TIPStricks

Ornamental Grasses in Pots Lend a Lively Look

P hoto courtesy of iVerde ‘Perennial Power’.

Ornamental grasses in pots can bring any outdoor space to life. Even the slightest breath of wind is enough to get them swaying. Let ornamental grasses shine on your balcony, terrace, or roof garden, and enjoy their appearance as it changes throughout the seasons. Ornamental grasses look attractive in all seasons, from the first fresh green blades in spring and beautiful plumes in (late) summer to the intense leaf colors in fall. Even in winter, ornamental grasses create a fairytale winter silhouette, often enhanced by a layer of frost after a cold winter night. Evergreen ornamental grasses that retain their color, such as blue fescue and sedge (Carex spp.), are also an option. If you like the power of simplicity, why not try filling containers with a single type of ornamental grass? If you would rather go for variety, you can go wild with ornamental grasses combined with flowering perennials. For a botanical look, you could combine them with foliage plants, such as coral bells (Heuchera spp.). Use frost-resistant pots and containers to plant ornamental grasses. Make sure there are holes in the bottom of the pot to allow excess water to drain away. Water the grasses regularly to prevent them from drying out. Cut them back in early spring to make room for the first fresh greenery of spring. Evergreen grasses don’t need cutting back; you can just pick out any withered blades of grass. Visit www.perennialpower.eu for more information about perennials. o different amounts of water and it’s important to hit that 1 inch per week requirement. This can also depend on where the irrigation system is delivering the most amount of water and your lawn’s waterholding capacity. For example, if you have sandy soils, the water-holding capacity of your lawn is probably pretty low because sand is very granular and it’s easy for water to pass right through it. In this case, you may need to water your lawn for longer periods or add more organic matter. If you have clay or loamy soils, on the other hand, the water-holding capacity is a little bit higher, so you should water your lawn in shorter periods to prevent waterlogged soils. If your lawn is receiving too little water, you may start to see signs of drought, which includes the thinning of grass blades that start to turn yellow or brown in color, and might grow slower. It’s important to keep an eye out for this because it is the step right before the grass starts to die. Some lawns, like EMPIRE® Zoysia, may go into dormancy to preserve themselves before dying, but others may just die and can’t be revived. It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between disease or drought because both include a yellowbrown discoloration of grass blades. If your lawn is being overwatered, the heat and over-saturation create optimal environments for disease outbreaks. Depending on the type of disease, the key to distinguishing drought from disease outbreak is often looking toward the edges of the discolored spots. Typical signs of disease vary depending on the type of fungus, but most include an interior clear dead zone where the fungus has killed the grass and a lighter yellow or brown ring around the outskirts where the fungus is spreading. Disease also usually appears in irregular, circle-shaped spots of varying size. This is a big indicator of disease damage. Finally, check your soil. If the soil is damp, you’re probably overwatering the lawn. If it’s dry, damage is likely due to drought stress. To learn more about lawn care and watering tips, go to www.sodsolutions. com. o

How to Water Your Lawn Properly in Summer

Summer watering requirements for most warm- and cool-season grasses—zoysia, St. Augustine, bermuda grass, centipede grass, bluegrass, and fescue—require about 1 inch of water per week, including rainfall. You may be asking, “How do I measure 1 inch of water from my irrigation system or sprinkler?” A simple irrigation audit can help with a lot of this confusion. An irrigation audit consists of setting a few inexpensive cups in different zones in your lawn. These can vary from empty tuna cans to sprinkler gauges. Run your irrigation system or sprinkler until the cups hold about an inch of water. Different cups may have varying amounts of water, so it’s important to make adjustments for your lawn to receive a consistent amount of water throughout. During the summer, temperatures rise, and soil conditions change. The best time to water your lawn in the summer is in the early mornings for longer periods of time and less frequently. This will decrease the dew period where a thin layer of dew sits on grass blades. Despite the warmer temperatures, it’s also important to decrease this period because it reduces the amount of time for water to sit on the grass blades—a useful disease management practice. Watering in the early mornings provides your lawn with water before conditions get hot during the daytime. For most warm- and cool-season grasses, one or two waterings per week should meet the weekly 1 inch of water requirement. The amount of water each irrigation system or sprinkler delivers can play a huge factor in how often you should water the lawn. Therefore, it’s important to set up an irrigation audit. This will inform you about how much water your lawn is receiving in a single watering. Make adjustments to the frequency of each irrigation period as needed. Typically, most lawn irrigation periods during the summer should last between 25–30 minutes each. This amount of time depends on a lot of different factors, though. As previously stated, each irrigation system or sprinkler can deliver