Turf Renovation

You do not have to reseed or re-sod every spring. You should fertilize and increase watering frequency. It is also a good idea you aerate your lawn at least once a year; spring being the best time. If you have a bare area that seems to not fill in, no matter what you do, you might consider using a different grass or converting that section to a planter.


If you have a bare area there are several thing you should to check before come to a conclusion.

1) Does the area get enough sun? “Summer grasses” need more sun than the “winter grasses” that are used year-round in other parts of the county.

2) Are you watering evenly (uniformly)? Many residential irrigation systems are designed or install purely, plus parts wear and lose regulating ability overtime.

3) Are you watering frequently and deep enough? If water is making it at least 6” deep you should only have to water 3 or 4 days a week, even in the summer. [that has to be uniform as possible for good results]

4) Are you over watering? Plant roots need oxygen to live, if the bare spot is always saturated grass most lightly can’t grow there.

5) Does or did the bare area have a disease? Pearl scale, cut warms or fungus might be making it impossible to grow grass or other plants. You should almost always address the other four issues first, a health lawn can often defend itself from disease.



Once you have addressed these issues, you might consider reseeding or installing sod, to speed the recovery of your turf.

Soil Test and Fertilizer

You don’t have to do a soil test ever time you are going to fertilize, but you should done one at least once a year. For this post when I talk about soil test I am referring to Soil Nutrient test, which let you know what nutrients are in the ground. There are several other type of soil test/ analysis that can be done but usually are only done if there is a drainage/erosion problem or there is a possible soil born disease. Soil Nutrient test can be divide into two general categories, either Basic or Complete analysis.


Basic test usually only give you results for Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K); with some frequency you will also get soil pH. You sometime receive the results in number for ppm (parts per million) but usually on a basic test you are give the results at Inadequate/Low, Adequate/Good or High/Too High. You will get the results for each of the three nutrients/minerals.

N-P-K are the three numbers on all fertilizers. The numbers represent the percents of the nutrient by weight. The three numbers can never exceed 100, but usually are less than 50. Often there are other things in the fertilizer, like more minerals or product to slow the release of the nutrients into the soil. A common general fertilizer is 15-15-15; it is 15% of each of the nutrients. This would be a good fertilizer is you got inadequate results for all three nutrients. It you got a good result for a nutrient you might look for a low percentage for that nutrient. But if you got a high/too high result you want to look for a fertile without that particular nutrient/mineral.

pH is a good number to have (scale of 0 to 14, with 7 being natural), it lets you know the availability of some of the nutrients that are already in the soil. For example, Arizona’s soil usually has good/adequate results for Iron (Fe), but the soils pH is somewhere around 8 (Alkaline.) With that pH there iron that is in the soil is not available for most plants to get enough. You can try lowering the pH with something like sulfur or an acidic produce like pine much (I would recommend the second because of how easy it is to overdo the sulfur.) Or, you can use a fertilizer with a little iron (will remain available to most plants along as it is suspended the soil water.)

Complete test will give ppm or ppb (parts per billion) results for all (at least most of the) 13 essential minerals for plants. It almost always includes the pH of the soil, and sometimes includes even more information that could be helpful. This test obviously cost more, and usually needs a professional to help analyze the number, but it will help keep you landscape healthy for years to come.

Spring is here!

Officially spring doesn’t start until March 20th, but Cactus league baseball (spring training) started over a week ago. The weather has been perfect in the afternoons and early evenings for a while now, so IT’S SPRING.
What does spring mean for your landscaping? Answers 1) Flowers; 2) New growth; 3) Fertilizer and 4) Water.
A lot of plants are starting to get new growth and or flower. This is most noticeable on deciduous trees (trees that dropped all their levels for the winter.) Depending on the micro-climate at your house, trees such as Ash trees, buds are either starting to open or might already be fully leafed out. Some tree such a Jacaranda or some citrus are starting to flower.
This natural process need nutrients and water. This means that none native/naturalized species are likely to need some supplemental nutrients (fertilized) and/or water. Native or naturalized species most likely are adapted to get the nutrients and moisture they need from the local soil. Fertilizers that are sold at retail stores are usually water soluble and early for the plant to adsorb Non-native and native alike.
Water should be straight forward, increase the water to your plants. It should not have been off for the winter, but if it was turn it back on. Your irrigation system should be adjusted with the weather, minimum or 4 times a year. 12 would be better.

Tree trimming time?

It depends on the tree. For some this is the best time, so some this is just as good as any other time, but there are a few species that you need to wait till spring for. DO NOT cut the freeze/frost damage off your Ficus or Jacarandas until March. There are trees that are included in this so ask an arborist before cutting.

The two most common deciduous trees we grow in the Phoenix Valley are the Ashes and the Chinese Elm. Deciduous means that it drops all its leaves in fall or winter and goes dormant. In the Phoenix Valley many have just finished dropping there leaves in the last few weeks, which means that most of the trees energy reserves are in the roots and next year’s active buds (new branches) have not been decided yet. So, now until the first sign of new growth is the ideal time to trim and thin a Deciduous tree: You will remove the lowest amount of stored sugars and other nutrients, it is the easiest time to see the branching structure and you are not reduce the number of active buds (less likely to unbalance grow hormones.)

And as stated above, now is as good as any to time most other trees. You’re likely to save some money if the crew doesn’t have to come a second time in the year.

Over-Seeding

It’s Over-seeding time again. Over seeding is not always necessary and sometimes not even healthy for lawns. If you don’t have and authority such as an HOA requiring you to think of the pro and cons:

Pro’s-
1) It is aesthetically pleasing
2) Year round recreation area
3) Can improve health of lawn area

Con’s
1) Can harm a already struggling lawn
2) Takes water to grow and keep alive
3) Takes time and/or money to maintenance

Aesthetics is a very big deciding factor in most decisions, why shouldn’t it be for landscape decisions too. As long as it isn’t unhealthy for the lawn go for it. It is rare for over seeding to have much if any effect, positively or negatively, directly on the Bermuda “summer” grass.
If your Bermuda grass is fairly young (new) the roots may not be fully establish (hold enough store sugars). If the dormant Bermuda grass doesn’t have enough store energy to out compete the Rye “winter” grass in the spring, there can be a negative effect. If you have to, or really want to over seed, just be careful with the scalping and most likely shouldn’t need to dethatch. You don’t want the Bermuda to use stored sugar in the roots to try and recover doing the fall right after the over seeding process.
But in the cast for already unhealthy struggling Bermuda grass rye can potentially indirectly help with Bermuda recovery in later spring/early summer. It cannot override watering issues, such as over, under or uneven watering. If that has been addressed along with other potential problems such as nutrition deficiencies, Rye is a quick cheap temporary fix. In the spring the rye will help Bermuda to fill bare spots for two reasons. The Rye grass will reduce evaporation from areas that would otherwise be bare. And, two as the rye dies and the roots get broken down, the soil becomes naturally aerated with will help the spread for the Bermuda,
Aeration can be another argument for over-seeding. Overseeded turf areas with foot traffic have less compaction issues that none overseeded areas with foot traffic. Over seeded lawns do take more water than none over-seeded lawns, but not as much as most people think/do. During the two or three month period that Bermuda is dormant Rye grasses needs aren’t much more that the Bermuda roots under them. Dormant Bermuda needs water one every 7 to 14 days. Rye should only need water once every 3 to 7 days.