This article is part of a series on Central Texas Lawn Care. The hub page contains links to articles on fertilizing,  watering and more.

Texas Landscaping

Landscaping is a great way to add value and enjoyment to your home. A little landscaping can go a long way towards improving resale value, as the right or wrong garden can be the difference between a house that stands out and one that gets passed over. Here are some things to consider for getting the most out of your landscaping.

Image by Paladin27

Plant choice
Choose plants that are native to the area as they will be more resilient in the warmer weather than non-native plants. The Urban Landscape Guide has a handy reference database for native Texas plants.

Mulching
Mulching is an easy and cheap way to help your lawn out. Mulch will help retain water in the soil as it prevents it from getting evaporated from the surface. It can also put nutrients back into the soil, will help to maintain soil temperature, and can even be decorative if used smartly.

Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation is an effective way to irrigate your lawn as well. Drip irrigation will help your plants get water as it increases water retention rate and helps to prevent runoff. This increased efficiency will decrease the amount of water you need to use and will help offset the initial costs of installation.

Hardscapes

Another way to improve your yard area is to add hardscapes. Hardscape is stone or paved areas where the soil is no longer at the surface. Adding in hardscapes can be an excellent way to increase the functionality of your space by perhaps adding in a deck, more seating, a grill area or an enjoyable water feature.

Lighting

Image by georgeogoodman

Lighting is an important way that you can accent your landscaping. Lighting can be anything from cheap solar powered lights to more expensive and complicated sets. Choose a brightness and spread that complement your design choices: too much light will run up bills and look gaudy while too little will be purposeless, so aim for the middle.

Accommodation
Make sure to adjust your watering system to whatever you’ve added to your lawn. You don’t want water running off onto your hardscape or onto newly place plants that might become inundated.

Interaction
Consider how your landscaping will look from multiple angles. Is it meant to be seen mainly from outside the house? Inside? Consider also how landscaping will affect how your move through your yard. If you’ve got a dog, be sure to know how it moves through your yard because he or she might not be as accommodating to new plants as you are!

Future Plans
Be sure to have a comprehensive plan of what you want to do with your yard, especially if it’s a plan which will be enacted over several years. Adding in a deck might be a great idea, but not if it conflicts with something else you might want to add later.

First image by Paladin27, second by georgeogoodman

This article is part of a series on Central Texas Lawn Care. The hub page contains links to articles on fertilizing, landscaping and more.

Lawn Mowing Tips

Mowing your lawn is an important aspect of proper lawn care and mowing correctly can help keep your lawn crisp and healthy. Here are some tips for helping maintain your lawn:

• Don’t mow more than 1/3 the height of the grass. Mowing too deep will actually injure grass. If you have let your grass get too long, cut down a third of the height every few days rather than all at once to avoid damage.
• If you have a mulching lawn mower, leaving the grass clippings on the lawn. It’ll make your shoes more green, but the grass trimmings are mostly water, so leaving them on the lawn will add some moisture to it, which is a helpful way to keep your lawn fresh in the hot Texas summers.
• Keep your blades sharp. Sharp lawn mower blades will ensure a clean cut, whereas dull blades can pull on the grass and cause damage.
• Places like baseball stadiums get the cool pattern look by using a lawn roller. Trying to achieve that look by mowing in interesting patterns (unfortunately) won’t achieve the same effect.
• Don’t mow when the grass is wet: diseases are more likely to be introduced and it makes things more of a hassle to clean up.
• The three most common Texas grasses and their optimal mowing height and info:

Old shoes make excellent mowing footwear. Photo by David Deane

St. Augustine
Height Rance: 2.5-4 inches
Optimal height: 2.5 inches
Mowing Frequency: 5-7 days

Bermudagrass
Height Range: 1-3 inches
Optimal height: 1.5 inches
Mowing Frequency: 3-7 days

Coarse Bladed Zoysia
Height Rance: 1.0-2.5 inches
Optimal height : 1.5
Mowing Frequency: 7-10 days

Image Attribution: Mowing image by David Deane

This article is part of a series on Central Texas Lawn Care. The hub page contains links to articles on fertilizing, landscaping and more.

Water Use and Lawn Care

The key to a good lawn is to water it correctly. Watering your lawn too little can lead to problems, but watering your lawn too much can also be damaging. Your lawn will look best, and your wallet will be happiest, when you water your lawn smartly and efficiently.

Austin Water Restrictions

Austin is currently in Stage 1 water restrictions. This is the lowest water restriction level and is the level that the city is on for much of the year. The following is from the City of Austin’s Water Conversation page:

What does Stage 1 Water Restrictions mean to you?

No operation of irrigation systems or hose-end sprinklers between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Commercial and Multi-Family customers can continue to water on Tuesdays and Fridays

Single family homes have 2 watering days a week:

• Odd addresses: Wednesdays and/or Saturdays
• Even addresses: Thursdays and/or Sundays
• Watering by sprinkler or irrigation system is allowed on your assigned day only before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
• Hand watering is allowed anytime

Sprinkler Systems Output

It’s important to know the output of your sprinkler system so that you can water as much as you need to without wasting water or over-watering.

Sprinkler Photo by Andreanna Moya Photography

To measure your sprinkler system’s output place 5 shallow-rimmed containers face up in your lawn and turn the sprinklers on for 30 minutes. Calculate the average depth of the containers by adding up the depth of water in all five containers and dividing by five. This will tell you how much your sprinklers water the lawn over 30 minutes.

Also check the depth of the water’s penetration into the soil. Differences in soil composition will affect how deeply the water penetrates. If your sprinklers water the lawn .4 inches and to a depth of 2.5 inches in 30 minutes, then over an hour they will penetrate to a depth of 5 inches and give your lawn .8 inches of water.

The AggieTurf website recommends watering to 6 inches of depth. This is important to encourage your grasses roots to grown deeper. If you only ever water a couple inches deep then the root system won’t go any deeper; but watering to a lower depth will get the roots to go deeper which will in turn allow them to pull more moisture out of the ground.

Water Use Tips

• Water early in the morning so that none of your water evaporates.
• Don’t run your sprinkler system when it’s really windy otherwise the spread won’t be as you desire and you will waster a lot of water.
• Water deep and infrequently rather than in short, frequent bursts for the best lawn maintenance. Watering deeply will allow the water to reach the base of the grasses root system and encourage their growth.
• You might need to water some areas by hand if the sprinklers cannot reach these areas.

Image Attribution: Sprinkler photo by Andreanna Moya Photography

This article is part of a series on Central Texas lawn care. The hub page contains articles on watering, mowing and more.

Texas Fertilizer Basics

The Analysis:

All fertilizers are labeled with three numbers that represent the percentage, by weight, of the three major nutrients used to stimulate plant growth: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-K).

This ratio, the ‘analysis’ of the fertilizer, represents the percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium contained in the fertilizer.

Bermuda Grass by WWWorks

How much fertilizer?

For the most common lawn grasses in Texas, here’s how much fertilizer your lawn needs:

• St. Augustine: 4-5 pounds of Nitrogen, per thousand square feet, per year
• Bermuda: 4-5 pounds of Nitrogen, per thousand square feet, per year
• Zoysia: 3-4 pounds of Nitrogen, per thousand square feet, per year

For a table with more grass types, see the AggieTurf page on fertilizers

Knowing the Nitrogen is the first percentage listed with a fertilizers ‘analysis,’ you can calculate the pounds of Nitrogen in a given fertilizer. Multiply the amount of Nitrogen (as a percentage) by the weight of the bag: a 40 pound bag with 10% Nitrogen would have 4 pounds of Nitrogen in it; (0.1 x 40 = 4)

When to Fertilize

Fertilize your yard shortly after green-up in the spring. This will usually occur in late February or early March, but be sure not to apply the first years fertilizer prior to your grass greening up. Most fertilizers will also be most effective followed by watering within 24 hours, so know Austin’s water use restrictions so that you can stay within the restrictions but still get the most out of your fertilizer. Fertilizing prior to a rainstorm is a good way to use nature to help further keep your lawn healthy.

Applying Fertilizer

You should apply the fertilizer with some regularity. Applying just once or twice per year may mean that you give your grass more Nitrogen than they are capable of absorbing at one time. Spreading out the amount of Nitrogen application 4-5 times through the year will help to keep your grass looking healthy year-round. So if your grass needs 4-5 pounds of fertilizer and you’ve got a 40 pound bag with 10% Nitrogen, you can spread it out 4 times a year.

Proper fertilizing improves your homes marketability. Photo by Gregs Landscaping

Summer Fertilizers

Use slow release fertilizer during the summer months. Slow release fertilizers are usually in the ratio of 3-1-2 (so 15-5-10 would be a good ratio) but use a less-soluble coating to lengthen the decomposition process. Check the time on your slow release fertilizers and make sure that you don’t overlap. Buying a 9-month slow release fertilizer and applying it 4 times a year would be a bit redundant, as the previous application of fertilizer would not have had time to fully release its nutrients before another fertilizer layer was laid on top of it.

Winter Fertilizers

Around October or November, apply a winterizing fertilizer to hardy up your plants for the winter. These will usually contain a higher percentage of Phosphorus and Potassium than summer fertilizers. Ratios vary though, so make sure the bag is labeled as a winterizing fertilizer and that it’s designed for southern climates.

Thatch

Thatch accumulates when dead plant parts are created faster than microorganisms can consume then. Thatch should be removed before fertilization so that the nutrients will reach the soil and not get caught in the layers of thatch.

Hopefully this article helped explain some basics of fertilizers in Texas to you. For more detailed discussions of fertilizers in Texas, we’ve found the following websites to have plenty of useful information:

Home Lawns at AggieTurf
Lawn Care at RealGreenLawns.com

Image Attribution: Grass image by WWWorks, home image by Gregs Lanscaping.

It’s Black Friday, which means a lot of people are spending money. Those that aren’t are thinking about spending money or perhaps wishing they had more money to spend. Most of them though aren’t looking to buy a home; not yet.

Knowing what people are searching in Google is an interesting insight into the collective American mindset. Below is a graph made from Google Insights representing the frequency of the search terms ‘real estate’ (in blue) and ‘toys’ (in red) in America for the past several years. The high month for ‘toys’ coincides with the low month for ‘real estate’ – December.

It’s not too surprising that more people are thinking about buying Christmas gifts than buying homes. This isn’t good news for people with homes on the market, but it does get better; looking closer at the graphs will show that ‘real estate’ searches increase right around December 26th and stay up for the spring.

If you’re planning on putting a house on the market in early 2011, consider using December as a month to get it ready. Here are three parts of your home in which a little work will got a long way:

• Kitchens are an important selling point of the house, so make your kitchen as desirable as possible. Updating appliances, refinishing cabinetry or counter-tops as needed are all great ways to make your house more attractive.
• Bathrooms also need to be as nice as possible. General repairs such as caulking, cleaning any tile and putting in a new shower curtain will go a long way.
• The exterior of the house will be the first thing prospective buyers see. Keep the plants alive and making the yard look nice will go a long way towards creating a good first impression.

December is a great month to get some DIY projects out of the way and increase your homes resale value; especially if you’ve just bought new tools  at a Black Friday sale.

Smart landscaping strategies can save you money while they add to the curb appeal and value of your home.
 
Few things are more frustrating than pouring a lot of resources into a landscaping project, only to watch your plants keel over or discover that your personal Shangri-La is unsustainable, perpetually demanding ever more time, muscle, and money. The good news is that by sticking to a few simple rules, you can avoid many of the common pitfalls of gardening. The payoff can be big: According to Money magazine, the typical return on investment for landscaping improvements is 100% to 200%-as much or more than a kitchen or bath remodel. Here are 10 ways to green up your garden while keeping some green in your wallet.
1. Understand your land
Before shelling out money for new plants, look at what has thrived and what has died in your garden over time. If you’re new to the area, ask neighbors with similar growing conditions what has worked for them. Keep in mind that even plants appropriate for your growing zone (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html) might not work in your personal patch, depending on the soil composition, sunlight patterns (see #4 below), microclimate, pests, and available water. Your local cooperative extension service (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/) can analyze your soil and recommend amendments and suitable plantings.
2. Avoid invasives
No matter how big your hurry to see your garden fill in, be wary of a plant billed as a “fast grower” or “aggressive.” Often that’s code for an invasive species-a non-native plant that makes its way into the landscape and crowds out the locals by stealing their nutrients, light, and water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a list of invasives (http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver), which include various ivies, grasses, weeds, vines, self-seeding varieties of bushes and shrubs, even seemingly innocuous herbs like mint. Your county extension service can steer you toward the species best suited to your plot. Tip: If you love growing mint in the garden, contain it in a pot.
 3. Ask before you plant
It’s great to receive free cuttings, but before you plant that gift from your neighbor, make sure you know what you’re getting. Is the plant an old cultivar that self-seeds? Perennials such as black-eyed Susan and Echinacea (coneflower) are favored because they self-sow. But for other plants, such as Rose of Sharon, self-seeding turns invasive, and that’s not worth the trouble even if someone pays you to take it. In theory, you can always pull something out later, but it’s better to head off unnecessary hassle and expense by asking questions up front.
4. Be sun savvy
You’d be surprised how often even experienced gardeners put a shade-loving plant in full sun or a sun-loving plant in the shade. Part of what makes this tricky is that daylight is a moving target-not just as seasons change, but as plants mature and cast different shadow patterns. Before plotting plant beds and tree locations, spend some time studying the movement of the sun throughout the year, and continue to keep an eye on the ebb and flow of shadows as plants mature.
5. Establish a simple color palette
Stick to a simple color scheme for flowers and blooming shrubs. That way, when you go to a nursery, you can laser in on plants that match. This strategy is also money-wise. Besides making fewer impulse buys, which can lead to a hodgepodge effect in the yard, a coordinated color scheme increases curb appeal by making your house look more pulled-together. Massing plants in one or two colors connotes a sense of luxury and order.
6. Use trees as natural (free!) AC
A recent federal study (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/news/2009/01/electricity.shtml) found that shade trees in strategic places on the south and west sides of a house can reduce a homeowner’s seasonal cooling bill by about $25 and lower net carbon emissions from summertime electricity use by 30% over a 100-year period. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov), shading an air conditioning unit can increase its efficiency by as much as 10%. With a deciduous tree you benefit in winter, too, as sunlight streams through the branches to provide thermal gain and natural daylighting for the house.
7. Power down your lawnmower
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov), gas-powered lawn mowers contribute as much as 5% of the nation’s air pollution. Switching to one of the new generation of push-reel mowers-which are lighter, quieter, and kinder to your lawn than power mowers-reduces emissions and cuts down on fuel consumption. It takes about a gallon of gas to mow three-quarters of an acre; at, say, $2 a gallon, you’ll save more than $100 a year. A good push-reel mower (http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/reel_mower_landing.htm?gclid=CLWYvbHPyZwCFRHxDAodWDHGJQ) costs $150 to $250, so it will quickly pay for itself.
8. Smarten up your sprinkler system
If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, consider installing an ET (evapotranspiraton) controller. These systems, which use real-time weather data sent by satellite to control when sprinklers turn on and off, can cut water use by as much as 30%. The controller costs between $300 and $400, depending on system size, but many municipal water agencies offer rebates, particularly in the arid Southwest. (For more water-conserving technologies, see “Water-Saving Irrigation Strategies (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/water-saving-irrigation-strategies/)”).
9. Conduct an annual review
Once a year, take a good hard look around your yard and ask, “Is that plant doing its job?” Meaning, is it thriving, behaving itself (growing where you want it to), and enhancing the appearance of your home? Give a pink slip to the stuff that’s hijacking your curb appeal-or, worse, putting your house at risk. For maximum safety, keep foundation plants at least one foot from the house and trees the same distance as the width of their mature canopies. Otherwise roots can burrow into foundations, and overhanging branches can trap moisture against the roof or siding, leading to rot and insect damage.
10. Be patient
When planning landscape improvements, avoid the temptation of instant gratification. Starting small saves money. That means putting in saplings, young shrubs and plants, seeds and bulbs-and waiting. Most shrubs and perennials fill out or spread in a couple of years. In the meantime, you can fill in gaps with annuals for seasonal color.
Laura Fisher Kaiser is a contributing editor to Interior Design magazine and a former editor at This Old House Magazine. She has made almost every one of these mistakes, but prefers to call them experiments.

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Laura Fisher Kaiser
Published: August 28, 2009

This article is part of a series on Central Texas lawn care. The hub page contains articles on watering, fertilizer and more.

Lawn Maintenance Calendar

Regular lawn maintenance gives your home maximum curb appeal and preserves the value of your property.

A healthy, well-maintained lawn is more than just good-looking-it’s a key to preserving the value of your home.

Regular lawn maintenance enhances curb appeal, making your home-and neighborhood-attractive to passersby and potential buyers.

According to Su Chi Straka-Phillis, a residential real estate appraiser with Central Appraisal Services of Parma, Ohio, a well-kept lawn preserves a home’s value.

Put off routine maintenance, and you risk devaluing your home. In fact, an unkempt lawn can be a warning sign to buyers of other potential home maintenance issues.

Know your grass type

There are two main types of lawn grass: cool-season and warm-season. Homeowners living in the Northeast, Midwest, and Northwest should grow cool-season grasses. As depicted on the Plant Heat-Zone Map (http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm) provided by the American Horticultural Society, the regions for cool-season grasses are approximately zones 1 through 7.

Cool-season grasses do most of their growing in spring and fall, often going dormant in the summer. Cool-season grasses include tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass.

Those living in the Southeast and Southwest (zones 8 through 12) will generally have warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses thrive from late spring to early fall and go dormant in the winter. Varieties include bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and St. Augustine grass.

If you’re unsure which zone applies to you, check your state extension service (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/).

Mowing

Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

“The taller the grass, the deeper the roots, the fewer the weeds, and the more moisture the soil holds between watering,” explains Richard Hentschel of the University of Illinois Extension (http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state/index.html). Hentschel recommends the mower blade height be permanently set to 3 inches.

In prime growing season (spring and fall for cool-season; summer for warm), homeowners should mow frequently enough so they’re removing no more than one-third of the grass blade. If possible, resist the urge to mow the grass when wet, as the practice can spread diseases that affect lawns.

Mower blades should be sharpened monthly to ensure clean, sharp cuts. A dull blade tears the grass, leaving jagged edges that discolor the lawn and invite pathogens. Consider spending about $20 for a backup blade so that a sharp one is always on hand.

Watering

Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

Deep and infrequent watering is better for lawns than frequent sprinkles, which promote shallow root growth, says Hentschel. In general, lawns need about one inch of water per week to maintain green color and active growth.

Lawns that receive less than that will likely go into dormancy. To stay alive, dormant lawns should still receive at least 1 inch of water per month.

To check the output of a sprinkler, scatter some pie tins around the yard to see how much water collects in a specific length of time. Having a rain gauge ($5 to $20) will help you keep track of how much water the lawn receives naturally. Allowing a cool-season lawn to go dormant in the summer can save hundreds of gallons of water, depending on the size of your lawn.

Feeding

Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late spring

“It used to be common to fertilize a lawn three or four times per year,” says Hentschel. “Now we suggest just once a year when it will do the most good.” For cool-season grasses, that time is early fall, so the grass enters winter dormancy in a much healthier state.

For warm-season grasses, the best time to fertilize is late spring, just as the grass begins its most active growth. For best results, closely follow the application directions on the product. Cost is around $50 to $75 per application.

People interested in organic fertilizers have never had an easier time finding them at local garden centers. Homeowners who mow regularly with mulching mowers are encouraged to leave the clippings on the ground, where they’ll decompose and recycle nutrients into the soil.

Weed-control herbicide application

Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late winter

Homeowners should embrace the idea that an occasional weed is OK, says Hentschel. For minor weed invasions, removal by hand of the entire plant and roots is recommended. When the situation becomes impossible to contain by hand, it might be necessary to apply an herbicide.

For cool-season grasses, the best time to apply a weed killer is in fall, when both old and new weeds can be eliminated before winter. Warm-season grasses often benefit from a late-winter application of a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent weeds from growing.

In place of weed and feed products, which are spread over the entire lawn, Hentschel prefers liquid-based herbicides that are applied only where needed. It’s imperative to read and follow all directions on herbicide labels. Cost is around $15 to $45 per application.

Grub control

Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early summer

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Late summer

Grub worms, the larval stage of June, Japanese, and other beetles, feed on the tender root systems of lawns. Affected lawns exhibit browning and wilting patches.

To be certain that the culprits are grubs, Hentschel suggests that homeowners pull back the sod and look for white, C-shaped grubs. If they’re present at a rate exceeding 10 per square foot, they should be treated with a chemical pesticide.

Milky spore is an environmentally friendly way to control some species of grubs. When using insecticides, read and follow all label directions and water the product into the soil immediately. Cost is around $50 to $75 per application.

Patching

Grass type: Cool-season
Maintenance schedule: Early fall

Grass type: Warm-season
Maintenance schedule: Early summer

The best time to patch bare or thin spots in a lawn is at the start of the grass’s most favorable growing period. For cool-season grasses that means waiting until the hot, dry days of summer have given way to cooler fall temps.

Warm-season grasses thrive in summer, so it’s best to sow seeds at the start of that season. Hentschel says to buy only high quality disease-resistant seed with good germination rates, which by law have to be listed on the label. Cost is anywhere from $20 to $75, depending on the size of the areas to be patched.

Cleanup

Grass type: All
Maintenance schedule: Spring to fall

Although small particles of grass are fine to leave on the lawn, large piles that exit a side-discharge mower should be removed. Fallen leaves, twigs, and debris should be raked up regularly. In climates where it snows, it’s best to remove fall leaves before winter. A thick layer of wet leaves can smother a lawn if not immediately removed in early spring.

Download our free PDF worksheet for an easy-to-use seasonal maintenance task chart.

Douglas Trattner has covered home maintenance and improvement topics for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he’s upgraded the furnace, added insulation, replaced most appliances, and mowed his lawn every time but once.

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Douglas Trattner
Published: February 04, 2010