Grasses play a major role in beautifying the landscape design. In fact, a landscape looks complete only when supplemented with grass lawns with grass fillers. They are also ideal for creating a color pattern in a flower bed. As per the flower garden layout, grasses are planted either in the borders of the beds or as background. You can make an eye-catching view with a touch of grass greenery along the sides of the vibrant colored flower beds.
Apart from growing of grasses in the lawns, they are always a subject of concern as one of the most commonly occurring weeds. Hence, we often take growing grasses for granted. Nevertheless, it is to be borne in mind that grasses, similar to any other plants, have specific requirements that are necessary for their optimal growth. Let's discuss in brief about the effective grass growing tips, which can be practiced for creating either a lustrous green lawn or garden fillers.
Tips on Growing Grass
Tips for growing grass may vary depending upon the type of grass that you are interested in planting. The thumb rule for successful grass growing is planting the right variety at the right time and place. Understanding the basic tips on growing grass will help you in creating a healthy lawn that looks green throughout the year. Following are the effective tips on growing grass.
Soil Preparation: Autumn is an ideal growing season for majority of the grass varieties. Prepare the soil in this month as you do for any other plantations. Shallow tilling of the soil will also work as grasses have shallow root system. Based on the type of grass that you have chosen, the nutrient requirements may differ. For poor soil that is deprived of essential plant nutrients, you can supplement it with farmyard compost and/or organic fertilizer.
Grass Variety: For growing grass successfully, make sure you select the correct variety that will adapt to the soil condition of your area and the growing location. If the location is shady that receives only 2-6 hours sunlight per day, you can opt for the American shade variety. Native grass varieties grow best in any area. Consult with your local horticulturist for choosing the correct grass type for your lawn or garden.
Sowing Grass Seeds: Sowing of grass can be done on bare soil or an existing lawn. If possible, always sow grass seeds over a bare soil. Doing so will lead to optimum germination of the grass seeds. Otherwise, presence of any sort of competing plants hampers the germination and/or growing of grasses. After sowing of grass seeds, cover them with a layer of top soil to quicken the germination process.
Irrigation and Fertilization: Once you sow the grass seeds, irrigate and soak the soil deeply. In the first few weeks, you can irrigate the area on alternate days. Reduce watering frequency after the grasses have germinated. Addition of proper fertilizers at the right time is necessary for healthy growing of grass. In case of grasses growing in the shade location, limit the use of fertilizers.
Weed Control: Weed control is another important tip for growing grass. Presence of weeds in the grass growing sites leads to competition for water and nutrients, thus resulting in poor growth of the planted grass. Hence, in order to avoid this condition, ensure that you remove the weeds regularly. You can make use of mild herbicide for controlling the weeds with less effort.
Grass Mowing and Aeration: Mowing the grass to a suitable height level is important for maintenance of lawns. Cutting the grass to a very short level will lead to disease infestation. Thus, mowing should be done carefully to avoid such risks. Circulation of air is a must for healthy and lustrous green lawns. You can take a lawn aerator on rent for aerating the soil.
Well! These are some of the tips for growing grass and/or lawn care. One should also have a keen eye about the presence of disease and pests in the grass growing site in order to preserve the beauty of the lawn.
