Aerate – The lush lawn “secret weapon”!
Why Aerate? In nature grass will grow to at least several feet high during the spring. As the grass grows higher, the root system will grow deeper which breaks up the soil and allows good drainage. Grass is better able to absorb water with a deeper root system enabling it to survive when the weather turns hot and dry.
Most home owners associations frown on letting grass grow to several feet high, and the result of mowing is diminished root systems in our lawns. We do our best to keep our lawn alive by watering it when hot weather arrives but grass grows more slowly the hotter it gets. Since the roots are also growing slower they absorb less water causing the soil to absorb most of the water we apply. This causes it to compress, which in turn stops root growth and eventually causes your lawn's root system to shrink even more. The cycle repeats itself over and over until you're left with little but brown grass and rock-hard soil.
Texas winter doesn't mean the landscape has to be drab! If you are thinking of adding to your landscape now is the ideal time. Almost all trees and shrubs planted at this time of year establish themselves better than those planted in late spring and summer. Plants and flowers pop out and provide a burst of much-needed color for a vibrant winter landscape that lends year-round interest to your home.
Great sources for winter color are:
Alyssum
Available in white or shades of rose and lavender, Alyssum is a great cool-season annual ground cover which can form a fragrant border in sun or partial shade. Cut back when it gets leggy and fertilize for more blooms.
In normal Houston winters the combination of cool temps, periodic rainfall, and the turf being basically shut down due to cold weather plants use very little water. However, this year is an exception because it has been very dry for a very long time.
Warm-weather tolerant lawns of St. Augustine, Bermuda, Centipede, Kikuyu, and Zoysia grasses can be vulnerable to heavy weed infestations if they don't get enough water in the cold months. If weeds get a foothold now in warm-weather grasses, they can suck up all the moisture you've put down on the lawn. The result: your turf grass goes brown and in the spring you have a lawn of nothing but weeds.
Our mild Texas winters allow us to enjoy outstanding displays of color all year long. As the weather begins to cool and our summer flowers start to fade away, without a doubt, Pansies are the best flower for Houston winter landscapes in our area. They perform beautifully in locations with well-drained moderately rich soil and full sun to partial shade (six hours or more of sunlight). They grow best when evening temperatures remain between 40 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and daytime highs do not exceed 75 degrees. They are capable of surviving temperatures down to the single digits; They will freeze solid, thaw out when the sunlight hits them, and continue to bloom all winter. Pansies will often last until the end of March.
The beauty of your lawn can be quickly destroyed by brown patch (Rhizoctonia species), a serious fungal disease that can affect all lawn grasses used in our area. It develops rapidly when temperatures are warm (70° to 90° F) and humid during the day and cool significantly at night. Warm-season grasses such as St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Zoysia are most commonly affected by brown patch during the early spring and late fall.
Symptoms of brown patch vary greatly with the type of grass and soil conditions. The disease usually causes thinned patches of light brown grass that are fairly circular in shape. These areas range in diameter from a few inches to several feet. Sometimes the center of the patch will recover, resulting in a doughnut-shaped pattern.