Evening star., 1951-08-19

grass tnat Will WltnStanQ CHIP
ping to a height of "a inch. Be-
cause it thrives In hot weather, it
tends to smother crabgrass and
so might be called the mainstay
of a weed-free lawn. However, it
goes dormant in the fall and the
new Merton Kentucky bluegrass
is recommended to fill In where
the zoysia leaves off. Apparently
the two go together happily.
Another hot-weather grass Is
fine -leaved strain of Bermuda.
Most of us look on the Bermuda
as a tender Southern grass, but
the search for a hardy, suitable
strain produced the U-3. 1t, too.
combines well with Kentucky blue
grass, preferably the disease-re-
sistant variety now available in
limited quantities-Merion Ken
lucky blue. Both the Zoysia z-52
and Bermuda U-3 may be pur-
chased as plugs" as seed is not
available.
The kinds Of grasses named so
far are primarily for the sunny
lawn and because of variation in
soils and moisture condition, it
is we'll to use a combination of
two or more. If the lawn is to
be kept short the choice might
be Colonial bent and one Of the
lhot-weather grasses. A better
combination might be Merton blue
grass and Zoysia Z-52.
Problem Of Shady Lawn.
For a taller lawn the selection
might be made from creeping red
fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and Alta
fescue. The latter is rather
coarse-leaved grass but it rebounds
quickly from a clipping. So far,
it has not shown too much diff
Guilty with our hot, humid sum-
mers.
! The shady lawn is another
I problem and the choice of grasses
will depend somewhat upon the
moisture condition of the soil. Dry
soils produce the best lawns when
planted with Chewings fescue
. creeping red fescue and, if the
shade Is light, Kentucky blue
grass. For moist soil. the Danish
bluegrass, which is commonly Of
fered under its botanical name
Poa trivlalis. is the best.
Having selected the kinds anC
varieties of grasses to be used II
the lawn according to the treat
ment to be given them, the mex
, problem is to buy the seed. Goot
seed, free from weeds, is not al
ways easily obtained. Moreover
packaged seeds should be exam
ined to note the contents-kind
of grasses and the percentage o
each in the mixture. Also. note TIL,
termination. it ought to be abov,
80 per cent. Then there Is tn
per cent "purity"--the per cen
by weight Of the contents which
are live seed. The weed seeds mus
be listed with the above data i
the mixture meets with the lega
requirements Of most States.
Pattern for Commercial Seed.
/ Many lawn mixtures are sol,
under trade names, some are ex
cellent although they all contain
mixtures designed to give result
under almost any condition. How
ever, it is well to avoid thos
mixtures containing weeds, weed
grasses and poor termination. TIL
people at Beltsville do not recon
mend either Of the rye grasses TO
fall seeding of a permanent lawr
Such grasses are useful for emer
gency lawns and for spring seed
ing. Few commercial mixture
conform to the Beltsville patterr
The fall is the ideal time,
taken early enough. for the COG
weather grasses to become we.
established before cold weathe
stops growth. Kentucky bluegrass.
in fact, all bluegrasses, requir
approximately a month to sprou
and SO they should be planted /
late August or early Septembe
= Quicker terminating grasses 9Th
fescues and bents) may be SOW
until early October with reason
able chances of success. Fa
sowing is important since mo.
weeds are dormant at that sea
son and do not offer competitio
TO the young grass plants. Ais
the fall is usually cool with amp
rainfall to get the young grass,
ION to a good start.
Use of Fertilizers.
II Grass seed is usually SOW
thicker than is necessary-3 to
pounds per 1000 square feet
good seed is ample. For reseee
ing an established lawn. this ma
be cut in half. Rather than fo
low the old rule-''if a little
good more should be better"
put the money in fertilizer ar
give the grass a good start.
Plant seed in a well-prepare
soil and cover lightly-not mo
than "a inch on the heavier soil
II the soil can be prepared a we,
or more in advance of seeding,
Will settle. A final raking W
give a more uniform surface al
provide an excellent seed bed.
= Lime may be added to the SC
at time of preparation as well
"a fertilizer. Lime is needed more f
# plant growth than to neutrali
M acidity. Ground limestone is be
" for this purpose. Humus is nee
0 ed to improve the texture of Il
u soil and to increase its moistu
# holding capacity. Compost
0 ideal for this purpose but pe
ZZ ZZ moss and sawdust may also
Z used. A 5-10-5 fertilizer is Or
Z Z.%# ferred for fall use while the 1916
Z Z% is better in the spring.
l.