Mother Nature Always Wynn's
By Cody Wynn
Slopes, Tree Lines, Shade, Turf Types and Drainage play a huge role in determining the hand you were dealt by Mother Nature. North facing slopes can have a significantly lower soil temperature. The slope receives indirect sunlight throughout the day. This can cause a slower green up compared to neighbors around you. This can really be visually explained when we have snow fall. North Facing slopes typically will have snow on the ground longer than other surrounding properties. Tree Lines on the East or West sides of the lawn can also mean a drastic decrease in sunlight during the morning or afternoon hours. This leaves your lawn exposed to the hottest hours of the day during the summer and can mean watering/irrigation is extremely important. Turf Types must also be factored in as to how your lawn is looking. Fescue lawns require 4-6hrs of sunlight and should be green and growing right now. It loves the cooler temperatures but as soon as summer hits it’ll begin to struggle. Bermuda grass requires 6-8hrs of direct sunlight to reach its optimum potential. It desires warmer weather and if mowed correctly can start showing signs of life this time of year. Zoysia grass is the most flexible with sunlight. It can handle 4-8hrs of sunlight. Depending on how much sunlight it receives will determine how aggressive we can be. Pre and Post emergents can expedite decline when Zoysia is in an area of less than adequate growing conditions. Centipedes are the most temperamental of all the turf types in West Georgia. It requires a very sunny and warm growing condition. It will NOT tolerate herbicides well at all. In fact we are very limited in aggression towards weeds in a centipede lawn. We urge frequent mowing to reduce the weeds from going to seed along with the correct fertility to help create a dense turf canopy to help fight against the weeds. All of these turf types can be impacted from poor drainage. Water will eventually wash the beneficial soils away from the grass and expose it to unforgiving conditions. Try and re-direct Down Spouts or drainage away from lawn areas to help avoid issues.
