Where a car would park on the lawn in the same place every day, the side of the house where a big dog runs up and down all day, the route you take to the washing line every day, and any other area that receives consistent traffic on a daily basis. We often recommend you determine these locations and direct traffic using pavers or other hard landscaping solutions.
Traffic
A nice paver with a walkway often compliments a well-organized garden or recreational space. Watch the space and should an area seem like it is receiving large amounts of traffic, direct it, or alternatively implement measures to retard the traffic in those areas.
Lawn is like a lady, it should be given daily care, still expect a few days of unquestionable supplementary requirements.
Lawn loves sun and water, any compromise of one or the other becomes less ideal. Lawn should be kept moist at root level, not soaked or dry. If when it rains puddles do not drain away within a day the risk of plant rot and failure exists. Drainage options should be investigated and implemented. Should it be very hot and there is no rain irrigation should be increased to a longer period or even twice a day. In the summer months it is best to water just before sunrise or at dusk. If you have a computer timer it is imperative you learn how to operate and adjust the settings. Lawn is a living product. Weather is inconsistent and has four seasons, if you want a healthy lawn you need to ensure it receives enough water when it needs it.
Using the above requirements as a guide adjust the program accordingly. There is as a rule, No lawn looks great in dry conditions. Drought tolerance refers to the plants ability to survive with less water, this does not mean it looks good with less water. All pristine lawn is well watered.
Different lawns can be cut at different lengths. Very fine leaf lawns like Cynodon’s can be cut very short and a putting green finish can be achieved. Kikuyu can be mowed up to as short as 10mm in the summer months, provided you mow it twice a week and the lawn is healthy.
Buffalo lawns and LM Berea lawns are best cut at 50mm. The lawns are broad leaf products and cutting them short can seriously hurt or even kill the plant. 90% of all lawn failure in the Cape and are due to mowing them very short just before the onset of winter. Never let a lawn grow too long and then cut it, this exposes the soft part of the leaf and it is not capable of dealing with harsh sunlight and heat, can lead to complete lawn failure.
In Semi shaded areas it is best to mow all lawn with 50mm of blade on it. You can mow your lawn as often as you like, but do not drop the height. It is our recommendation that you procure a mower with a height setting that allows for 50 to 75mm of ground clearance. If you permanently secured the height to 50mm and used it only for your Buffalo, LM Berea and semi shaded areas your risk of lawn failure would be greatly reduced. If the services of a garden service are employed, consider giving them this information as push in the right direction. Most garden services offer a bi-weekly visit and although this is good enough in the slower growing period, i.e. the winter months, the summer requires a weekly visit.
Natural composts are always first prize and offer many redeeming properties. It is best to compost your lawn in the late spring, summer or early autumn. Good compost also assists with your irrigation. The compost absorbs the water and holds it for longer allowing the plant to get its food and stay moist. When a dressing of compost is applied to your lawn it is best to cover the top of the root but not to cover the leaf completely. Ideally aim for a dark base with a green finish. Most of the leaf needs to be exposed and not covered. Covering it could suffocate the plant, not enough sunlight gets through, and possible damage or failure is imminent. Fertilizers are also good if used in accordance with the recommendations.
Fertilizers are normally quick release and should be used with care. Too much could burn or damage the lawn and soil base extensively. It is worth doing the program more frequently with less, than to overdo it once! The use of a nitrogen supplement like LAN will increase the leaf growth and green color. Once a dressing of this is applied it is imperative you water generously. Super Phosphate is good for the root development and can be used in winter. If your lawn is in poor condition and it is not getting enough heat sunlight and or water, do not compost or fertilize, sometimes causes more damage as the plant does not have the ability to deal with it.
Weed is something you will have every year and you should prepare yourself for a program that helps deal with this annual problem. In the Cape you will normally find most of the weed will present itself by the time the third cold front hits in winter. So before the second cold front comes in, you should spray with a pre emergence, a good product to use would be Outpace Flowable.
A follow up spray should be given three weeks later, preferably a day or two before the rain. This not only retards the germination, but also kills any of the winter grass that has germinated, there are two active ingredients Terbuthylazine and Simozine.
If you have some broad leaf weeds you can also apply Super Lawnweeder. In the late spring and summer there is often lawn caterpillar. This is easy to treat, however if left can be a disaster. Treat with Sipermetrin and follow up treatment as it is needed. Sipermetrin also covers a wide range of insects. This product is harmful to even the good insects, use only when needed. Please consult your local nursery. Often they would have what you need and can advise on local pestilence. It is also a good idea to take a sample or specimen to ensure you get the correct chemical.
All of our lawns are delivered in top condition and have been specifically grown for transplanting. Our full service offers the lawn a good start , however the above mentioned needs to be practiced for the lawn to remain in good condition. If for any reason the above mentioned cannot be followed or is practically not possible, other forms of landscaping solutions should be considered. It is a rule of thumb that less sun is less lawn, it is better to allocate a full sun area for a lawn and consider other alternatives for semi shaded areas.