Charlotte yard care services
There are a thousand reasons to have a healthy lawn in your compound in Charlotte, NC. Besides enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your home, healthy lawns stabilize the soil in your landscape and reduce air pollution. Further, if you are a flipper or you are looking to sell your home, growing a beautiful lawn is a sure way of increasing its value. These benefits, however, don't come easy; it takes hard work and knowledge of lawn care and maintenance.
Preparation for Planting
Before you think about the type of grass you should plant, you need to prepare the land for planting. First, ensure that the planting area of neither too steep to cause erosion nor too flat to cause flooding. The slope should be 2-3 percent to prevent flooding. Also, you need to control the level of shade in the planting area. Different types of grass require different hours of sunlight exposure to be healthy. Have it in mind that the level of shade will affect the type of grass you will plant and how healthy it will be.
Controlling Weeds
Weeds are a great obstacle in your efforts to have a healthy lawn. First, they will overgrow the grass thus making the lawn lose its appeal. Second, weeds will compete for resources such as sunlight, water, and nutrients with the grass, making the grass unhealthy. You should, therefore, control weeds as early as possible. Weeds such as field bindweed, pigweed, and ribwort plantain are perennial in Charlotte, NC. The best way of controlling weeds is by using non-selective herbicide, especially if you are planting a new loan.
Soil Analysis
Next, you need to analyze the soil properties of the planting area. Soil composition varies from one area to the other. The soil analysis will help you know what you should add to the soil before planting. Unless you are a chemical expert, don't do the soil analysis by yourself; collect soil samples from the planting area and send them to the county Cooperative Extension Center in Charlotte, NC or any other agricultural laboratory. The soil samples should be taken from different points in the planting field, preferably 20 locations. Also, don't collect the topsoil; dig 4-6 inches deep and take the samples from there. Mix the samples and send to the agricultural laboratory. You shouldn't send a large sample; one cup of soil is enough to do the analysis.
The soil analysis results will tell you whether you need to add lime or fertilizer to the soil. In case it's recommended that you add lime and fertilizer before planting, don't just spread them on the planting area. Remember the roots will absorb the soil additives; therefore, the additives should be added to the entire root zone. Rake the planting area to loosen the soil before mixing the soil with lime and fertilizer. Soil in Charlotte NC is mostly clay loam and red clay, which sometimes have large particles. Raking the planting area will help reduce the soil particle size. After raking the ground, water it and allow some time for the soil to settle. This will make the soil crusty, and you will need to rake the area again gently before planting.
Types of grasses that do well in Charlotte, NC
Both warm-season and cool-season grasses do well in Charlotte, NC. Warm-season grasses are best planted in the summer; they will grow faster and healthier. Cool season grasses flourish during spring and fall. Besides the planting season, other considerations you should make when choosing the type of grass to plant are:
- The desired look
- The expected foot traffic
- Cost of the turfgrass
- The work and time needed to plant and maintain the lawn
Below are the most common type of turfgrasses in Charlotte, NC, and their characteristics:
Warm-season grasses
Bermuda Grass
- Has long leaves and stems.
- Spreads by stolons and rhizomes.
- It's resistant to leaf spot and drought.
- Has a high growth rate on different soil types.
Zoysia
- Spreads by stolons and rhizomes.
- Has a slower growth rate than Bermuda Grass.
- Has stiff leaves making it suitable for lawns with high foot traffic.
- Tolerant to heat and drought.
- Denser than Bermuda grass.
Centipede Grass
- Spreads by stolons.
- Leaves have a coarse texture while the stems are 3-5 inches long.
- Can grow on soils with low fertility.
- Grows slower than Zoysia and Bermuda grass.
- The quality of its turfs is lower than zoysia and bermuda grass turfs; centipede grass turfs cannot tolerate drought or withstand high foot traffic.
Carpet Grass
- Spreads by both rhizomes and stolons.
- Resembles centipede grass but it has broader leaves.
- Grows up to a height of 8-20 inches.
- Grows on low fertility soils; it can survive on 100 pounds of nitrogen per square feet per year.
- Less tolerant to drought and wear than Zoysia and Bermuda Grass.
Cool season grasses
Tall Fescues
- It's one of the best cool-season grasses in terms of shade tolerance.
- Spreads by forming bunches. Though it produces rhizomes, they don't play a big part in spreading it.
- Tolerant to drought and diseases.
- Can withstand moderate foot traffic.
Kentucky Bluegrass
- Spreads by rhizomes.
- It's dark green giving it a good appearance.
- Can withstand moderate to high foot traffic.
- Grows well on limed and fertile soils.
- It's dense.
Fine Fescues
- Has fine-textured leaves.
- More tolerant to drought and shade than other cool-season grasses.
- Can grow in low fertility soils compared to Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescues.
- It supports moderate foot traffic.
In most cases, you will need to plant more than one type of grass on the lawn. Each type will dominate where the conditions are more favorable. For example, those that do well in the shade will be dominant under trees.
If the planting area is prepared and you have chosen the types of grass you'll plant, you can go ahead and spread the seeds. Each type of grass has recommended spreader settings. Check the settings on the seed bag. One of the best lawn planting practices is a starting by spreading the seeds along the perimeter of the planting area to avoid missing the edges. After spreading, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. On slopes, you can mulch with dried stalks to prevent moving water from washing away the seeds. Keep moistening the top two inches of the soil until the grass grows to about 3 inches.
With proper land preparation and the right type of grass, your new lawn will flourish. As you have seen, it requires hard work and patience. If you are doing other things and you have no time to plant or maintain your lawn, we can do it for you. Your Lawn Love pro will revolutionize your lawn.
