When to start dethatching lawn
When to Dethatch a Lawn
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when two dethatcher lon
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whenever a lawn develops successive
fetch it requires dethatching but the
best time of year for the chore depends
on the type of turf grass fetch is a
layer of decaying and dead plant debris
including grass roots shoots
stolens and rhizomes sideways growing
roots and shoots that builds up in a lot
over time reducing the vigor of the
grass grasses that spread through
stolens and rhizomes build a patch more
quickly than bunch forming grasses and
require more frequent dethatching
excessive thatch
along with thatch thicker than half-inch
requires dethatching
a layer of thatch thinner than half-inch
is beneficial to along because it
insulates against temperature changes
and improves the lawns wear tolerance
put a thatch layer thicker than half
inch harbors pests and diseases and
reduces the turfs tolerance to heat and
drought a thick thatch layer also
encourages the grass to root in the
thatch layer creating weak growing turf
that requires intense management the
first sign of thatch buildup is along it
feels bouncy when walking on it to
measure the thickness of a thatch layer
cut a small square of lawn three inches
deep and measure the brown layer between
the soil and the green grass blades cool
season grasses the best time for
dethatching cool season grasses is the
early fall dethatching damage is a lawn
and grass needs 45 days of favorable
growing conditions to recover cool
season grasses stop growing in summer so
dethatching cool season turf grass and
spring limits the time the grass has to
regrow another benefit of the thatching
in fall is that fewer weed seeds sprout
in winter than in spring cool season
grasses include Kentucky bluegrass POA
pratensis which is hearty US Department
of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2
through 6 tall fescue fs2 Corrine
donation USDA zones 4 through 7 and
perennial ryegrass slowly and perennial
USDA zones 3 through 6 perennial
ryegrass and tall fescue are Bunch
forming grasses so they take longer than
rhizome forming grasses to recover from
dethatching but these species usually
only require dethatching every 4 or 5
years
warm-season grasses
warm-season grasses benefit from early
spring dethatching dethatching warm
season grasses such as Bermuda grass
Synod on dactyl on which is Hardy in
USDA zone seven through ten and Cilicia
grass Ozio japonica USDA zones five
through ten in fall doesn't allow the
grass time to recover before entering
winter dormancy defect Bermuda grass Zoo
is a grass and other warm season grasses
in spring two to three weeks after the
grass has screened up and when nighttime
air temperatures are above sixty degrees
Fahrenheit Kentucky blue grass and other
rhizome producing grasses often require
yearly dethatching power brakes power
reeks are most effective at the
thatching elan also called a vertical
mower a power Rica's machine with a set
of vertical knives or times that scrape
the fat out of the lawn mechanically set
the power rake so that it removes a
small amount of surface soil as well as
the thatch d fetching along generates a
large amount of plant debris that can be
composted and used as a soil conditioner
to help long recover
apply a light fertilizer dressing such
as 1005 applied at a rate of 8 ounces
for 100 square feet or according to the
manufacturer's instructions irrigate
thoroughly after applying the fertilizer
and water the lawn regularly so that the
soil is constantly moist but never
sudden avoid over fertilizing along
because this can cause excessive thatch
buildup
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