Your lawn is an important part of your landscaping because
it is one of the first things people see when they drive by or visit your home.
Naturally, this makes most homeowners want a beautiful lawn to boost curb
appeal. If you are struggling with your lawn or if you just want to know more,
check out these five big dangers to your lawn.
1. Weeds
Weeds are problematic because they choke out your grass to
make more room for the weeds to spread. Crabgrass and dandelions are two common
lawn weeds. Crabgrass looks like patches of thick grass, and it is more common
on thin, undernourished lawns. Each summer, the crabgrass develops hundreds of
seeds, which further spread the weed.
Dandelions are also found in thin, unhealthy lawns. At
first, they appear bright yellow but quickly change to white puffs full of seed
that float in the air. As a result, these weeds spread fast. Plus, removing
dandelions can be difficult because of their 10-inch-long taproots. If any part
of the taproot is left behind, the weed can regrow.
2. Fungus
Fungi is naturally in your lawn, but when the wrong
conditions are met, the fungi can start to take over your yard. Common causes
of lawn fungus include drought, mowers that cut too close, compacted soil,
overwatering, and humidity. Identifying lawn fungi can be difficult if you
don't know what you're looking for.
Instead of mushrooms, look for patches of discolored or dead
grass. The spots may look white, yellow, gray, black, red, and orange. You may
have coatings on the grass that look like powder or strings. Some fungi can
even make the grass look greasy or slimy.
3. Moss
Moss may start to grow on a lawn that is thin or has bare
spots. Typically, lots of moss growing in your lawn means it has an underlying
condition such as compacted soil, poor drainage, or inadequate sunlight.
Moss doesn't take over the lawn - it just fills in bare
patches. This can make your lawn look healthier at first glance, but moss
absorbs and holds water well. Therefore, too much moss could steal water from
your grass, leading to dead grass and bare spots that allow for more moss
growth.
4. Dog Urine
Nitrogen is an important ingredient in fertilizers. However,
dog urine also contains a lot of nitrogen - too much nitrogen. As a result, dog
urine can overfertilize your yard, causing yellow and brown spots to appear.
Female dogs tend to cause more damage because of how they squat in one spot to
urinate.
Ideally, you can train your dog to urinate somewhere other
than your lawn, but even if your dog does pee on the lawn, make sure to water
it right after to wash away the urine and nitrogen. You may also want to choose
a grass that is good for dogs, such as Fescue and perennial ryegrass instead of
Kentucky Bluegrass and Bermuda grass, which are more sensitive to urine scald.
5. Shade
Grass is a plant, and like any plant, it needs air, water,
nutrients, and sunlight to really thrive. Therefore, too much shade can destroy
your lawn. One way shade ruins your lawn is by preventing sunlight from
reaching the grass. As a result, the grass starts to grow longer and thinner to
try and reach the sunlight, which increases the risk of weeds and moss taking
hold of the bare spots.
Shade may also limit the amount of water from reaching the
grass. Even if water and nutrients do reach the ground, however, nearby trees
that cause shade may steal most or all of the water and nutrients, leaving the
grass to struggle to survive. If you have lots of shade, look for a grass that does
well in shade.
Many factors can affect the health and beauty of your lawn.
In some cases, fixing the problem may be as easy as trimming a few branches,
but in other situations, you may need to fully replace your grass with a new
species. If you would like to know more, contact us
at Wright Turf
Farms.
