Maybe it’s jumping the gun on a New Year’s prerogative to polish the crystal ball, predicting things for the future of your lawn. But a neck stuck out in September should be no riskier than one in January.
September ends the “fiscal year” of active lawn making, except perhaps for late feeding of bluegrass, which is crisply green and growing fat at this favored season.
It is often puzzling to see new items garner publicity on lawns while old stand-bys are taken for granted and seldom share the limelight.
Many new selections and strains of turf grasses are being tested or released from scores of research centers.
Yet, it will be long before standard turf grasses are materially displaced in seed mixtures.
Kentucky Blue-Grass
Some, such as Kentucky bluegrass, show natural flexibility and wide adaptability that is hard to match in an isolated strain of restricted heredity.
Several named strains of Kentucky bluegrass have already been released, and many others are under test at turf-grass research centers.
I wonder if such strains as the Arboretums, Deltas, Nferions, Newports, Parks, and Trot’s of the future will not find use largely, mixed in small percentages, to “enrich” standard Kentucky bluegrass?
Thus a proven lawn grass, having survived nature’s trials through the decades in the various climatic zones, can provide assured value.
With limited testing, man’s “creations” can add those attributes they have chosen and, if able to survive well under the local conditions, gradually usurp the lawn.
Actually, the selection of new strains of lawn grass is by no means confined to Kentucky bluegrass.
Creeping Bent Grasses
Added to the older creeping red fescues (Chewings, Illahee, and Trinity) are such newcomers as Pennlawn, selected for superior performance at State College, Pennsylvania.
No earth-shaking additional strains appear imminent.
A multitude of creeping bent grasses has been isolated for golf course use.
Recently, Penncross has attempted to employ the advantages of hybridization and the ability to start it from seed.
There have been fewer Colonial types (Agrostis tennis) selections, although Astoria, Highland, and Rhode Island are well-known names in lawn seed.
Need still exists for a Colonial bent grass that is entirely free of the clumping characteristics of the creepers. Selections under test may bring such improvement in the years ahead.
Southern-Style Grass “Bermuda”
Perhaps the most drastic changes are underway in southern-style grasses.
Old volunteer, Bermuda is receiving competition from literally hundreds of new named (and still unnamed) selections.
The southern putting green of the future and the home lawn may be graced with finer texture and the better-colored Bermudas.
Limiting their use, however, will still be the need to plant vegetatively since true-breeding seeds cannot be had.
Even in middle latitudes, as far north as St. Louis, Bermudas will receive some use by gardeners interested primarily in tight summer growth (but indifferent to off-color effects in autumn and spring).
Neither Bermuda nor the much advertised Zoysia can provide the desirable cooler-season sod that results from a blue-grass mixture.
U-3 and southern selections such as Sun turf, Tiffine, Tifflawn, and Uganda survive most mid-latitude winters.
Zoysias
Zoysias are the most recent rage in lawn grass advertising.
Meyers, a thick-growing, hardy type, has been marketed in northern states where it does not green up attractively until June and goes off-color again by October.
I can see no future for Zoysias in the blue-grass country. They are green for a short season, are slow in growth, require 2 or 3 years to form a sod, and must be hand planted.
Attempts to maintain blue-grass-in-Zoysia, to cover both cool and warm seasons, have been less than successful.
We still await a persistently satisfactory marriage of good lawn grasses affording northern (cool season) and southern (summer) needs.
Yet, in the south, where growth is possible most of the year, Zoysias by themselves are good.
Many selections primarily derived from the matrella strain, are in the offing. Others, already released, such as Emerald, are making the most outstanding southern lawns.
Improvement is also being attempted on St. Augustine. Locally, dichondra (not a grass, but a member of the morning-glory family) will find increasing favor, as it already has in Los Angeles.
Soil Sterilization
Although still some distance around the corner, soil sterilization of new seedbeds will doubtless receive increasing attention.
Chemical sterilants can kill all vegetation and weed seeds. Under such conditions, seeded grass starts with a clean slate, free from competition.
Already, several chemicals are available, including:
- Methyl bromide (converts to a gas, must be contained under a tarpaulin)
- Vapam and Dalapon (drenches)
Such chemicals also eliminate soil insects and nematodes.
As yet, sterilization chemicals are risky for the inexperienced gardener.
A foolproof, easily-handled procedure for homeowners is needed to eliminate the intricacies of tarpaulin and the hazards of careless use.
Another trend anticipated is the improvement of residual soils rather than the importation of expensive topsoil, as was the advantage of a coarser-grained seedbed (soils pulverized to dust slake upon watering).
Diminishing the use of nurse grasses can be expected.
Fast sprouting species, such as rye-grass and red-top, often included in seed mixtures to give quick, temporary cover, compete severely with the seedlings of quality turf grass.
Again, mulching is a better substitute.
Importance Of Mulches
The art of mulching is progressing rapidly since many materials formerly considered waste are now being offered to the gardening public.
Included, in addition to the usual sphagnum moss and straw, are such curiosities as:
- Pecan shells
- Buckwheat hulls
- Ground corncobs
- Tobacco sterns
- Cocoa beans
- Wood-chips
- Newspaper “slush” and many other materials
Many mulch materials are useful on a newly seeded lawn, retaining moisture, protecting the soil against wash, and generally serving the purpose of nurse grass without offering competition.
Lawn seeds of the future may also show improvement.
Not all seeds of a given species are equally quick to sprout, nor do they provide equally vigorous seedlings.
Research at Kimberdale has shown that the best blue-grass vigor coincides with the quality of the seed.
Possible future specifications for seed may stress such “hidden” quality factors.
Specialty Herbicides
We can expect progressively more sophistication in lawn matters, as in gardening generally.
Fewer ill-kept, spotty lawns will be tolerated. Undoubtedly, there will be greater demand for the elimination of clover for uniformity in lawn texture.
This, in turn, would mean increased interest in specialty herbicides, such as 2, 4, and 5-T.
There should be increased use of slow-acting fertilizers, mainly based upon ureaform.
All the kinks have not been worked out yet. At present prices, the cost of sufficient nitrogen for visible results may seem costly.
But the gradual release has advantages in many areas compared to the feast-famine results from soluble nitrogen.
In addition to developing more specific and selective weed killers, we should expect improvements in pre-emergent herbicides (those applied early in the season before the weeds start).
The care needed in timing and application has thus far limited their usefulness.
Several possibilities exist for chemicals sprayed or spread once or twice during the season.
These prevent the establishment of crab-grass, chickweed, goose-grass, and other annual species.
Lawns may be brown in certain seasons because of diseases. No one can expect the homeowner to identify diseases. Even the experts have difficulty here.
Yet general-purpose fungicides containing a blend of ingredients to control most of the common lawn ills are coming to the forefront.
Meticulous lawn keepers will probably apply fungicides routinely as prophylaxis. Once the trouble has struck, little can be done except to check the spread.
Of course, the disease will vary with the kind of grass, the region, and the season.
Ordinarily, treatment needs are made only occasionally during seasons of likely attack.
Research on Feeding
Grass conditions may foster resistance or susceptibility to disease.
Indeed, in mid-latitudes, soft, lush growth in summer is apt to be victimized more than grass that is less fertilized.
Research studies can expect to pinpoint more exactly the timing and rates of fertilization most suitable tinder the prevailing climatic conditions.
Trends in watering are hard to predict.
At the moment, there is a flux of conflicting factors, with greater demand for water offset by diminishing supplies and limited distribution facilities.
Certain areas of light rainfall must have water if a lawn is to survive.
In more humid regions, homeowners may prefer to put up with off-color lawns in mid-summer rather than undertake the expense of watering.
Fortunately, good grass, fully established, is seldom killed for lack of water and should bounce back with the first autumn rains.
Increasing convenience from sprinkling devices can also be expected.
Sprinklers of improved capacity, able to achieve uniform coverage, and capable of shutting themselves off are already on the market.
In many arid areas, such as Los Angeles, it is almost axiomatic to lay an underground sprinkling system in the building of lawns.
Underground systems, properly fitted, can uniformly water the lawn.
Another convenience we can expect is combinations of lawn materials.
Already, weed killers are combined with fertilizers and insecticides, or fungicides, with weed killers.
This trend should continue so that a few timely applications will eventually take care of lawn needs (aside from mowing).
New Reel-type Mower
As in everything else, the trend in lawn making is towards mechanization and labor-saving devices.
A leading manufacturer is advancing an idea that may encourage a comeback for the reel mower.
An extruded aluminum reel (less costly than hand forged steel types), coated with an abrasive, is experimentally used on several mowers.
When set slightly closer to the bedknife, the soft aluminum wears quickly to a new sharp edge in perfect adjustment.
The unit in use at Kimberdale has given highly satisfactory service, although it has not been in use long enough to evaluate its durability.
The aluminum reel has eight blades. We can expect a trend of more blades on all reel mowers, providing greater perfection of the cut.
This is especially needled with Zoysias, Bermudas, and bents. The old five-blade reel will probably soon be replaced by six-blades on conventional mowers and even more by types like extruded aluminum.
Probably the reason lawn mowing has been the butt of so many jokes is that the average home is undersized and underpowered in lawn equipment.
There will always be a restriction on budget, but I look for tomorrow’s home to have equipment capable of conveniently mowing the lawn in the daylight after supper. This will make mowing a pleasure.
Using Aerators
As improved maintenance comes, grasses may grow so well that they will begin to smother themselves.
When a thick mat of vegetation builds up, so that water cannot seep through and new sprouts are hard pressed, removal of the thatch becomes desirable.
A cure that most homeowners do not relish is vigorous raking.
Developed in recent years to do the job mechanically are devices for punching holes through sod (aerifying) or ripping matted grass (vertical mowing).
Fast-growing grasses with runners, such as bent grasses in the north and Bermuda grasses in the south, are likely candidates for treatment.
Machines are often available through the landscape and nursery houses.
Numerous trimmers, edgers, and power sprayers are currently available.
Some enterprising firms make a powered handle, which can attach to all of these devices, as well as mowers and tillers.
We can anticipate using such mechanical helps to take the struggle out of “nuisance jobs.”
Another asset is the development of siphon attachments for the garden hose, which permit exact metering of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, as well as certain soluble and semi-soluble soil treatments (fertilizer concentrates).
Doubtless, more and more homeowners will come to appreciate the convenience and trivial storage problems of hose-siphon spray guns.
There has been a flurry of excitement about gibberellic acid, a recently developed growth stimulant.
Actually, there seems to be little use for this material on lawns. It has proven ineffective in speeding seed sprouting, although it will encourage later growth and perhaps better rooting of planted sprigs.
Quicker Growth
Not enough is known yet, to evaluate it completely.
There may be certain instances where accelerated growth is desired, such as getting a lawn ready for an important occasion or spurring recovery from unexpected frost on summer grass.
Some gardeners might want to stimulate late blue grass in an attempt for early winter greenness.
Most homeowners are not interested in promoting faster grass growth than normally occurs with adequate watering and feeding.
In fact, there is still interest in inhibiting grass growth (through maleic hydrazide). However, home garden use has been unsatisfactory due to spotty results, damage to grass, and the encouragement of weeds when the grass is repressed.
I believe we shall see an increasing tendency to regard the lawn as an integral part of the home.
Certainly, modern landscaping calls for lawn areas for more extensive outdoor living.
Picture windows highlight sweeps of lawn. These trends should continue since they are soundly planned for enjoyable living.
At the same time, there may be an increasing interest in the Iawn for its own sake—and enlightening miniature world of grasses and weeds.
Our hectic modern pace makes solace, formerly derived from solitude and understanding, even more, needed.
To understand better the scheme of life, the interplay of living things with their environment, and the seasonal responses and adjustments, where, closer at hand, can we find instruction than outside our front door on the lawn?
44659 by Robert W. Schery