After completing the design and installation of your landscape project;
then comes the week-in, week-out care and consideration of the landscape.
Houston lawn maintenance is a year-round affair which requires attention to
maintain the overall design intent, plus some particular tasks caused by our
climate and environment.
The Elements of Lawn maintenance in
Houston Texas
• Turf maintenance Landscape maintenance starts with the lawn. Houston lawns require mowing and trimming weekly in the
spring and summer and every other week from during the winter. Rotary lawn
mowers are the most common type used in Houston because of the prolific use of
St. Augustine. Conventional Reel lawn mowers are used on Bermuda, Zoysia, or 419
Tiff varieties. Dethatching, the process of removing thatch or excessively thick
grass, promotes healthy lawns. It can done with machine or by hand.
Installing winter grass is a great way to keep your yard beautiful
throughout the winter months or more to the point November thru March. The local
temperature ranges normally dictates that winter rye seed can be spread in early
to late October. It is important to know, however, that rye grass has some
negative aspects. For example, the rye grass can compete with the common St.
Augustine grass for space and nutrition, which makes it difficult on the St.
Augustine in the spring. This struggle is particularly apparent in shaded area
where grass already has a particularly hard time growing.
• Aeration
Lawn aeration,
also known as core aeration, is a recommended lawn care practice for compacted,
heavily-used turf and to control thatch build-up. Lawn aeration involves the
removal of small soil plugs or cores out of the lawn by a core aerator. The
aerator extracts ½- to ¾-inch diameter cores of soil and deposits them on the
lawn. Other types of aerators push solid spikes or tines into the soil without
removing a plug, a procedure known as spiking. Spiking is not as effective as
core aeration because, with Houston’s soil, spiking can actually contribute to
compaction.
• Fertilization programs Fertilizers can include
semi-organic, fast release, slow release, winterizer, organic and low salt. Two
additional important treatments are insecticides and fungicides, which help
reduce fungus and insect infestations, an always present concern in Houston or
gulf coast lawns.
• Irrigation Management Watering long and
less often ensures deeper water penetration, which gives your plant material
stronger root systems and healthier plants. It also makes for a more
drought-resistant lawn and you can water less, thus saving money. In the fall
and winter months, you should run your sprinkler system in the
late morning to reduce standing water, which is a perfect breeding ground for
fungus.
An investment in an irrigation system can be a time and energy
saver for your Houston lawn maintenance program. However, quarterly inspection
of your system is required since sprinkler systems, like all machines, break
down and need repair from time to time. This regular survey prevents the loss of
water from undetected leaks, something that is important for the environment and
your pocketbook. Attention to this detail is extremely important on large
properties or for commercial lawn maintenance. In short, proper lawn maintenance
requires proper irrigation system maintenance.
Exterior Worlds, one of
Houston’s premier landscape companies, provides maintenance contracts, as well as high-end residential landscape
design services, for Bellaire, River
Oaks, the Memorial Villages of Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village and
Hunter Creek Village, and the surrounding Houston area. Call Exterior Worlds at
713-827-2255 to discuss your Houston lawn service needs.
For more the 20 years Exterior
Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.
This article was published on Tuesday 13 January, 2009.
