Late summer is usually the best time to start new lawns. Nature sows her seeds now, taking advantage of the cool weather of fall for strong seedling and root growth.
Weeds that were a problem in spring have all germinated now, and the seedbed is a little “cleaner” than it was earlier, provided you kept it cultivated this summer.
Seed Prices
Seed price may range from 35 cents to over $1 per pound. Likely the cheap mixtures contain a high percentage of coarse, nurse-type grasses. You will pay more for permanent grass seed mixtures, but they’re worth it.
You will be getting many more seeds for your money! Kentucky bluegrass contains about 2,250,000 seeds per pound compared to 250,000 seeds of ryegrass per pound.
Best Grass For Permanent Lawns
Blue grasses form permanent, lasting turfs. Ryegrasses are only temporary and die out in a short time.
Kentucky bluegrass and its variety, `Merion,’ is the best for permanent lawns for the West region. Some Chewing’s fescue or creeping red fescue should be in the mixture where shade is a problem.
The red top is a desirable nurse grass to mix with these permanent grasses. Some folks like to add from 5% to 10% percent white Dutch clover to their grass mixture.
Use these mixtures for the average new lawn at three to four pounds per 1,000’ square feet.
Make sure there is a good surface and sub-surface drainage. Add organic matter such as peat moss, well-decayed weed-free manure, compost, or plow under a green manure crop. Green manure crops mean growing a legume or annual grain and plowing it under while it is green and succulent. Add a complete fertilizer.
Bluegrasses slowly germinate, often requiring two to three weeks for the grass to show. Make sure the seedbed is kept moist until the seed germinates.
Start The Lawn
This requires frequent sprinkling. Start the lawn by mid-August but by mid-September. Usually, an early start is desired.
Only remove foliage from perennial plants once they start dying down. Foliage is necessary for the plants to manufacture and store food for next year’s growth. Do not neglect perennial plants after they have bloomed.
Established fall bulbs can be moved as soon as the foliage dies down. For example, tulips need to be divided usually every three years because of overcrowding.
Lilies, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, squills, and other bulbs may be reset at this time of year. Plant bulbs from commercial sources as soon as they are available to get good root growth during the fall.
Pruning Woody Plants
For most woody plants, early spring is the best time to prune. Pruning in late summer or fall leaves wounds that fail to heal until next summer. They are subject to drying out during winter and entry of disease organisms.
Avoid overwatering and overfertilizing woody plants in late summer. We should encourage the plants to mature their wood to withstand the dormant period better.
Too much water, nitrogen fertilizer, and excessive pruning at this time of the year stimulate weak growth susceptible to injury.
Fall Planting
Fall planting is always a debatable practice in much of the West region. This is particularly true of trees and shrubs.
Some herbaceous flowering plants transplant best in late summer or fall, including Dutch bulbs, lilies, and peonies. But early spring is the safest time to transplant woody perennials like lilacs, roses, elms, and flowering crabs.
44659 by A Yager