Lawns

Identifying lawn grasses requires a basic knowledge of plant structure and the ability to distinguish between those structures to categorize specific grasses. To get really good at identifying turfgrasses you have to learn the characteristics of the common grasses.

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This is an unusual insect in that it causes most of its damage in late winter and early spring as larvae feeding on all parts of the plant. While we think of it as a turfgrass pest it is also active on many ornamental perennials. The historical pattern for this insect is to move quietly into an area where it may develop to very high populations within a year or two.

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What should lawns be? • Do all lawns have to be pure grass? • Do lawns have to be a mono-culture? • Are there good broadleaf weeds? • Are there niches for different kinds of lawns? • Who decides what is appropriate?

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Explains the basics of germination, purity, seed tags, seeds per pound, blends, mixtures, and overseeding. Provides seeding and overseeding recommendations for putting greens, tees, fairways, sports fields, home lawns, cemeteries, roadsides, and slope stabilization for Idaho, and western and eastern Oregon and Washington. Describes the characteristics and uses of new cultivars of turftype tall fescues and provides average number of seeds per pound for common turfgrasses. Intended for homeowners, seed companies, sales people, and turfgrass managers.

This publication examines the cultural, mechanical and chemical control of moss in lawns.

This publication will take you through the steps needed to successfully plant a new lawn or renovate an old one. If you follow these steps, you will get it right the first time!

Describes ways to keep your landscape healthy when water supplies are restricted. Covers developing watering priorities, applying water efficiently, and modifying maintenance. Includes tips on fertilizing, lawn mowing, and pruning.

Describes options for different levels of lawn care--from keeping a lawn lush and green year-round to allowing it to go partially dormant in the summer. Discusses mowing, watering, fertilizing, and dethatching, and gives recommended schedules for each. Includes a list of additional resources.

Describes necrotic ring spot disease and methods of prevention and control.

Revised Feb. 2008

In nature, annual bluegrass, Poa annua L. behaves as a true annual. It germinates in fall or spring when moisture is adequate and develops quickly, often flowering six to eight weeks after germination. In the Pacific Northwest we see it most commonly as a winter annual (Fig 1). After flowering and setting seed these annual types die typically from drought and leave dormant viable seed behind to germinate when moisture again becomes available. This efficiency in seed production makes annual bluegrass a major component of the seed bank of cultivated soils.