2018 Lawn and Landscape Thread

[joe dirt 285]

a couple weeks ago, a contractor came by to restain my fence and thought it was a good idea to set his gas powered pressure washer directly on my lawn for a few hours. the end result is a nice big yellow spot. is this too far gone to save? 

 

[BabaBooey 131]

2 hours ago, joe dirt said:

a couple weeks ago, a contractor came by to restain my fence and thought it was a good idea to set his gas powered pressure washer directly on my lawn for a few hours. the end result is a nice big yellow spot. is this too far gone to save? 

 

I'd get some Humic12 and paint it black in the middle with a pump sprayer. Then spray around the non yellowed parts with RGS. Had something similar happen to my bermuda. Don't know what the work crew spilled in my grass but, what I mentioned above worked and is back to normal after a few weeks. I get all my yard stuff from Here 

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

Pre-emptive strike on the brown patch battle due to pending deluge: we mowed, treated with fungicide, and did a short water just enough to settle it and now wait. Thus far, the two largest patches have not grown. Rest of the lawn looks pretty darn good. Pre-emergent was applied a little while back and now we're waiting for October to fertilize.

 

[freyguy 4,258]

Pressure washer was probably leaking gas

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

So much aggy. Turf field day.

I'll have something to share on TARR later.

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

I can tell they really don't like talking about Take All. They can't get it to do what it does in the field in the lab annnnd they can't control enough variables in the field to satisfy themselves. Nobody is studying it. So that means we are left to our own devices.

The overall idea of a turf field day is good, but it definitely had a lean towards zoysia. Bermuda was there for comparison. We saw a few test plots of St. Augustine. One called CitraBlue was noticeable in the darker blue-green color. 

I also learned that Zeon zoysia was developed by Bladerunner Farms in Poteet. It looks nice when it's doing well, but man is it rough if it's not happy.

Oh and there's a new ant, white footed ant,  from Africa and Madagascar. Came in to Florida and then hitched a ride in some plants to Corpus. He wasn't as concerned about it as the crazy ants. There's still no good bait for those little bastards. Ant prof should have had an hour. IPM weed lady too. The red-headed soil prof would have put me to sleep. There's a reason those grad students stare at you like zombies.

It's a wonder Sid hasn't sold that prime real estate. I really want a brick from the old building when they knock it down.

[El Diablo 4,232]

 I came up with a game plan for the brick smoker. I am going to plant Virginia creeper and let it take over and then in a year or so cut it off at the ground and plant trumpet vine or wisteria. I figure doing this will provide a good latticework that will attach itself to the masonry that the second planting will be able to use.

Thoughts? 

[Viper 12,097]

Any ideas what this might be? Sod worms? Brown patch?

[3adays 454]

About a month ago, I put down some winter ryegrass on my Bermuda lawn. It’s coming in OK, but I want to add more.  Is it too late to overseed again? 

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

Some additional information might be useful in order for you to determine the best course of action. Where are you located, for example?

We have St. Augustine, so slightly different, but one year we seeded rye. While it looked lovely, the extension agent in our county was not a fan of using rye as it can weaken the existing turfgrass. Since we wanted to improve that, we gave it up after that year and focused on keeping our lawn healthy, but our species of grass is already bright green compared to yours. Bermuda may be different though with respect to lawn health. I do recall that the last application of seed was supposed to be (optimally) at least 30 days out from your area's first frost or freeze (I can't recall which one). So that would depend on where you are.

 

Paging @cactusflinthead to the white courtesy phone please.

 

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

@3adays

If you want to give it a shot, that's fine. But, 30 days until frost is standard and that depends on your location. The range it likes for germination is above 50 soil temps and into the 70s during the day. We've got that right now in DFW, but for how long?

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it up here in DFW.  Houston, Austin, SA are probably safe. 

 

 

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

On 11/7/2021 at 2:28 PM, Viper said:

Any ideas what this might be? Sod worms? Brown patch?

Has it snapped back?

 

[TexasEd 8,066]

Has anyone done Carolina Hawthorne in the West Austin area?  I am looking for some native shrubs to plant in some planters along a fence that will grow up to 15 feet and block some light coming over our fence at night from neighboring porch light.  Another consideration is the Eagleston Holly.  I have some cherry laurels in other places which could also be used.  This will be on the N side of the fence so it will only get morning light coming between houses.

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

Hawthorn ought to be fine in that spot. It's liable to be thin at the bottom. 

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/crataegus-phaenopyrum/

Don't get too hung up on species. One prof spent 20 years splitting hairs over it.

Crataegus spp. walla done.

 

• Clark'
  Heavy fruiter.
• 'Fastigiata'
  Columnar growth form with smaller flowers and fruits, almost thornless..
• 'Princeton Sentry'
  alMost thornless, vigorous growth, 30' x 20', upright branches.
• 'Winter King'

[TexasEd 8,066]

2 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

Hawthorn ought to be fine in that spot. It's liable to be thin at the bottom. 

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/crataegus-phaenopyrum/

Don't get too hung up on species. One prof spent 20 years splitting hairs over it.

Crataegus spp. walla done.

 

• Clark'
  Heavy fruiter.
• 'Fastigiata'
  Columnar growth form with smaller flowers and fruits, almost thornless..
• 'Princeton Sentry'
  alMost thornless, vigorous growth, 30' x 20', upright branches.
• 'Winter King'

Thanks. Went outside to get a picture. Main concerns are this is facing south and rocky ground. 

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

That ought to be fine. The ones I have seen in the wild were in similar lighting. There are a few old ones at the FW Botanic under big oaks, elms, and pecans. Others in woods around town. They are not joking about the thorns. Not honey locust level, but at least 2" of pointy sharpness.

[TexasEd 8,066]

ok, so I screwed up.  I was thinking of the Carolina Buckthorn

http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/treedetails/?id=41

 

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

Works about the same. Dappled light in that setting is understory level. The leaves are very glossy. It won't be as tall as a cherry laurel, but I think it's a cooler tree.

[NoName 16,349]

so starting planning for planting some native plants

we are in zone 8a - most of this is on the front of the house, we are going to try to go with native plants for water and whatever deer resistance we can get. they are a huge issue here (thanks neighbors who feed them nightly!) probably putting red yucca + maybe some native grasses across the front.

the other area of question is a side that is on such an angle (probably 15' x 20') that can't be mowed and needs to be replaced with some kind of ground cover. from doing some minimal research it looks like Gregg Dalea works great - it's basically pure sun + on a caliche hill ...but is there a better option?

here is a link to the Native Plant society's plant list for our area if that helps.

basically looking for any resources/suggestions/help anyone is willing to share!

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

31 minutes ago, NoName said:

so starting planning for planting some native plants

we are in zone 8a - most of this is on the front of the house, we are going to try to go with native plants for water and whatever deer resistance we can get. they are a huge issue here (thanks neighbors who feed them nightly!) probably putting red yucca + maybe some native grasses across the front.

the other area of question is a side that is on such an angle (probably 15' x 20') that can't be mowed and needs to be replaced with some kind of ground cover. from doing some minimal research it looks like Gregg Dalea works great - it's basically pure sun + on a caliche hill ...but is there a better option?

here is a link to the Native Plant society's plant list for our area if that helps.

basically looking for any resources/suggestions/help anyone is willing to share!

Do a mix of stuff. Lantana is tougher than boot leather. Echinacea actually likes full sun calcareous soils. Good old rosemary does surprisingly well in those conditions. Sedum is a good groundcover. It's kinda slow but it takes a beating. Mine survived icemaggedon and does great in a full sun location. 

[kmac30 416]

About to put a pool in so my backyard is going to be trashed. I want to use this as an excuse to change the grass type in the back. I have 2 dogs that run and have created paths in the St Augustine. What type of grass should I look for? Thinking Zoysia Palisades. Thoughts? Experiences?

I’m north of Houston.

[futureman 22,439]

not quite lawn or landscape but was hoping someone could help me identify this plant? it was my mother’s and apparently she had had it and kept it alive for like 40 years. that may or may not be true but now my sister wants to try and keep it going and it’s looking a bit rough. just want to find out what kind of water and sunlight is best for it to try and perk it up a bit. (full disclosure: I had it in the back seat of my truck for a week and forgot about it)

[texas08 1,599]

Lol, just let it sit out and get some sun (water it once).

I don’t know what plant it is, but it would suck to live inside a truck for a week.