This document provides guidance on selecting and maintaining lawn grasses in North Carolina. It discusses choosing between warm-season and cool-season grasses based on climate, intended use, and site conditions. It then covers best practices for starting a new lawn, including soil preparation, planting methods, irrigation, mowing, fertilization, and weed and pest control. Key recommendations include selecting the right grass variety, maintaining proper soil pH and nutrient levels through testing and amendments, following best mowing practices, and identifying and managing common lawn weeds, insects and diseases. The document aims to help homeowners establish and care for healthy, sustainable lawns.

1. Master Gardener Lawns
Cliff Ruth
Extension Area Agent
NCSU/NCCES

2. Select Turf Based on the Following:
• CLIMATE - NC is in the transition zone
• TYPE OF LAWN DESIRED - Will lawn be grown for
show, outdoor living, play area, etc.
• MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS
• SITE CONSIDERATIONS - Shade, slope, air circulation,
exposure and other microclimatic effects

3. Warm Season Grasses
• BERMUDAGRASS
• ZOYSIAGRASS
• CENTIPEDEGRASS
• ST. AUGUSTINEGRASS
• BAHIAGRASS

4. Cool-Season Grasses
GROW WELL IN SPRING AND FALL; MAY GO
“DORMANT” IN SUMMER
• Tall Fescue
• Kentucky Bluegrass
• Fine Fescue (creeping red fescue, hard fescue, sheeps
fescue)
• Ryegrass (Annual or Perennial)
• Bentgrass

5. Starting a New Lawn
• Cool-season grasses best planted in the Fall
• Warm-season grasses best planted April - July
• Good site preparation is essential

6. 6 Steps to a Healthy Lawn
• Select the right grass
• Soil test
• Plant correctly
• Fertilize correctly
• Mow correctly
• Water correctly

7. Planting
• SEEDING
• SPRIGGING
• PLUGGING
• SODDING

8. Site Preparation
• CONTROL PERENNIAL WEEDS (EX.
BERMUDAGRASS)
• PROPER GRADING AND DEBRIS REMOVAL
• LIME AND FERTILIZE ACCORDING TO SOIL TEST
(75# LIME AND 40# 5-10-10)

10. Reseeding - Partial Renovation
• GOOD SEED/SOIL CONTACT IS ESSENTIAL
• RAKE SMALL AREAS
• CORE AERATION FOR LARGER AREAS
• SLIT SEEDER

17. Irrigation
• IT IS DIFFICULT TO EFFECTIVELY IRRIGATE
WITHOUT A PERMANENT SYSTEM
• CONSIDER ALLOWING COOL-SEASON TURF TO GO
DORMANT

18. Irrigation
• IMPROPER IRRIGATION RESULTS IN WASTE,
ADDED COST, AND UNHEALTHY PLANTS
• APPLY WATER AT FIRST SIGNS OF MOISTURE
STRESS
• EARLY MORNING (2-8 AM) IS THE BEST TIME TO
IRRIGATE

19. Irrigation
• ESTABLISHED LAWNS SHOULD BE WATERED TO A
DEPTH OF 4-6 INCHES OR APPROXIMATELY 1” PER
WEEK (640 GALLONS PER 1000 SQ. FT.)
• KEY FOR NEW LAWNS…KEEP TOP 1/2 INCH MOIST.
GRADUALLY WEAN TURF AFTER 15 TO 20 DAYS

20. Water deeply

21. Mowing
• PROPER MOWING IS KEY TO LONG-TERM LAWN
SURVIVAL
• CLEANEST CUT AND BEST MOWING IS OBTAINED
WITH SHARP BLADES
• MOW OFTEN ENOUGH THAT NO MORE THAN 50%
OF LEAF SURFACE IS REMOVED

22. Mowing
• TALL FESCUE AND KY. BLUGRASS SHOULD BE
MAINTAINED AT 2.5 TO 3.5 INCHES
• IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO BAG CLIPPINGS UNLESS
EXCESSIVE
• CLIPPINGS DO NOT CAUSE THATCH
• MOWING TOO LOW = WEEDS!

23. Mow cool season grass taller for larger
root system

24. Correct mowing height

25. Mowing height = best weed control
2 ½”
2”
1 ½”
1”
½”

26. Reasons to leave clippings on
the lawn
• Less work
• No longer accepted in
NC landfills
• Acts as mulch:
– Moisture retention
– Weed suppression
Nutrient recycling
100 lb dry clippings:
4 lb. N
½ lb. P
3 lb. K

27. Fertilization
• SOIL TEST EVERY 2-3 YEARS
• AVOID FERTILIZING COOL SEASON GRASSES
AFTER LATE MARCH AND BEFORE LATE AUGUST
• HOLIDAY REMINDERS: VALENTINES DAY, LABOR
DAY, AND THANKSGIVING DAY

28. LIME
• MOST UNLIMED NC PIEDMONT AND MOUNTAIN
SOILS ARE ACIDIC (PH 5.5 OR LESS)
• ALL TURFGRASSES EXCEPT CENTIPEDEGRASS
GROW BEST AT 6.0 TO 7.0
• LIME RAISES PH AND PROVIDES CA AND MG

29. Correct soil pH according to
plant needs
Healthy roots:
ahealthy
plants
adrought
tolerance

30. Coring (Aerification)
• Best method to reduce compaction & improve water
penetration
• Use hollow tines which remove plugs
• Core during active growth
– Quick recover

31. Weed Control
• Winter Annuals (Ex. Annual bluegrass, chickweed, wild
onions, and henbit)
• Summer Annuals (Ex. Wild lespedeza, crabgrass, and
goosegrass, foxtail)
• Perennials (Ex. White clover, dandelions, and plantains)

32. Weed Biology
• Identifying Weeds by Life Cycle (page 51)
Biennial weeds
complete a life
cycle in 2 years.
Perennial weeds
persist from year
to year. They can
be spread by
seeds
and regrow from
roots, rhizomes,
stolons or
tubers.

33. Weed Biology
• Identifying Weeds by Life Cycle
Annual weeds
complete a life
cycle in a
single year.

34. :Turf Weed Management
• Bahiagrass
• Perennial grass
• Rhizomatous

35. Lawn Weed Management
• Crabgrass
• Annual

36. Lawn Weed Management
• Dallisgrass
• Perennial

37. Lawn Weed Management
• Goosegrass
• Annual
• Prostrate growth habit

38. Lawn Weed Management
• Nutsedge
• Perennial
• Triangular stems
• Purple and yellow
species

39. Lawn Weed Management
• Curly Dock
• Perennial

40. Lawn Weed Management
• Dandelion
• Carolina False is
winter annual or
biennial
• Common and Cat’s
Ear are perennials

41. Pasture Weed Management
• Carolina Geranium
• Annual

42. Lawn Weed Management
• Henbit
• Annual
• Square stems

43. Lawn Weed Management
• Plaintain
• Perennial

44. Weeds of Turfgrasses
Common Chickweed
▪ Winter annual
▪ Germinates fall and
spring
▪ Prefers shady,
moist areas
Broadleaf Weeds

45. Lawn Weed Management
• Red Sorrel
• Perennial

46. Pasture Weed Management
• Virginia Pepperweed
• Annual

47. Lawn Weed Management
• Wild Garlic
• Perennial

48. Lawn Weed Management
• Annual Bluegrass
• Annual

49. Weeds of Turfgrasses
▪ Creeping perennial
White clover
▪ Trifoliate leaves on
long petioles
red clover
▪ Red clover is
related
Broadleaf Weeds
▪ Reproduce by seeds
and stolons
(Other creeping
perennials reproduce
from rhizomes,
stolons, tubers and
bulbs.)

50. Weed Pests of Lawns
Woodsorrel
▪ Seeds shoot up to 16’
▪ Trifoliate leaves with
heart-shaped leaflets
▪ Prostrate, stoloniferous
▪ Perennial
Identifying Weeds
▪ Hoe or hand pull

51. Conditions for applying Pre-
emergent herbicides
• Use BEFORE weeds germinate
• For summer weeds such as, crabgrass, goosegrass &
foxtail
– Apply early to mid Spring
• Winter annual weeds such as bluegrass, henbit, wild
onions
– Apply in September

52. Conditions for Applying
Post-emergence Herbicides
• Actively growing weeds
• Daytime temperatures between 60 and 80 F
• Adequate soil moisture
• Ample leaf surface area ( Apply before mowing)

53. Crabgrass Control
• Crabgrass is the most prevalent grassy weed
• Annual which germinates April -Summer. Plants killed by
frost
– Under normal conditions germination begins around
March 10 - April 1
• Pre-emergence or Post-emergence control
• Numerous products available. Most common
active ingredients are: benefin(Balan),
pendimethalin (Halts), and prodiamine

55. Insect Control
• Ants
• Army/Cutworms
• Bees/Wasps
• White Grubs
• Leafhoppers/Spittlebugs
• Sod Webworms

56. Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
Cutworms and armyworms
adult moth
eggs
caterpillar
pupa
➢ Pests that Feed on Leaves and Stems
Complete Metamorphosis
caterpillar
(page 34)

57. Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
Sod webworm
➢ Pests that Feed on Leaves and Stems
eggs
sod webworm
pupa
adult
moth

58. Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
Identifying Insect Pests
➢ Pests that Discolor Leaves and Stems
chinch bugs (page 35)
Gradual Metamorphosis
eggs
1st nymph
2nd nymph
3rd nymph4th nymph
5th nymph
adult bug

59. Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
▪ Pests that Feed on Roots
– White grubs
Mole crickets
(page 36)

60. Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
Identifying Insect Pests
➢ White Grubs that Feed on Roots
green June beetle
White Grubs are the larvae of beetles such as the
Japanese beetle
masked chafer
Oriental beetle
(page 36)

61. Weeds of Turfgrasses
Wild Garlic
▪ Bulbous perennial
▪ Strong scent
▪ Reproduces by aerial
and underground
bulblets
▪ Emerges in the
winter and dies back
in late spring or early
summer
(page 57)

62. Diseases of Plants
Terms to Know: Disorders and Diseases
Plant problems caused by
pathogens (fungi, bacteria &
viruses) which can spread from
plant to plant.
Diseases --
Irregular plant development caused
by unfavorable growing
conditions. Non-infectious (does
not spread from plant to plant).
Disorders --
(page 61)

63. Plant Diseases
To have a disease you need all four of these.
Environment
HostPathogen
Time
The “Disease Pyramid”

64. Diseases of Turfgrasses
Brown patch
▪ Most common
disease of fescue
▪ Cool-season grasses:
warm, humid weather
▪ Warm-season grasses:
cool, wet weather
Common Diseases
(page 65)
▪ Avoid high nitrogen
▪ Avoid excessive water
▪ Fungicides can help

65. F H Baker
Diseases of Turfgrasses
Fairy Rings
▪ Several kinds of
mushrooms &
puffballs
▪ Hard to control
▪ Rings may brown out
in hot, dry weather
Common Diseases
(page 67)
▪ Remove stumps and
roots before planting
▪ Irrigation and proper
fertilization help

66. Diseases of Turfgrasses
Helminthosporium
Diseases
(Also called Melting Out, Leaf Spot,
Net-blotch, Crown and Root Rot)
▪ Wet or very humid weather
▪ Attacks all turf types
▪ Starts as leaf spot and goes
to crown and root rot
Common Diseases
(page 69)
▪ Avoid high nitrogen
fertilization

67. Diseases of Turfgrasses
Pythium Blight (Also called Cottony Blight and Greasy Spot)
▪ Hot and wet or very
humid weather
▪ Attacks all cool-
season grasses
▪ Can damage large areas
overnight
Common Diseases
(page 70)
▪ Provide good drainage
▪ Increase light penetration and air movement
(such as fans on greens)

68. Conclusion
• Get clarification on location
• Look at management strategy
• Identify the problem
• Look at alternative solutions

69. Questions