Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to
appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts
with a digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
- A -
- Aeration
-
- There are many ways to Aerate a lawn. The most common is to
poke small holes over the entire surface of the lawn. The object is to
loosen the soil and to allow water, air and nutrients easier access to
the roots of the lawn.
- B -
- Bermuda Grass
-
- A mat-forming perennial grass (Cynodon dactylon), wide spread in warm
regions and important as a lawn and pasturage grass in the southern
United States.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic
version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.
- C -
- Cool season grass
- Typically this is a grass variety with the highest rate of growth
occurring during the winter or cool months of the year. Fescues,
Bluegrasses, Bentgrasses and Ryegrasses are referred to as cool season
grasses. Conversely, during our warm summer months, these grasses are at
their slowest rate of growth which reduces their resistance to disease,
insect damage and poor management practices during this period. Cool
season grasses are not native to the San Joaquin Valley, but they do
retain their green color all year long in our climate.
- D -
- Dormancy
- Warm season grasses stop growing during cold weather (When lows get
below 40º). They will lose their green color during this time. The
length and degree of dormancy varies between varieties.
- E -
Endophyte
- This is a beneficial fungus to lawn grass. It helps make the plant
resistant to certain diseases. The draw back is that grasses containing
a high endophyte level should not be used as a feed/forage grass for
animals.
- F -
- Fungus
- There are many types of fungus diseases that can damage turfgrass. The
best remedy is to apply a broad spectrum fungicide as soon as the
problem is identified, or even as part of your regular maintenance
program. Always be sure to follow label and safety instructions. Fungus
can be easily spread throughout an otherwise healthy lawn by a
contaminated lawn mower or foot traffic. Proper watering and regular
maintenance are the best preventions of fungus. Over-watering, high
humidity, high temperatures, improper fertilizing, thatch mat build-up
are some of the most common causes.
- G -
- (empty)
- H -
- Hybrid Bermuda
- A hybrid bermuda is a variety of grass artificially cross bred to
achieve certain beneficial characteristics such as drought tolerance,
greener color, finer leaf texture, disease resistance, fast wear
recovery. By virtue of being a "hybrid" (such as a mule),
these grasses produce sterile seeds and can only be propagated by
planting stolons/portions of the mother plant. See All
About Stolons.
- I -
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- J -
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- K -
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- L -
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- M -
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- N -
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- O -
- Overseed
- Sewing seed in a lawn that is already established and growing. There
are two reasons to do this. First and most common is to put rye seed
over a warm season grass for winter
color. The second is to fill in a thinning lawn.
- P -
- Patented Variety
- A patented variety is actually registerd with the U.S. Patent Office.
Royalties must be paid to the holder of this patent whenever the grass
is sold.
- Q -
- (empty)
- R -
- Runners
- These are the "above the ground" off shoots from the mother
plant which contain leaf material and the plant node capable of
reproduction. Many warm season grasses, especially bermuda types, send
runners out across the top of the ground as well as underneath the
ground (rhizomes). These runners can be bothersome in flower gardens
unless controlled.
- S -
-
- Sod
- A mat of living grass plants consisting of blades, roots and soil
which has been severed from its growing bed in such a manner as to
permit transplanting in its entirety. This living grass mat includes
grass that is seasonable dormant but capable of renewing growth after
the dormant period.
- Stolon
- A stolon is a portion of the grass plant that contains the genetic
root node capable of reproduction. Hybrid bermudagrasses generally do
not produce a viable seed, the only way to propagate them (other than
sod plugs) is to plant the sections of the mother plant containing the
root node or stolon. Please see All About
Stolons
-
- Seed Head
- A small shoot or spike put off by grass plants that contains seeds.
Some "hybrid" varieties (Tifgreen hybrid bermuda for example)
produce sterile seed heads (no pollen). This quality makes Tifgreen
hybrid bermuda grass lawns very appealing to person with grass pollen
allergies.
- T -
- Top Dressing
- Tifgreen hybrid bermuda lawns are occasionally benefited by a light
top-dressing of fine sand. This is especially applicable if the surface
is uneven or you want a putting green surface. Heavy, single
applications of sand should be avoided; a normal application is 1 cubic
yard per 1,000 sq. ft. This can be spread evenly with the back of a rake
or dragged in with wire mesh such as a steel mesh door mat.
- Topper
- An organic material used to cover freshly sewn seed or stolons. It's
purpose is to retain moisture and heat, encouraging germination. It is
also helpful in discouraging birds from eating freshly sewn seed
- U -
- (empty)
- V -
- Vertical mowing
- Also known as verticutting. If thatch is allowed to build up (this is
why low mowing is important to Tifgreen hybrid bermuda), it should be
removed by verticutting. A vertical mower cuts the thatch and brings it
up to the lawn surface where it is raked away and removed. The cutter
blades should be adjusted to just reach soil level, no lower. If thatch
is very heavy, go across turf in both directions. This operation leaves
the lawn brown and somewhat unsightly; recovery to a much healthier turf
is prompt and should be assisted by an application of high nitrogen
fertilizer. We recommend vertical mowing or renovating (complete removal
of thatch cover) during warm weather to encourage quick recovery. Most
rental yards carry the necessary equipment for this job.
- W -
-
- Warm Season Grass
- These grasses grow primarily during the warm months of the year. They
go dormant when weather turns cold and daylight hours are short,
typically at the first frost. During this dormant state, the grass leaf
loses its color and appears straw like. (However, in areas where the
winters are very mild, some warm season grasses will continue grow and
retain their leaf color.) In the springtime or when soil temperatures
warm and the hours of daylight increase, these grasses come out of
dormancy and begin to produce leafy green lawns.
-
- Winter Color
- Hybrid bermudas are warm season grasses and will go dormant in cool
weather in most inland areas. While this dormancy is for a short period
(usually November to March), it is objectionable to some lawn owners.
The degree of dormancy is greatly determined by the condition of the
grass in the late fall. Lawns that are mowed low and maintained at a
high fertilizer level will retain better color. If green grass is
desired during the winter, the lawn can be scalped, heavily verticut or
renovated and a high quality, weed free ryegrass seed sown into the
lawn. (See How to Overseed) If overseeding
is not desired, green color can also be maintained by applying
WinterGreen turf dye.
- X -
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- Y -
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- Z -
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- # -
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