Wednesday, March 21, 2001

Grow a healthy lawn

Want to maintain a lush, weed-free lawn? There are a few steps you can take to do just that.

In late winter or early spring, apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer to your lawn that has been formulated with a pre-emergence crabgrass product such as Dimension® crabgrass preventer, manufactured by the Rohm and Haas Company of Philadelphia.

When using this type of product, it is important that you spread it over your lawn before crabgrass seeds germinate. This will hasten your lawn's green up and stop unsightly crabgrass before it seeds.

Depending on where you live, crabgrass preventers formulated with fertilizers should be applied early in the year (see map). Crabgrass germinates when soil temperatures reach 55°F for three consecutive days.

Approximately 60 days later (two months), use a post-emergent broad leaf weed control product. These usually are formulated with low nitrogen fertilizers to continue the greening of grass and strengthen the root systems during the summer months.

This type of product controls broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, plantains, chickweed, and sometimes clover. The application will be made between May and July, depending on when the pre-emergent crabgrass preventer was applied.

Later, from Mid-June through Mid-July, you will want to control insects. Insect types depend on the area in which you live.

In the northeast, mid-Atlantic and central parts of the country, homeowners will need to protect against grubs-insects that reside just below the surface of the soil. Insecticides specifically developed for grub control are formulated with fertilizers to maintain green grass during the hot summer, while minimizing damage to turf caused by sub-surface feeders.

Homeowners in the rest of the country, the Deep South and west, usually need to control surface feeding insects. Insecticides specifically designed for surface feeders, such as chinch bugs, bill bugs, cutworms and webworms, come formulated with low nutrition fertilizer treatments that sustain greening while offering insect protection.

In the early fall, usually September, fertilizers are used again to strengthen grass and root systems for the cooler fall and colder winter temperatures.

In the mid-Atlantic states, and as far west as Nebraska and Iowa, homeowners may apply pre-emergent weed control products for fall germinating weeds such as Poa annua, chickweed and henbit.

By taking these steps over the course of the year, homeowners can keep the grass greener on their side of the fence year round.

For further information on Dimension crabgrass preventer formulated with fertilizers, call 1-800-987-0467.

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