Caring For Your Lawn - Turf Type Tall Fescue

   I spent the day riding with my - (for lack of a better label) fertilization technician.  Her name is Neli, she is from Bulgaria and she is terrific.  Blue Dot Landscaping is very lucky to have Neli and Stan working with us.  They are in their early twenties and are recent grads with master’s degrees in our field.  Neli heads up our lawn care department as well as our fertilization program.
     Our fertilization program, as we call it... is basically doing everything your grass lawn needs to be in its best health.  We not only fertilize but also spread lime, fungicides, preemergence herbicides, weed killers, and insect control.  We try to do what is needed, when it is needed.  We are in kind of a different situation than some in that our area does not have one 'perfect' grass.  We basically have 4 different types of grasses, each with advantages and disadvantages.  Fescue or 'Turf Type Tall Fescue" (Festuca arundinacea) is my favorite.  It is a cool season grass that adapts fairly well to our area (Greenville, Spartanburg and Simpsonville, SC) but does need a lot of work to get its full value.  The other three types of grasses that do well in our area are all warm season grasses.  Bermuda, Zoysia, and Centipede.  I can elaborate more later about the warm season grasses; today I am going to concentrate on  Fescue care.
   There are several things you should be aware of regarding your specific fescue lawn.

• Our climate is not the same every year, hence - timing can vary somewhat.  (We think this is one of the advantages of hiring a professional)
• Not every lawn needs the same treatment.  The amount of sunshine/shade, sloping or flat lawn, irrigation or not - all are just some of the factors that might change the amounts and timing of your treatments.
• You should decide if you want the best lawn you could have... realizing this means a lot more money in time, irrigation and materials... also this means mowing the grass every 3-4 days during the growing season..  The better option may be for you to have a perfectly healthy and nice lawn - but not break your back trying for the elusive perfection.  This can be accomplished by fertilizing and watering less, as well as having a little more patience. 
• A little patience is a good thing.  I have seen just as many people mess up a fescue lawn with too much care, as with too little.

The last thing to realize is that you can get a thousand different opinions about how to care for your lawn.  Most of them will be wrong.  I have found that many people that write about lawn care on the internet have never done this professionally, have no related degree, and are writing from Idaho (or wherever) and act like their advice pertains to everyone with all different types of grass. 
  My advice is relevant to Greenville and Spartanburg counties in upstate S.C. and climates similar.  i.e. near interstate 85.  My advice here is also kind of general.  If you want a specific question answered, or even a more precise schedule as for what you should do - Email me.
   In the summer, when it is convenient for you, spread lime in your yard.  Gypsum works similarly and I like it a little better.  This is good for your soils ph.  It doesn't really make your grass grow better, but it does create an environment that allows your fescue grass to grow better.  You will need a lot more of this than you think, about 300 lbs. for 10,000 s.f. is what we do.
   August is a good time to spray a post emergence herbicide. 
   September is when you aerate, overseed and fertilize.  Aerating and overseeding are not necessary every year-  Fertilizing is.  If you try to overseed with fescue any time other than September 15-October 15... You are doing it wrong.  Find the best fescue grass seed you can find, this will be money well spent.
   November - fertilize again 6-8 weeks after your initial fall fertilizer.
January 1 - or as close to it as you can.  Apply a good pre-emergence (often called 'crabgrass preventer')
March 15 - fertilize.
May 1 - fertilize (very small amount - something like 5-10-30 with iron).

Apply a good ant preventer (will help deter most insects) 2-3 times a year.
Spot treat weeds in your lawn with 2-4-d or some lawn weed killer that has 2-4-d in it.  Do not do this if temperatures are above 85 degrees.

On a side note, we purchase mostly Oregon grown fescue seed.  We have a new friend from the Portland area – JP Stone of JPstonecontractors is a new friend.

Rich