Lawns

Perennial grasses, such as nimblewill, quackgrass, and windmillgrass, are some of the most difficult to control weeds in the lawn. Last summer's drought had thinned many lawns, opening up areas for weedy grasses to take hold.

Brown Patch is a common turf disease that occurs every year in eastern Nebraska, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. In home lawns, brown patch is found on bluegrass and perennial rye, and it's the most common disease affecting tall fescue, which is usually very disease resistant. The same fungus also infects zoysiagrass, resulting in a disease called large patch.

One of the most easily recognized insects in the home landscape is the white grub. Almost every gardener has seen white grub larvae in the soil, while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden. The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common, and most damaging, being the June beetle or masked chafer, and the Japanese beetle. Less well-known are the May/June beetle and green June beetle. All have a white grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.

Traditionally, we think of seeding lawns in either spring (April-May) or fall (August-September). But increasingly, turf specialists are recommending a new option - dormant seeding. With this method, the area is prepared in fall but the seed is not distributed until after the growing season has ended. Seed remains in place, but does not begin to grow until soil temperatures are warm enough for germination in mid-April.

Earthworms are very beneficial to a home lawn and landscape, serving as an indicator of healthy soil. Their movement through soil provides natural aeration, improving the growing environment for grass roots by increasing air and water movement in the soil. They also help decompose thatch and alleviate compaction.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, over 69 million or 54% of American households own a dog and 85% of those pet owners view their dogs as family members or companions. So naturally dog owners want their landscapes to be a safe place for their companions.

In the last week or two, have you started to see light yellowish-green grass-like plants in your lawn or landscape beds? Guess what? You may have yellow nutsedge and it's started growing for another year.

What are grubs?

The best time to seed cool season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, is between August 15th and September 15th, so it's time to start your site preparation.

Getting your seeding done as early as possible is really important, because each week of delay in seeding translates into 2-4 additional weeks required for the grass to mature in fall. It is critical to seed tall fescue no later than mid-September. Tall fescue seedlings take a longer time to develop cold hardiness, so get your seeding done early.

Some insects only sporadically cause problems in lawns and landscapes. They are there, every year, but usually in such low numbers they can easily be overlooked. Fall armyworm is one such insect, but it appears they will not go unnoticed this year.

There are actually several species of armyworm, including common and yellowstriped, but the dominant species this year is fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. Armyworms get their common name from their tendency to move in large groups, or armies, of caterpillars.

Many Nebraska soils have high clay and silt content making them prone to compaction. Foot traffic from both human and pets, equipment and vehicles are all common causes of soil compaction. Look for the following as signs of potential soil compaction in your landscape.

Summer is tough on landscapes. High temperatures, high humidity and dry conditions can leave many gardens looking ragged by September.

Fortunately September is a great time to repair summer's damage and get gardens back into good condition before winter. Good landscape practices for late summer and early fall include dividing perennials, controlling weeds, fertilizing turfgrass and watering trees and shrubs.