com Zoysiagrass These plots were planted at the same time, ten months ago. The zoysia has not spread as well as the bermuda. Docsity.com Emerald Zoysia • Very fine leaf texture • Poor cold tolerance Docsity.com Centipedegrass • Low Maintenance Required • Easily and economically established from seeds. • Less mowing and fertilizer needed than other grasses Docsity.com Centipedegrass • Ability to grow in the sun or shade • Poor cold tolerance • Yellow-green color is unattractive to some homeowners Docsity.com St. Augustinegrass Very popular in the Coastal Plains Region of Georgia but also grown successfully in the Athens-Atlanta area. Docsity.com St. Augustinegrass Has large flat stems and wide coarse leaves. Lacks seeds, so must be propagated vegetatively. A very aggressive grass that spreads rapidly. Docsity.com Centipede St. Augustine St. Augustine is sometimes confused with centipede. Centipede (right) which has a narrower leaf and whose leaves are opposite on the stem. St. Augustine's leaves (left) are alternate on the stem and are much taller. Docsity.com Seashore Paspalum • Used mostly on golf courses near the coast • Can be mowed to an 1/8 inch height but ½ to 1 ½ is recommended. Docsity.com Seashore Paspalum • Seed heads grow quickly, however not enough viable seed is produced to be effective. • Vegetative propagation is used with stolons, rhizomes, and sprigs Docsity.com Selecting a Grass • Matching the proper grass to a site can be confusing. • Remembering all the characteristics of each grass is difficult for a beginner. • Find a grass that best suits your situation Docsity.com Wear Tolerance Wear tolerance refers to the traffic or use of the grass. Areas that receive a lot of hard use, such as playgrounds and lawns where children play need a high wear tolerant grass like bermuda. Hybrid Bermuda Common Bermuda Bahia Tall Fescue Kentucky Bluegrass St. Augustine Centipede Most Tolerant Least Tolerant Grass Rating Docsity.com Drought Tolerance Drought can be a real problem during the summer in Georgia unless an irrigation system is installed. Assuming no irrigation bermuda and zoysia would be the best choice. Bahia Bermuda Zoysia Tall Fescue St. Augustine Centipede Excellent Least Tolerant Grass Rating Docsity.com Low Temperature Hardiness A more critical factor in North Georgia. The colder winter temperatures can severely harm or even kill some warm season grasses. Kentucky Bluegrass Tall Fescue Zoysia Bermuda Centipede St. Augustine Bahia Excellent Very Poor Grass Rating Docsity.com Maintenance • Generally, the higher quality lawn grasses, require the most hours of maintenance. • Low maintenance grasses, such as centipede, reduce time working on the lawn. • Grasses are best cut with a reel mower as seen here, although they may be too expensive to be practical for homeowners. Docsity.com Choosing a Lawngrass With a little study of the characteristics and requirements of various turfgrasses and a decision about what you really want in a lawn, the puzzle of “Choosing a Lawngrass” can be solved quite easily. Docsity.com