2018 Lawn and Landscape Thread

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

That’s not crabgrass. That’s a winter grassy weed. Revolver herbicide is what you need as long as it’s nit floratam. 

No on the traffic haha it dies/burns up when it gets hot. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Okie Lite in Zapata

[BillyBadAss 189]

I have a Crepe Myrtle and a Vitex (Chaste) tree planted in front of my house. 

Both trees have gotten too tall for where they are planted close to the house. Wife wants me to trim them shorter. 

I know a lot of folks top their Crepe Myrtles, but I also read a lot of spots online that recommend against the practice.

(I don't know if the Vitex can be topped like a CM). 

Am I best off removing them completely and replacing with shorter varieties, or is it "ok" to top them off at the height I want? 

[Anastasis 23484]

Has a similar issue. I cut them back significantly but did not do a uniform topping, which I see a lot in our hood.  I tried to keep some interesting branching and shape. Well see how it turns out. 

[Dark Horse 2291]

Looking to plant dwarf mondo grass in a shaddy area that can’t grow grass. Where/when can I find it in the Houston area?

[Lazarus Bocanegra 306]

On 2/15/2019 at 7:04 PM, BillyBadAss said:

I have a Crepe Myrtle and a Vitex (Chaste) tree planted in front of my house. 

Both trees have gotten too tall for where they are planted close to the house. Wife wants me to trim them shorter. 

I know a lot of folks top their Crepe Myrtles, but I also read a lot of spots online that recommend against the practice.

(I don't know if the Vitex can be topped like a CM). 

Am I best off removing them completely and replacing with shorter varieties, or is it "ok" to top them off at the height I want? 

the crepe myrtle can be topped.  They're very hard to kill.  It's less than ideal to do so, but if you're plan is to top it, and then work the new growth going forward, it won't present the same issues as repetitive crepe murder year after year.  When we bought our house in 06, there was a crepe in the front that had been allowed to grow more or less straight up for 20 feet.  I cut it back to about 4 feet.  It's now back to about 20, but I've been pruning and shaping every year since, and it's really filled out nicely.  No idea on vitex

[cactusflinthead 27604]

Think about the space it occupies. Can you choose branches to leave that are pointed away from the house and each other?

It's not what you take. It's what you leave. 

You can cut them down to a stub if you want to. They'll get about 4 feet tall or a little more in a season. 

Point it where you want it to grow. Make it share the space. 

Vitex gets a kick ass flower. Tougher than boot leather. 

[BabaBooey 131]

On 2/15/2019 at 8:01 PM, Dark Horse said:

Looking to plant dwarf mondo grass in a shaddy area that can’t grow grass. Where/when can I find it in the Houston area?

I think Houston Garden center has some. Check out their ad on the website. 

[davidg 4038]

I don't see a 2019 lawn and landscape thread or an outdoor power tool thread of awesomeness but Echo is having their one day 15% off sale at various places  in TX starting tomorrow and  over the next few weekends in March.  Thinking about getting one of the big power pruners to do some clean up of low limbs around the pasture.

[Lazarus Bocanegra 306]

4 hours ago, BabaBooey said:

I think Houston Garden center has some. Check out their ad on the website. 

saw some at buchanan's this weekend on sale 

[Frank Erwin 203]

On 2/15/2019 at 7:04 PM, BillyBadAss said:

I have a Crepe Myrtle and a Vitex (Chaste) tree planted in front of my house. 

Both trees have gotten too tall for where they are planted close to the house. Wife wants me to trim them shorter. 

I know a lot of folks top their Crepe Myrtles, but I also read a lot of spots online that recommend against the practice.

(I don't know if the Vitex can be topped like a CM). 

Am I best off removing them completely and replacing with shorter varieties, or is it "ok" to top them off at the height I want? 

The tag on our Vitex recommended pruning each year to keep the foliage manageable.  We have had ours over 3 years now and prune them back each year in the fall/winter.  You also need to keep cutting the blooms off if you want them to continue producing new blooms through the summer.

[Dark Horse 2291]

On 2/26/2019 at 2:19 PM, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

saw some at buchanan's this weekend on sale 

Got some there this weekend. 

[SquishMitten 10440]

Quick refresher... weeds and St A sod... how soon should pre/post-m go down on sod laid this weekend?

[LebongJames 1814]

Quick question

can I over seed and put a fertilizer/ pre emergent down on Bermuda at the same time?

[SquishMitten 10440]

Unless there’s a product out there I’m not aware of,  pre-m is nonselective and will block the Bermuda seed just like any other seed

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

On 3/9/2019 at 9:03 AM, SquishMitten said:

Quick refresher... weeds and St A sod... how soon should pre/post-m go down on sod laid this weekend?

 On the pre m and post the general rule is to have mowed the sod at least 3 times then its safe. 

 

7 hours ago, LebongJames said:

Quick question

can I over seed and put a fertilizer/ pre emergent down on Bermuda at the same time?

No like SM said the pre m will inhibit bermuda seeds as well. 

Overseed and fert at the same time is perfect and use a starter fertilizer.

[chikin23 384]

Put down pre-emergent in November and January. Getting ready to put down another round this week.

However, there is a shitload of broadleaf weeds popping up. Don't know how I missed them twice. Can I spray them with something and put down the next round of pre-emergent?

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

On 3/10/2019 at 9:48 PM, chikin23 said:

Put down pre-emergent in November and January. Getting ready to put down another round this week.

However, there is a shitload of broadleaf weeds popping up. Don't know how I missed them twice. Can I spray them with something and put down the next round of pre-emergent?

Very common, you didn't miss them. There is the term control and suppression on our  pre m labels. 

Preemergent is mainly for grassy weed control. Broadleaf weeds are suppressed not controlled with our preemergent , ahhhh the fucking fine print from our chemical manufacturers.

Go ahead and put down your 2nd round of pre m down and you can spray your broad leafs with a 2,4,D weed killer. 

We are fixing to start round 2 or our second round of preemergent for the year and will add Triplet to our tanks to kill the broadleaf's popping up. 

If your pasture/wild Fescue is gone and your getting broad leafs, you're where you need to be. 

[52-80 19258]

we have a 1-sq-yd shallow pit filled with sand.  it was previously setup as a childs sandbox.

 

we want to join it to the lawn.  theres not that much sand in it left.  can we just mix the sand with some organic materials (grass cuttings, dead leaves, etc), cover with soil, then put in grass seeds or sod.......

 

...or do we really need to evacuate most of the remaining sand.

[jimmyjazz 46175]

I know roughly as much about lawn care as I do rap music, which is to say very little.

I can't remember what type of sod we laid 4 years ago, but whatever it is, it browns up in the winter.  It's not St. Augustine.  Zoysia?

I haven't done anything to it in at least a year, other than water 2X weekly and mow, at least up until mid-autumn, at which point it all starts to go dormant.

I have a shit ton of weeds popping up.

What's the go-to plan for weeds & feed at this point?  I'm in Austin.  

[texasdago 7580]

We have bare patches thanks to my son's soccer obsession... you've seen me complain about it frequently.  My lawn is St. Augustine but would it be OK to seed some bermuda grass in those patches?  I figure anything would look better than bare dirt.  Healthy part of the St. Augustine looks good.

[GottaB 595]

 
January 15th  Preemergent and IF your grass is  completely dormant and has weeds apply round up as needed to kill any winter weeds.
March 15th    Preemergent and a broad leaf herbicide killer as needed. No round up because you will be getting some green up in your turf. 
May 1st       Fertilize a slow release high nitrogen 40-0-0 or 46-0-0 
July 1st        Fertilize a slow release 32 -0-0 or 28-0-0 with 5 or 10% FE 
September 15th    Fertilizer a winterizer 5-0-20
October 15th    Preemergent and a broad leaf herbicide as needed 
 

Quoting because we just passed mid March and it’s time for preemergent and broadleaf killer.

[The University 851]

looking for some tree recommendations.

we have a large area that was recently cleared and it needs something other than ripped up soil and weeds. the space is wide open and won't be competing with any other trees. as for location, we're in nw austin. basically right next to bull creek park. we already have a good deal of live oaks and red oaks, so i'm interested in other species that might thrive. i'll likely plant juvenile trees between 6 and 12 feet tall. medium to large trees when they become adults. 

[markstanco 12620]

Quoting because we just passed mid March and it’s time for preemergent and broadleaf killer.

Not sure where in this country pre needs to be applied on January 15th. That is incorrect.

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

23 hours ago, markstanco said:

On 3/23/2019 at 10:13 AM, GottaB said:

Quoting because we just passed mid March and it’s time for preemergent and broadleaf killer.

Not sure where in this country pre needs to be applied on January 15th. That is incorrect.

Anywhere south of I 40 is pretty close. 

Summer weed seeds will germinate when the soil temp 2" down hits 55 degrees, very easy to get a few warmer/sunny days end of Jan or Feb and the soil temp busts 60 degrees. If your pre m is not down and watered in thoroughly you will get summer weeds. 

DFW soil temp hit 59 degrees on 2-4-19 and hit 62 on 2-6-19. January 15th was perfect timing from DFW to Austin. 

 

[texasdago 7580]

On 3/20/2019 at 8:32 AM, texasdago said:

We have bare patches thanks to my son's soccer obsession... you've seen me complain about it frequently.  My lawn is St. Augustine but would it be OK to seed some bermuda grass in those patches?  I figure anything would look better than bare dirt.  Healthy part of the St. Augustine looks good.

Welp, for the time being, keeping them off the lawn for a week by spreading compost and manure.  Now the question on the bermuda grass in the dirt spots?

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

5 hours ago, texasdago said:

Welp, for the time being, keeping them off the lawn for a week by spreading compost and manure.  Now the question on the bermuda grass in the dirt spots?

Bermuda is a lot hardier than St Augustines and will hold up better for your situation. 

Sure it's ok to seed those areas with Bermuda seed but when your sons soccer obsession fades IMO having 2 varieties of warm season grasses mixed together looks like shit..

If you choose to seed those areas, find hulled Bermuda grass seed and sow it an inch or so and keep it watered/moist, not saturated.

Also you will want your night time temps staying above 60 before you plant. 

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

On 3/13/2019 at 4:24 AM, 52-80 said:

we have a 1-sq-yd shallow pit filled with sand.  it was previously setup as a childs sandbox.

 

we want to join it to the lawn.  theres not that much sand in it left.  can we just mix the sand with some organic materials (grass cuttings, dead leaves, etc), cover with soil, then put in grass seeds or sod.......

 

...or do we really need to evacuate most of the remaining sand.

I wouldn't use clippings or leafs they will break down and you will have a low spot that will need top soil.

I would level with top soil now and plant your sod or seeds. 

On 3/20/2019 at 7:48 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I know roughly as much about lawn care as I do rap music, which is to say very little.

I can't remember what type of sod we laid 4 years ago, but whatever it is, it browns up in the winter.  It's not St. Augustine.  Zoysia?

I haven't done anything to it in at least a year, other than water 2X weekly and mow, at least up until mid-autumn, at which point it all starts to go dormant.

I have a shit ton of weeds popping up.

What's the go-to plan for weeds & feed at this point?  I'm in Austin.  

Your late for your first pre m but go ahead and do one now, it will help some. 

Post some pics of your grass and we can tell you what it is. 

[Gravy Train 974]

I have a .25ac lawn of all Bermuda, which surprisingly is still dormant, albeit probably just a couple weeks away from showing signs of life.  Unfortunately, the bermuda has performed poorly in frequent shaded areas, around the foundation, along fence lines and at the property line due to heavy runoff.

I figure the best thing to do in those areas is to drop zoysia sod.  I seeded the wetter areas with a fescue/rye mix to get roots established, but I hear zoysia will work better with the bermuda and perform well in the shaded areas.  Will the root structure of zoysia hold the soil together where I have heavy runoff and brief pooling?  

Also, what's the verdict on Jobe's spikes?  I have a couple rose bushes, palms, azaleas and other bushes that I'd like to keep fed but all are under a couple layers of bark mulch that are difficult to reach with granular fertilizers.  I'm lucky to have just a couple inches of fertile topsoil under shit north Texas sandy loam and clay.

[texasdago 7580]

13 hours ago, Okie Lite in Zapata said:

Bermuda is a lot hardier than St Augustines and will hold up better for your situation. 

Sure it's ok to seed those areas with Bermuda seed but when your sons soccer obsession fades IMO having 2 varieties of warm season grasses mixed together looks like shit..

If you choose to seed those areas, find hulled Bermuda grass seed and sow it an inch or so and keep it watered/moist, not saturated.

Also you will want your night time temps staying above 60 before you plant. 

I'm in Houston so we're close to hitting that point, as you can imagine.  Thankfully or not, I don't think my son's soccer obsession will end anytime soon.  He's pretty nuts for soccer.  If any when that time comes, I'll just cut out those portions and then put in new sod of St. Augustine.  Don't want to do that now since he'll destroy it.  At least the Bermuda will look marginally better than bare dirt.

[TXLNGHRN10 341]

I have what I think is take all root rot going on in my back yard. The fall and winter rains have kept my back yard wet and not draining very well. 
I need to aerate it but what else? I'm going to try and get fungicide on it this weekend. 

[Dr Fear 1268]

Please identify.

[Okie Lite in Zapata 143]

Grub 

[cactusflinthead 27604]

On 3/23/2019 at 6:13 PM, The University said:

looking for some tree recommendations.

we have a large area that was recently cleared and it needs something other than ripped up soil and weeds. the space is wide open and won't be competing with any other trees. as for location, we're in nw austin. basically right next to bull creek park. we already have a good deal of live oaks and red oaks, so i'm interested in other species that might thrive. i'll likely plant juvenile trees between 6 and 12 feet tall. medium to large trees when they become adults. 

Bur Oak, Chinquapin Oak, Pecan. Wetter spots will do better with things like black birch or bald cypress. Ginkgo or dawn redwood if you are into living fossils. 

Others worth considering: Carolina Buckthorn, Bigtooth Maple, Caddo Maple, Texas Redbud, and Cedar Elms. 

Cottonwoods, Sycamore, and Ash trees are quicker growers, but not as desirable over the long run, but some folks like them. Sweetgum trees can show some poor adaptation to alkaline soils, they just look about half sick if they are in dirt they don't like. 

There really are a lot of choices these days. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

Any recommendations for a lawn guy in NW Austin? PM me 

[horncyclist 1391]

I bought some climbing roses impulsively at Aldi. There's a spot on my fence where they'd look nice but can I get them to grow up the fence or do I need a trellis placed in front of the fence? How do I train them? I have trained dogs before. Thank you. 

[cactusflinthead 27604]

The first couple of years the roses might not do a lot of growing. They don't naturally cling to anything except your clothes. The climbing aspect is possibly more accurately described as sprawling. Instead of an upright shrub they tend to have long, arching canes that will rest upon a support. Whether it's the fence, a scrap iron doohickey that Mitch's wife found or a wooden trellis is up to you. Training it is mostly poking the canes that are jutting out into the middle of the yard back to where they ought to go. That's easier when they are young and limber. Sometimes it's as simple as running them through some kind of restraining device on a column until they are strong enough to support themselves. I've seen them trimmed into a fan shape in the narrow gap between the drive way and the fence with no extra support at all.  The drawback of only using a fence as support is that eventually you have to do something to the fence in terms of maintenance. It might be a decade in the future in which case you might be able to slough it off onto some other....person.

It's really not that complicated. Mostly it's deciding or predicting what it is going to be like in a few years and working towards it. 

[Longhornlax 58]

Cactus do you know any good companies in the rockwall area for aeration and maybe top dressing

[texasdago 7580]

I may be a dumbass but I scattered tall fescue seed in the bare spots.  We'll see how that works out.  

 

*duck*

[McFly 606]

Looking for some plant ID help. Has anyone seen the large bush/small trees along 290 between Austin and Houston that are orange in color? Could be golden or copper in color. They are more broad than tall. 

[cactusflinthead 27604]

On 4/3/2019 at 12:36 PM, Longhornlax said:

Cactus do you know any good companies in the rockwall area for aeration and maybe top dressing

Check messages

On 4/3/2019 at 3:51 PM, texasdago said:

I may be a dumbass but I scattered tall fescue seed in the bare spots.  We'll see how that works out.  

 

*duck*

No biggie. 

2 hours ago, McFly said:

Looking for some plant ID help. Has anyone seen the large bush/small trees along 290 between Austin and Houston that are orange in color? Could be golden or copper in color. They are more broad than tall. 

I'm really tempted to get snarky.

Going to need a little more information.

[McFly 606]

19 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

I'm really tempted to get snarky.

Going to need a little more information.

Unfortunately, that's all I have.  That and some blurry pictures taken from the road that were sent to me.  Thought I'd see if I'd get lucky.  Don't hold back on the snark. 

[cactusflinthead 27604]

@McFly Photinia fraseri might be it. Aka Red Tip Photinia.

The snarky response is that there's a host of possibilities. New growth on trees/shrubs can be colors other than shades of green. It really doesn't narrow it down. The blurry images might actually be enough. People usually don't care if you take a leaf or two if you do spot one like it elsewhere. 

[The University 851]

On 3/31/2019 at 8:42 AM, cactusflinthead said:

Others worth considering: Carolina Buckthorn, Bigtooth Maple, Caddo Maple, Texas Redbud, and Cedar Elms. 

thanks @cactusflinthead

i spoke to a guy who seemed to know quite a bit about planting trees in the austin area and he said to avoid bigtooth maple. when asked why, it seemed that he personally didn't like them for one reason or another, but i haven't read about any issues with bigtooth maples in the austin area. other than perhaps his personal preference, can you think of any reason why he would advise me to avoid them? otherwise, it looks like a unique alternative tree for the area.

[cactusflinthead 27604]

Hmm. I don't know of a reason why he's against them. They can be kinda pricey. They aren't a very impressive tree to start. Some trees are ugly ducklings. A 30 gal. Chinese Pistachio looks like a 1st grader's drawing of a tree  I haven't seen the soil pH problems like Silver or Red maples. There's one called Shantung that's been on the market for a couple of decades that's had a good return. 

Did he have some recs? Was he specific on why he didn't like Bigtooth maples?

[cactusflinthead 27604]

@The University

Here's J Howard on it. From the standpoint of a commercial landscaper I can understand the reluctance to plant one if the customer expects a faster growing tree. It is not. It does best when mostly left alone, so trimming it up to head high is not a good plan. It might get a little scorchy on the edges in a bad summer. Woopteedo. If you are willing to be patient and water it well for the first couple of years it will be a stand out. 

https://www.dirtdoctor.com/garden/Big-Tooth-Maple_vq953.htm

Edited April 9, 2019 by cactusflinthead
Links are good

[McFly 606]

18 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

@McFly Photinia fraseri might be it. Aka Red Tip Photinia.

The snarky response is that there's a host of possibilities. New growth on trees/shrubs can be colors other than shades of green. It really doesn't narrow it down. The blurry images might actually be enough. People usually don't care if you take a leaf or two if you do spot one like it elsewhere. 

Red Tip came to mind at first when she mentioned them but don't look anything like them.  Here's the pics I got.

She said this is a bunch of them

 

It is supposed to be in the middle of this pic.

Good Luck.  TIA

 

[Bevo 13601]

I have Zoysia in the backyard and the back half looks great and the front half has died. I actually helped it die as we had St. Augustine growing into it and was trying to kill them off by covering them while we were building a pool. Unfortunately, the St. Augustine is coming back. I have some St. Augustine killer that I could try, but at this point, I'm kind of wondering if I should just have the St. Augustine take over. Shoot, I guess I could even seed with St. Augustine. I'm in Austin. What would you do?

[cactusflinthead 27604]

5 hours ago, McFly said:

Red Tip came to mind at first when she mentioned them but don't look anything like them.  Here's the pics I got.

She said this is a bunch of them

 

It is supposed to be in the middle of this pic.

Good Luck.  TIA

 

Yeah, I'm stumped. It's possible that it's the new leaves on live oaks, but I don't think so. Nobody will care if she gets a close up of the pasture ones. Except maybe you if she gets stuck in the ditch. 

I don't think ligustrum gets that color even with new growth in spring. Huisache? Western Soapberry? Nah too shrubby.

Striking out 

[cactusflinthead 27604]

4 hours ago, Bevo said:

I have Zoysia in the backyard and the back half looks great and the front half has died. I actually helped it die as we had St. Augustine growing into it and was trying to kill them off by covering them while we were building a pool. Unfortunately, the St. Augustine is coming back. I have some St. Augustine killer that I could try, but at this point, I'm kind of wondering if I should just have the St. Augustine take over. Shoot, I guess I could even seed with St. Augustine. I'm in Austin. What would you do?

May the best grass win. If you want to put down more St. A sod is the way to go. It's got about a 30% germination rate. Pennington tried marketing a shaker jug of St.A a few years ago. I haven't seen it since. 

[TXs 226]

On 4/8/2019 at 7:59 PM, The University said:

thanks @cactusflinthead

i spoke to a guy who seemed to know quite a bit about planting trees in the austin area and he said to avoid bigtooth maple. when asked why, it seemed that he personally didn't like them for one reason or another, but i haven't read about any issues with bigtooth maples in the austin area. other than perhaps his personal preference, can you think of any reason why he would advise me to avoid them? otherwise, it looks like a unique alternative tree for the area.

I've got both a bigtooth and a shantung. The bigtooth looks better to me, but was half as small and 2x as expensive (from the same nursery). The shantung also seems more hardy. 

For what it's worth, I planted a bunch of Lacey Oaks. One of my favorite smaller oak trees. Look like a mini white oak.

Edited April 10, 2019 by TXs