chLearn about Maintaining Bermuda and Zoysia
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Cumming Lawn Service mowing Summer grasses Process
Bermuda is the dominate turf grass in Cumming Georgia
If weather allows and the turf isn’t too damp, we start in February mowing. We lower the height of the mower deck ¼ inch from last season’s mowing height. We cut the lawn with the mulch kits to make the blades as fine as possible so it can decompose quicker and get down to the soil level. Our next visit would be in mid-March to which we would follow the same practice taking another ¼ inch off. Our next visit is either last week in March or first week in April depending on the package the client chose of our services.
Again, we mow another ¼ inch off the lawn. In 4 visits the lawn is down to 1 inch. This has most all of last years height off. The soil is totally exposed to sunlight and water. Your lawn is ready for the green up.
Mid April
It is mid-April as well in Cumming Georgia there will have been some warm afternoons and green grass will be showing by this time. Once the lawn is down to one inch, I don’t allow our teams to mow. Normally our lawns will be cut 2 times in April and we mow at 1 ¼ inch. That is just above the scalped height of one inch. The other way to approach the scalping process is to lower the height of your mower to 1 inch. Next put the bagger on cut it all the way down at one time. It will cause thatch problems if you cut it all at once but don’t bag it.
There have been times where we cut it all at once with the mulch kits then came back and raked it up or bagged the grass. It’s possible to miss some and then there could be potential thatch problems as well.
After Scalping
Once the scalping is complete the lawn should then be mown at 1 ¼ inch no more than every 7 days from 3rd to 4th week in April until 2nd to 3rd week in May to which you can raise height to 1 ½ inches. All this process is based on rotary mowing and 20 plus years’ experience mowing lawns in the Cumming Georgia area.
Sometime in June to first of July the height will need to be raised again to 1 ¾ inches. Still based on every 7 days mowing cycle. Between July 1 and August 15, the height will have to be raised 2 to 3 more times finishing the season off at 2 ½ inches. Unless severe heat or drought is present don’t all the height to exceed 2 ½ inches. If Heat and drought are present you can go up to 3 inches.
Moving Into Fall
Keep this height into your last mowing around September 15 to October 15. If you do a lot of research you will find that these heights don’t match what horticulture programs teach. Bermuda is suggested to never be mown over 2 inches. In Cumming Georgia hiring a fertilization and weed control company and the turf programs they use your lawn will grow really fast from June through August. If you cut more than a 1/3 of the blade off Bermuda each time you mow your lawn you will have discoloring.
There are a few ways to prevent this but, in most cases, these are your options. Mow every 3 to 4 days or do your own fertilizing with a longer slow release fertilizer that will cause the lawn to hold its color but not grow in rapid rates. These practices has served our clients at Cumming Lawn Service well for over 20 years now on maintaining bermuda and zoysia grasses.
Zoysia
These are our practices at Cumming Lawn Service for Zoysia Lawns
I wouldn’t say that Zoysia is the number 1 turf grass that I would recommend. However, I have never had any of the issues that I’m about to mention but some of my colleagues have told me about fungus and temperaments of Zoysia that I just don’t make it a number one grass. Many issues I run across is the price of Zoysia is a good bit more expensive than Bermuda is. The mowing process is much easier to explain though.
We don’t mow any height off the Zoysia lawn till first to mi-April. I recommend taking ¼ maybe if the lawn got to high the previous year take off ½ inch but take only ¼ inch at a time. Mow the Zoysia lawn at 2 to 2 ½ inches all summer. If there is extreme drought skip a mowing but try to keep the lawn height at no more than 2 ½ inches.
That is how we at Cumming Lawn Service tell our customers about Maintaining Bermuda and Zoysia.