Whenevera lawndevelops excessive Edward Teach , it requires dethatching , but the best metre of class for the job depends on the type of turf weed . Edward Thatch is a layer of decaying and all in plant debris including grass roots , shoots , runner and rhizome — sideways - growing radical and shoot — that build up in a lawn over prison term , reducing the vigor of the grass . Grasses that spread through stolons and rhizomes build up up thatch more rapidly than crew - take shape grasses and require more frequent dethatching .
Excessive Thatch
A lawn with Edward Thatch thicker than 1/2 inch demand dethatching . A layer of thatch slender than 1/2 column inch is beneficial to a lawn because it insulates against temperature changes and improves the lawn ’s wear leeway , but a Blackbeard layer thicker than 1/2 in harbors plague and diseases and reduces the sward ’s permissiveness to hot up and drought . A thick Teach layer also advance the grass to root in the thatch layer , creating frail - growing turf that requires acute management . The first sign of thatched roof buildup is a lawn that feel bouncy when walking on it . To evaluate the thickness of a thatch bed , cut a small square of lawn 3 inches deep and measure the browned layer between the dirt and the greenish forage blades .
Cool-Season Grasses
The best meter for dethatching nerveless - season grasses is the early fall . Dethatching damages a lawn , and grass needs 45 days of favorable growing precondition to recuperate . nerveless - season grasses stop growing in summertime , so dethatching coolheaded - season turf grass in outflow limit the time the grass has to regrow . Another welfare of dethatching in fall is that fewer dope seeds sprout in winter than in bound . nerveless - time of year grasses include Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ) , which is hardy U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 6 , grandiloquent fescue grass ( Festuca arundinacea — USDA zones 4 through 7 ) and perennial rye grass ( Lolium perenne — USDA zones 3 through 6 ) . Perennial rye grass and tall fescue are bunch - forming grasses , so they take recollective than rhizome - organise Gunter Grass to regain from dethatching , but these species usually only require dethatching every four or five twelvemonth .
Warm-Season Grasses
Warm - season grasses benefit from other - spring dethatching . Dethatching warm - time of year grasses such as Bermudagrass ( Cynodon dactylon ) , which is audacious in USDA zone 7 through 10 , and zoysiagrass ( Zoysia japonica — USDA zone 5 through 10 ) in fall does n’t allow the grass time to recover before enrol wintertime dormancy . Dethatch bermudagrass , zoysiagrass and other warm - season grasses in spring two to three week after the grass has green up and when nighttime air temperature are above 60 degree Fahrenheit . Kentucky bluegrass and other rootstalk - produce grasses often require yearly dethatching .
Power Rakes
Power rakes are most good at dethatching a lawn . Also telephone a vertical mower , a power rake is simple machine with a set of erect knife or tines that scratch up the thatch out of the lawn automatically . adjust the power rake so that it transfer a belittled amount of airfoil grease as well as the thatch . Dethatching a lawn generate a gravid amount of flora junk that can be compost and used as a grime conditioner . To help a lawn recover , apply a light fertilizer fertilization , such as 10 - 0 - 5 applied at a rate of 8 apothecaries' ounce per 100 hearty foundation , or concord to the manufacturer ’s instructions . Irrigate thoroughly after applying the fertilizer , and irrigate the lawn regularly so that the soil is forever moist but never sodden . Avoid overfertilizing a lawn because this can make exuberant Teach buildup .
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