In term of lawn care , zona 6 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’s plant hardiness zone function is study a transition zone , with hot summers , inhuman winters and wet and wry time period throughout the yr . While these weather shape can be challenge , a veritable maintenance schedule will keep a zona 6 lawn bet its best throughout the growing season of early spring to fall .

Choosing Grass Seed

sess seed can be a challenge for zone 6 . Traditional warm- or cool - season pot do not do well in this country . The best wager is to prefer a pot that handle temperature extremes such as a cool - time of year grass that handles the heating plant or a warm - season grass that can handle the frigidness , propose Neil Christians and Ashton Ritchie in the book , " Lawns . " Examples include Bermuda weed , a warm - season grass usable in cold - broad change and a mix of nerveless - season weed such as Kentucky bluegrass , perennial ryegrass and tall meadow fescue that can handle the heat .

Seeding and Sodding Timetable

For coolheaded - season grasses , fall is the dependable sentence to sow grass seeds because the soil is still warm enough to speed up up germination , but the weather is cool so the grass starts to grow . other spring is the second - best time to sow seed , according to " Jerry Baker ’s Green Grass Magic " by Jerry Baker . The best time to rest nerveless - season sod is mid- to late - spring , mightily before the weather turn hot .

If using ardent - time of year skunk , sow eatage seed in the natural spring when the temperatures are consistently warm during the sidereal day . These types of grasses demand affectionate weather to develop . Lay ardent - time of year sod during either the early bounce or early gloam .

Herbicide Use

Apply pre - emerging herbicides in the springiness on both warm- and cool - season grasses to control crabgrass . These types of herbicide work against the germinating cum to forestall the weed from sprouting , according to " Lawn Care for Dummies " by Lance Walheim and the editor of the National Gardening Association .

Apply post - emergent herbicides on broadleaf and narrowleaf weeds , such as dandelions , that are already growing . There are two type of post - emergent weed killer : contact , which kill only the part of the flora it equal , and systemic , which is absorb by the works , vote out it slowly .

Watering

Ensure both warm- and cool - season grass receive a half - column inch of water twice a week . This amount includes any rainfall , so keep that in mind during rainy calendar week . The rule on lacrimation is to water profoundly and oft to keep the root zona moist , according to " Lawns and Ground Covers " by Time - Life Books . Ensure the water is reaching the root by labor up a core of ground and checking . If the climate is unco dry , more water will be needed . A optic clue is that the grass will appear wilted and take on a dull grey - aristocratic color .

Mowing and Fertilizing

The universal convention about mowing height is not to cut more than a third of the sens blades in a single mowing session , according to John Fech in " Tauton ’s Lawn Guide . " The best way to do this is to habituate a ruler to measure the grass before and after pout to get a look for what the grass look like when it needs to be mowed . In the heat of the summer , raise the height of the mower blades 20 to 30 percentage to permit the roots to grow deeper and furnish the blades with water . Re - measure with the ruler before cutting and then after , to ensure only a third of the grass is contract .

When to fertilise depends on what type of pasturage you have . For cool - time of year grasses , Fech recommends fertilize four times a twelvemonth : April 15 , Memorial Day , Labor Day and Halloween . For tender - season grass , fertilise three times : two weeks after the lawn has turned unripened , Memorial Day and July 4 .

References

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