This year has been slow to warm up and you may have noticed that fescue yards are looking good with minimal help.  These temperatures are great for that cool ceason grass.  You might feel like you are bailing hay when it comes time to cut the grass.  However, if you have a warm season turf like zoysia or bermuda then your lawn has been slow to green up.  These lower temperature ranges make the transition out of dormancy slow and a little difficult for warm season turf.  Cooler temps and wet conditions can also cause fungal problems like large patch and that is an unsightly set back.

Yes, we have seen big changes to warm season turf over the past five years. It seems that more and more people, or perhaps builders, have decided that it is the “maintenance free right choice”.  It is no coincidence that this desire to change from fescue, to a warm season turf like zoysia, coincides with the warmer temperature range we have experienced over the past five years.  During that time period people kept telling me that fescue can’t stand up to the Carolina summer heat.  While that is a true statement, I feel compelled to remind you that we still live in a transition zone.  And in this zone there are several weeks out of the year when all turf types suffer weather related set backs.  There are no silver bullets when it comes turf.  Making a decision on turf is personal and depends on your particular situation.  And remember every good looking healthy lawn is on some type of maintenance program.

Thank you from everyone at Eastern Turf Maintenance.