Are you frustrated with Bermuda taking over your lush St. Augustine lawn? Unfortunately, there are only two options to deal with it.

Before I get into solutions, let me explain how Bermuda works. It is very invasive and spreads via seed (when mowed), stolon (above ground "runners"), and rhizomes (underground root system). It is in the grass family, so any herbicide that kills it will also kill St. Augustine grass - which is why it creates such a hassle for Gainesville lawns. 

The good news is that Bermuda and St. Augustine grasses can co-exist in Gainesville lawns and the grass can still look overall healthy. We have several clients that have found this to work for them, even if they would prefer to have a Bermuda-free yard. The bad news comes if anything ever causes the St. Augustine grass to struggle, like irrigation issues or insect damage, because then the Bermuda will immediately take the opportunity to really cover that area and will not let St. Augustine back in without being completely removed and having new sod installed.

A good lawn spray technician can utilize pre-emergent* herbicides to slow the spread of Bermuda - but nothing will stop it completely because of the runners. 

Some people love Bermuda lawns and grow it as their primary turfgrass, but you rarely see this in Gainesville. Primarily in our area, Bermuda is used for golf courses and football fields. It just takes too much maintenance and fertilizer to keep it looking healthy and lush in our sandy soils to be a good lawn grass.

Here are the two options when it comes to resolving the Wild Bermuda grass issue..  

Least Invasive Option - The key for this is to keep the St. Augustine turf healthy enough to keep the Bermuda at bay. You may have to sod any areas that are completely riddled with Bermuda to get a good start.

• Mow the lawn on your mower's highest setting. (Bermuda prefers to be mowed low, so this will help the St. Augustine grass)
• Increased irrigation times to keep the St. Augustine healthy enough to hold it's space against the invasive Bermuda grass.
• A good fertilization and pre-emergent weed control program, which we offer. 
• Lawn Insect Control such as chinch bugs and webworms. This is also a service we offer.

Extensive Option - This would involve locating any areas where Bermuda is located, even if it doesn't look bad yet, to remove and resod so that Bermuda is no longer taking over the property.

• We would recommend starting with a couple non-selective herbicide applications that will kill the Bermuda grass throughout your yard.
• Next, you would sod-cut and till the lawn to assure you remove all of the roots.
• You would apply a soil amendment such as milorganite to help the sod root quickly.
• Install the healthiest sod available. 
• Lastly, protect the sod with a lawn health program.

Either one of these plans can work if all of the steps are followed, but missing a step assures failure when it comes to Bermuda grass. I encourage homeowners to keep their lawn healthy and a little Bermuda grass will not be an issue. It's only when the St. Augustine thins out and struggles that it shows up.  If we can be of any help in this job, please feel free to call us at (352) 378-5296 or email us at info@themasterslawncare.com. 

*Pre-Emergents lay a protective barrier down on the soil that won't allow seeds to germinate, restricting Bermudas ability to spread.

A question I hear frequently is “Should I bag my grass clippings or let them lay (mulching) on my lawn?” Certainly, there are some areas of the country nation that turfgrasses are healthier when bagged, but luckily for us Gainesville, Florida is not one of those areas. I do not recommend removing your grass clippings if you have a healthy, regularly maintained lawn, however there are exceptions…

Lawn with piles of clippings left in big clumps — (not good!)

Let’s talk about when and why you should bag grass clippings up off the lawn. Bagging is beneficial if your lawnt is extremely wet and the clippings clump up and make little mini piles. This will cause your lawn to turn brown in those areas due to the grass not getting enough sun and air flow, which left unattended, could promote lawn disease, such as leaf spot or large patch fungus.

Also, bagging is beneficial if your lawn has grown really tall and has not been regularly maintained. The grass, even if when dry, could leave a layer clippings covering the lawn and cause browning in a more wide spread area and again promoting disease. (Something to think of if your lawn was allowed to get really tall!) As a rule, never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf bladeof St.Augustine or Zoysia grass. That means you may have to cut it once a week during the growing season to keep from cutting less than 1/3rd off every mow.

Last but not least, another reason to bag or rake up the clippings is if the lawn has a disease/fungus- and specifically only the areas affected. Bag the clippings and throw them away as not to spread the disease. If the disease is really bad do not mow, and have your lawn sprayed with a fungicide beforehand. Now onto the benefits of not bagging, or mulching your grass clippings.

The Benefits of Leaving your Grass Clippings

Finely chopped and mulched clippings are good for the lawn

The benefits of leaving the clippings on your grass are many. Grass clippings are full of nutrients and can add up to 15% of your lawn’s fertilizer needs, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many other micronutrients that are very beneficial and needed by your lawn to grow. Also grass clippings are made up of 70 to 80 percent of water (moisture) that decompose quickly thus actually cutting down on the total water you will need to add to your lawn.

Contrary to popular belief the clippings do not add to thatch build up. Thatch is defined as intermingled layer of dead and living shoots, stems, and roots that develops between the green grass and the soil surface. This layer will make your grass soft and spongy and cause serious problems in your lawn.  By leaving (recycling) the clippings in your lawn you are putting valuable organic nutrients back into your lawn thus cutting down on the total fertilizer we would have to use on your lawn. This helps the environment tremendously by saving water and room in our landfills. Also all the nutrients in the grass clippings can hurt the environment if they are blown into our drains which lead right back to the ocean. Remember all those nutrients the clipping provide to your lawn are great but the ocean does not need them. This is thought to cause algae blooms that hurt our oceans and water way eco systems - especially as close as we are to major springs.

Use a mower with a mulching blade for best results

In summary, leaving well mulched grass clippings in the yard is good for our oceans, our landfills, and our lawns. So leave your grass clippings on your lawn where they actually help. Keep them out of the landfills and water sources. If you have any questions concerning this subject or any of my postings feel free to contact our office or myself. We will be glad to help in anyway with your lawn or landscaping needs. Our phone number is 378-LAWN or email us at info@themasterslawncare.com

---

Rusty Thompson has been in the green industry since for over 20 years, and has owned The Master's Lawn Care for over 12. In this role, he supervises field personnel and ensures all operations proceed in a safe and effective manner. He writes regularly on best practices for maintaining a healthy vibrant lawn in Gainesville, Florida

 

 

Grass needs water, but how much?  The combined loss of water from plants and soil ("evapotranspiration") was measured in a classic turf study in Gainesville, Florida (Table 1).
Gainesville gets lots of rainfall.   But typically, dry weather in July and August means that just about all the turf water must come from irrigation.  And in other months, such March through June, rainfall is plentiful, on average, but sporadic.
The story is more complicated.  Soils with good water holding capacity, such as organic soils, provide more water reserve for the roots than sand soils.  Turf grown near heat sources, such as pavement, uses more water, while turf under trees uses less water.
The process of water loss by plants is a simple physical process of heat exchange.  This is proven by the coolness of your bare skin when you walk out of the water, and the heat rising from the stove where you boil water.  Plants generally differ little in how much water they use.   Forests use a little more water than grasslands, hence forests generally occur in moist regions, and grasslands in arid regions.  Except for cacti and other succulents, most plants use about the same amount of water.  The main difference is that some plants need more irrigation, while other plants, woody plants especially, are better at tapping the underground reserves.  With its long roots, bahiagrass can generally be grown in areas of Florida with no landscape irrigation.

Month Wateruse (inches) January 2.0   February 2.5   March 3.4   April 4.2   May 5.2   June 4.3   July 4.8   August 4.8   September 3.9   October 3.4   November 2.5   December 1.9   Total 42.8    Means of five years' observations of evapotranspiration on St. Augustinegrass turf.  

Return to top

 

Back to the St. Augustine grass lawns.   Typically, in Gainesville, FL soils, St. Augustine grass has about 3/4 inch total soil moisture reserve.  That's how much water it loses before it wilts.  The simplest way to know when the Gainesville lawn has lost this much water lawn is . . . watch it wilt.  If you notice gray areas which "footprint," and individual leaf blades that are curled, it's time to irrigate, and damage is being done.  The wilting is normally noticed in the late afternoon, and the turf should be watered the following morning, or certainly within a few days.
How much to water?  About 3/4 of an inch.  Since irrigation systems are not perfectly tuned to provide 3/4 inch to every corner of the lawn, one would normally water more than this amount.  How much depends on how bad your Gainesville irrigation system is set up.  The simplest way to find out is to place more-or-less straight-sided containers, such as coffee cans or frozen drink concentrate cans, etc., preferably 10 or 20 per lawn, and run the sprinklers for a timed test, say, one hour.  If the sprinklers put out 3 inches in one hour, then you can figure on watering for 15 minutes to provide the "average" turf needs, until the next time it wilts.

Uniformity is Goal #1 of a good irrigation system.  Bad irrigation  wastes water.  So how does one tune-up a bad irrigation system, or design a good system?  The biggest corrupter of irrigation systems is poor sprinkler placement.  Generally the sprinkler heads should be close enough so that the spray or stream from each head just barely touches the neighboring heads (in other words "head-to-head coverage).  So if your sprinklers are place on a square grid, the arc from each head must touch four other heads.  Except, along the edges and corners of the landscape, half- and quarter- circle matched precipitation heads would be used so as not to put water on the street or building.  Accomplishing proper head placement, and uniform irrigation, will be the subject of another article.  But for now, make sure you have an adequate water source, that you don't have too many heads per zone, and that pressure, pipe size, and layout make sense.  Retail outlets that sell sprinkler parts normally have free pamphlets or inexpensive booklets that will tell you how but having a system that isn't installed by a trained professional is what typically leads to a poorly designed Gainesville irrigation system and a drought-stressed Gainesville landscape. 

One way is to shut off the irrigation.  It's often the dry season when we see how poorly our sprinklers have been working.
The photo shows a planned curtailment, to measure differences in drought survival among different St. Augustine grasses.  Some of the grasses were totally killed and others survived. 
In other studies, the killing injury (damage %, below) was closely associated with the number of days wilt.  While FX-10 and Floratam were slower to wilt than Bitterblue and Seville, once a grass had been wilting off-and-on for a week, it was on a death course.

   

After the first week or so, St. Augustinegrass plots suffered 15% loss of canopy per day.  Plots which underwent two weeks of wilt were completely killed.  Any subsequent recovery was from stolons growing in from the sides. 
Actual results which you might experience in a lawn will vary according to microenvironment, e.g., the presence of trees, exposure to the wind, the quality of your soil, and the condition of the turf.  Other organisms, such as nematodes, can compromise the root system and make the grass less able to stand up to lack of water.  Grass which has been fertilized recently with highly soluble fertilizer often wilts quickly.  The Texas experiment was done in a microenvironment of sandy soil under full sun exposure.

Technically, St. Augustine grass uses only a little more water than other, drought avoidant grasses such as bermuda grass and bahia grass.  What probably lends to the severity of drought damage in St. Augustine grass is the exposure of the horizontal above-ground stems ("stolons") to desiccation.  In contrast, bahiagrass stolons are partially protected by the clasping leaf sheaths.   Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass have much of their stem material below the ground ("rhizomes"), and rhizomes are not only protected from desiccation by the soil, but they tend to be in a semi-dormant ("hardened") condition, thus are more resistant to desiccation.
Should the lawn be watered as soon as it wilts?  Not necessarily.  There's a chance it may rain within a few days from the first wilt, and generally it's safe to watch and wait.  Wilt is typically noticed at first in the mid-afternoon, 2 to 3 p.m. Daylight Savings Time, and the lawn becomes turgid again by the next morning.  The progression of afternoon wilt can continue for a week or so, expanding in area and occurring earlier in the afternoon.   When the lawn still remains wilted the following morning it is on its death course.  During this progression, traffic should be kept off the turf. 
Any new growth in grasses must come from the stems.  Once the stems have dried excessively, the turfgrass plant can make no more leaves, roots, or stems.

Mowing

Before Gainesville lawn mowing, be sure the mower blade is sharp.  A dull blade will bruise and tear the grass tips, and they will eventually turn brown.  Mow when the grass is dry to eliminate shredding and whipping of the grass blades.

Base the mowing on the growth rate of the grass rather than on a set time schedule.  Never mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade.  With this small amount of grass being cut, the clippings won't have to be bagged.  Leaving the clippings on the grass will actually return the nutrients to the soil.  Contrary to popular belief, clippings left on the lawn are not a significant contributor to thatch.

As the summer progresses and the temperature increases, raise the mower to 2 1/2 to 3 inches.  The grass will be stronger and better able to survive drought when it is mowed at a higher cut.  It will also discourage germination of weed seeds and insulate the soil against the drying heat.

Mow the lawn into the fall until the grass stops growing.

Thatch

Thatch is a major concern with some lawns.  Some thatch is normal and even beneficial, as it acts as a mulch to retain moisture and keep soil temperatures cool.  Thatch also discourages germination of weed seeds and as it decays it adds nutrients to the soil.  But once thatch accumulates to more than 1/2 inch, it can choke your lawn and invite trouble from disease and insects. A healthy lawn in Central Texas will generally not have a thatch problem.

Thatch is a tightly intermingled layer of living and dead stems, leaves and roots, which develops between the layer of green vegetation and the soil surface.  To keep the amount of thatch down, the lawn needs better conditions for micro-organisms and decomposition of organic matter.

Aeration can be done in the spring or fall of the year to allow for better water and air infiltration, and nutrient mobility.  Aeration also improves the physical condition of the soil by relieving compaction and will help with all plant and soil processes, while keeping thatch at a desired level.

Free analysis and price quote

How much does a landscape or lawn service in Gainesville, Florida cost?  ...or... How much should I budget for lawn and landscape work in Gainesville, FL?

This is always one of the first questions a homeowner has when starting the research process for a Landscape company. The problem with answering this question, though, is the fact that a lawn service or project has so many variations and options that it can be very tough for one to truly know what the price to fully enjoy their yard will be. Notwithstanding, I'll do my best here to give you some realistic cost ranges as to what most people will spend. (And remember, these prices are AVERAGE, and can vary drastically depending on the size of your property, the thoroughness of the company, the quality of the material, etc)

Gainesville Irrigation System Costs

First things come first, and before you can expect to have a vibrant landscape in North Florida, you must make sure you have water irrigate it. Most homes built after the 90's in our area came with irrigation systems, but there are still many in our area that haven't had one installed yet. To irrigate efficiently and effectively, a professionally-installed irrigation system that meets code, comes equipped with a backflow preventer, and utilizes a rain sensor is a must-have.

Price Range for Design/Installation: - $3,500-5,000

Price Range for a Service Call - $100-250 (depending on the type of repairs needed)

Price Range for a Bi-Annual or Quaterly System Inspections - $75-250 per service

Gainesville Sod Installation

Occasionally we'll have a client that just wants to have a new lawn installed. Although there are many more things that create curb appeal than just green grass, there are people who just need new grass to give them a lawn they want their kids and pets playing in. Here are some rough price estimates, with variables of size of lawn, access for equipment, and amount of preparation work needed. 

The estimated costs include:

• the removal of the existing weeds and dirt to make sure the existing problems and pests are removed from the lawn
• the removal of approx 1" of existing soil to make sure new sod is installed level with the current lawn
• application of an organic soil ammendmanet (milorganite) that helps kick-start the biological cycle in the soil to create nutrients and healthy soil under the new sod
• Sod costs and delivery fees
• Installation labor
• Irrigation Check-up to verify coverage of new lawn
• Dump Fees for old materials removed from the lawn

1,000 - 1,500 Sq. Ft. of Sod - $2.25-2.75 per square foot

1,500 - 3,000 Sq Ft. of Sod - $2.25-2.50 per square foot

3,000 and up Sg. Ft. of Sod - $2.00-2.50 per square foot

Smaller Gainesville Landscape Designs:

This typically includes: a professional landscape design sketch concept, removal/disposal of existing unwanted plant material, approximately 30-50 plants, mulch, and the installation of all of the above. This is typically for a very small postage stamp-sized lawn, or just the front or back of a normal sized yard. 

Price Range: $2,500-$6,000. (This, like everything else mentioned in this article, is contingent on a wide variety of factors)

Larger Gainesville Landscape Installation Prices:

This would include everything in the basic install noted above, but about twice as many materials and size of the design. Also, it may include a hardscape patio or firepit as an additional feature in the backyard.  This is typical for a full landscape re-design (front and back) of a normal to a large-sized yard. 

Price Range: $10,000-$25,000

Gainesville Landscape Lighting Pricing:

Our landscape lighting systems are first-class quality from the design to the fixtures. The 2 main problems with outdoor lighting in Florida are the fixtures allowing moisture into the electronics and burning out or the system not being maintained properly to keep adjusting for growing the maturing landscape. We solve these two issues with quality fixtures that have a lifetime warranty and with on-going service to adjust and aim the landscape lights with the landscape as it grows. We recommend choosing our premium LED system over the cheaper lighting systems because of the savings on electricity, bulb replacement, and their lifetime warranty. It may cost a little more up front over a home depot system, but will save you money for years down the road in headaches and frustration. We also offer Wi-Fi transormers that are controlled by your smartphone or tablet as well. 

Price Range: $200-300 per lighting fixture (including the transformer, fixture, LED bulb, and installation) with a minimum of 10 light fixtures. 

Gainesville Patio Pavers, Walkways, and Firepit Pricing

Patios, Paver Walkways, and Custom firepits extend your living space outdoors at a fraction of the cost. They give you the freedom to entertain guests and spend quality time together somewhere other than around the television. These can be done on a relatively low budget using crushed concrete or gravel as a surface, or they can be done intricately with pavers and travertine.

Price range: $11-17 per sq. ft., plus any retaining walls or firepit additions.

Gainesville Landscape Maintenance Service Pricing

Landscape maintenance services can vary wildly on pricing - depending upon a myriad of factors. Size of lawn, the frequency of service (weekly, biweekly, monthly), annual schedule (how many scheduled visits per year), service inclusions (mowing only, shrub trimming, weed removal in mulch beds), and whether that company is insured properly for your protection. The pricing scale can range all the way from your neighbor's teenager just cutting the grass to a professional lawn service providing a thorough and detailed service that leaves your landscape immaculate and follows up with scheduled lawn pest treatments and fertilization to keep your lawn looking the best in the neighborhood. The Master's lawn maintenance service includes our lawn health program with it to protect your lawn from unwanted pests. 

Price Range: $195-$350 per month

Gainesville Lawn Health and Fertilization Pricing

Lawn spraying programs are offered most often by chemical companies like ChemLawn (now rebranded as TruGreen) and other Pest Control companies. These companies are great at keeping pests out of your lawn using chemicals - but we have found they typically are not very knowledgeable about lawn health. The Master's handles everything in the Gainesville lawn - the design, preparation, installation, irrigation, mowing, aeration, fertilization, and pest control. We leave the termites and house pests to the experts in their field, and we stick to what we're experts about - and that's lawns. Our program includes weed control, pest prevention, disease treatment, fertilization, and soil amendments - all in one organic-based program to improve the health of your lawn. 

Price range - $42-95 per month

Although all of these numbers and prices are very general, I do hope this article helps you to have a better feel for pricing on Gainesville lawn and landscape projects and what to expect when you start going through the process. If we can be of help in this process, please call us at (352) 378-5296 and we look forward to working with you.

Grass requires plenty of water to keep it green and growing. Long periods without rain, like we've been in recently in North Florida, can mean that you end up with a dying yard. Here are ten ways to make sure your lawn is ready for the drought.

1. Irrigate deeply and less often – Set your irrigation to use plenty of water at once. Watering longer will allow you to space out your waterings. This will encourage your grass roots to  reach down for the water instead of just accessing what is available near the surface.
2. Avoid fertilizers – Don’t apply fertilizers to your lawn before or during a season of drought. This is actually harmful to your lawn rather than helpful because it increases the need for water.
3. Raise the mower height – By raising the cutting height on your mower, you will be encouraging root growth in your grasses. This will help the grass stay greener longer during a drought season. This is ESPECIALLY true for St. Augustine grass.
4. Increase potassium – Prior to a drought season, change your fertilizer to one that contains a higher level of potassium. Potassium may encourage root growth in your grasses. The key term here is prior, and that is months prior; not just before the drought.
5. Change grass types – Zoysia turf grasses are stronger against drought than St. Augustine. If drought is a frequent problem, you may want to consider increasing these types of grasses in your lawn. St. Augustine grass is not very drought tolerant at all, although it is easily the most popular grass in our area.

As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do to help keep your lawn greener, longer, during a drought period. Just remember, that if you can water, watering longer and less often will be better for your grass than small amounts every day. Please let us know if you have any other questions or would like any help with your irrigation system.