Thursday, March 30, 2006
Canada Green could go brown
John Arbogast
Landscape consultant John Arbogast answers your questions every Thursday. Send questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to:
Dear John
5102 Greenfield St. SW
Roanoke, Va. 24018
Or send an e-mail. Answers will be given only in this column. Please don't send pictures or samples.
Recent columns
Q: I recently saw an advertisement for Canada Green grass seed mixture. What is your opinion of this?
A: I don’t have any information on Canada Green. There is a paragraph on Canada Bluegrass in the textbook that I’ve used for teaching in my Virginia Western Community College class. This bluegrass species does well on low maintenance sites and supposedly can grow on droughty, acidic, infertile soils. However, Canada Bluegrass does not look good in a home lawn because the stems are much more noticeable than its small blue-green blades. Canada Bluegrass also has an open, low-density appearance.
It is possible that turf scientists have improved this species of bluegrass and that you've discovered an improved mixture. I recall a caution warning several years ago from Dave Chalmers, who at that time was extension specialist for turf at Virginia Tech. He suggested that consumers should look carefully at the description on the grass seed bag, paying special attention to the presence and amount of either perennial or annual rye grass seed in the mix. I agree because rye is a temporary grass in the Roanoke region. Anytime that the word “green” appears on a grass seed bag, look for rye. While it germinates quickly, the species dies out in our hot and humid summer weather. Rye grass seed is often fairly inexpensive, meaning you should suspect whenever some bags of lawn seed are significally cheaper than others.
Q: Each year, I have to overseed my fenced-in backyard because of the activity on it from my two indoor/outdoor dogs. I typically have used a combination of mostly turf-type tall fescues in that area, but the grass struggles over the course of the summer. There is one patch in the backyard that has wiregrass, which I’ve been told is a type of Bermudagrass. Because it seems to be more resilient during the summer and does recover better than fescue after winter, I need your advice on my idea of overseeding my backyard in all Bermuda or zoysiagrass. If this is a good idea, when is the best time in spring to overseed and what type of fertilizer should I use? Another topic is that I wonder if fertilizer can go bad after a period of time. I have some Turfbuilder Plus Halts in my garage that is about 2 years old.
A: Your Bermuda or zoysiagrass introduction plan might not work because older varieties of these southern grasses can present germination difficulties. Your backyard also may turn to dirt soon after fall frost until the mid-spring green-up because doggie traffic over dormant grass that can’t repair itself. Bermudagrass doesn’t do well in shade and zoysiagrass does not spread well when other grasses are already there. If you want to pursue your idea anyway, establishing southern grasses can be done during the hot times of late spring up until mid summer. Take a soil test to determine fertilizer needs.
Fertilizers stored in an airy, dry environment and have not become clumpy or impossible to spread evenly should be OK to use for at least 2 years. The “unknown” factor in your case will be the effectiveness of the pre-emergent herbicide that is a component of your combination product. The precise longevity of any pesticide is difficult to predict. So, I would not recommend using your 2-year old Turfbuilder Plus Halts.
Q: I’m considering planting my 2006 summer garden by the phases of the moon, and would like to have your opinion on this. I have never gardened by the moon before.
A: Some gardeners swear by this method. Even though scientific evidence is lacking to back up gardening according to the phases of the moon, I think that this method is worth a try. We gardeners still must provide good soil for our plants, spray as needed to control insects and mites, water if needed, fertilize just prior to planting and maybe again later for long-lasting vegetable plants, garden in a sunny spot; erect fences or other deterrents to keep wildlife out, plus many other horticulture jobs as needed.
I have a 2006 almanac and will try gardening by the signs of the moon to see if I can get better crops of slicing cucumbers and Halloween pumpkins.
