Why Turf Grasses Wait for the Ideal Temperature to Germinate

Many residential and commercial properties these days do use artificial grasses. But plastic is not even close to the real thing.  

Though people of Iowa truly enjoy their lawns in either cool season or warm season; it takes a full year’s preparation to develop a natural turf bed. A well-maintained carpet of natural turf grasses adds class and flair to your premises. 

However, even the hardiest varieties of turf grass require proper nutrition, maintenance, and seasonal lawn care. Iowa’s top landscaping companies like All American Turf Beauty know a lot of secrets about your garden and front yard. 

If you’re landscaping near Des Moines, you need to know how the local geography and climate will affect your lawn. However, these factors may change every few hundred miles! 

All turf grasses will behave differently between cool seasons and warm seasons. Accordingly, you may even need to change the type of grasses on your lawn, or the fertilizer your use.  

Also remember that lawns in residential and commercial properties have different needs. You will need to treat the soil differently for expected results. 

 

Turf Grasses – Nature’s Ultimate Warriors 

Grasses have evolved to be so versatile and resilient because they need a large surface area to grow properly. They are community organisms which thrive in large groups. However, these natural dynamics change a bit when it comes to home lawn care. Iowa’s extreme temperatures and harsh weather can have a negative impact on your landscaping. 

Des Moines, and other prime residential areas in Iowa have several beautiful lawns. However, it takes a professional touch to keep them beautiful. If left to their innate nature, your turf grasses might die off in patches, or outgrow everything else.  

Hence, turf grasses are true survivalists. You need to know how to use their natural behavior to your advantage for the best lawn care. Iowa’s extreme climate will present a few challenges, but that can be managed with careful planning. 

True Grasses can grow in cool seasons, or warm seasons. They can survive extreme climates and poor soil conditions. Grass seeds can even stay dormant and wait for more favorable conditions for more than a year! 

They are literally one of the most well-adjusted species on the planet! 

Yet, many people doing landscaping near Des Moines complain about their turf beds drying up or dying off. Usually this is because of simple lawn care mistakes. 

 

Changing Seasonal Behavior 

A carpet of turf grass is several clusters of individual grass-plants. These individual seedlings further inter-connect using a network of fine roots and rhizomes. They communicate with each other about approaching extreme temperatures, warm seasons, cool seasons, or other hostile plants growing nearby. 

These are the natural survival strategies that you need to hack to get a beautiful lawn.  

According to experts, turf grasses don’t grow too much in very hot or very cold weather. For lawn care in Iowa, the cool season and warm season are the best times of the year.  

In the Midwest region of US that would mean – 

 

1. Fall (between August and November) – This is the season to de-weed your lawn and enrich it with plenty of fertilizer. Patches where the old turf has eroded or died off require new seeds. These steps will ensure a beautiful turf growth in spring. 

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2. Spring (between February & April) – This is the perfect season to see your fresh new turf bed grow. The grass seeds will have stored up plenty of nutrients over the winter to sprout well. However, this requires proper lawncare measures during the preceding Fall. 

 

Local experts of lawn care and landscaping near Des Moines like All American Turf Beauty have learnt these hacks over the years.  

They know which grasses are best for residential and commercial lawns. They also know a lot about the best ways to treat turf grasses if there are pest or weed infestations. However, this takes years of observation and learning. 

To understand these changing seasonal behavior of grasses, you should always trust experts. Proper lawn care in Iowa’s extreme weather can be tricky.  

However, experienced landscapers will always have unique solutions to tricky problems. When landscaping in Des Moines, their soil treatment and de-weeding methods would be different from other places like Mason City or Sioux City! 

Depending on warm or cool seasons, residential and commercial lawns require specific lawn care in Iowa. Make sure you choose a landscaper who knows these differences. 

 

Turf Grasses and Their Survivalist Strategies 

The reason that even nature’s tough little warriors need nurture and care is due to their natural survival tendencies. Grass seeds will judge the immediate weather, average temperature, and soil conditions before they germinate. 

If the conditions are favorable like warm seasons, seedlings will coordinate their growth. However, if there is a dearth of resources, turf grasses will grow in uneven clumps. Some seeds will hibernate till conditions are favorable, while others will sprout and begin to grow. 

Experts offering services like gardening and lawn care in Iowa suggest that you buy turf grasses according to how you use your lawn. Some turf grasses are tough and can survive being heavily tread upon; while some break even under moderate weight. 

Bluegrass, Fine Fescue, and Tall Fescue are the most common types used for residential and commercial landscaping. Des Moines based professional landscapers like All American Turf Beauty have several types of turf grasses for you to choose from. 

 

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5 important features of proper lawn care in Iowa during the Fall season

Iowa sits in one of the most extreme climatic zones in the US. Winters are extremely dry and cold, including heavy snowfall. Summers are extremely hot and humid. However, Spring and Fall give Iowans the few months of pleasant weather.

If you have a lawn, you would know that your turf looks best between late February and mid-May. This is the Spring season, when you would need mostly cosmetic lawn care.

Iowa summers arrive by June, with high humidity and temperatures often as high as 100°F. Hence, people really enjoy that beautiful emerald turf during the short, but pleasant Spring.

Gardening and landscaping experts know that you need to prepare in Fall (between August and November) for that beautiful Spring turf.

All American Turf Beauty is a group of experts in gardening and landscaping from Des Moines. They know how beautiful lawns need proper maintenance and care throughout the year.

Here are 5 important tips for proper lawn care in Iowa between August and November –

#1: Don’t Stop Raking and Mowing

Anyone living in Iowa knows that gardening and mowing the lawn in the extreme summer heat is not nice. People usually slow down their lawncare activities from June onwards. Also, since grasses grow well in Summer, you will need to mow a few times a month. However, your turf grasses will need some extra attention when the dry leaves start to fall by mid-October.

An important feature of Fall lawn care in Iowa is regular cleaning and maintenance. Falling leaves eventually suffocate the grass-bed underneath. Also, the drying leaves and the extreme humidity encourage mold and grub infestations. Spend a few hours each week raking those dry leaves and mowing that unruly grass. It’s good exercise, and you’ll have a neat looking front yard!

#2 Get Rid of Those Weeds

In the Midwest, the most common Fall weeds are dandelions and crabgrass. Though they do grow in Spring and Summer as well; it’s in Autumn that they are most malicious. This is the time that weeds store up nutrients for winter hibernation – nutrition that your turfgrasses need too!

Unfortunately, you can’t really get rid of all weeds without professional landscaping. Des Moines (being a big city) may have good landscapers, but it’s difficult to find experts in other areas of Iowa. However, the wrong type of weed killer could do more harm than good. Some weedicides may affect other plants in your garden, so it’s best to take expert advice on this!

#3: Let You Soil Breathe

Since an Iowan summer means high humidity, your soil needs to aerate during the Fall. However, you must be careful not to dig too deep. If you reach below the top-soil, you’ll be destroying your seed-bed. Companies providing professional lawncare and landscaping in Des Moines or Cedar Rapids typically use a lawn aerator to get the job done.

Experts of lawn care from Iowa also advice against aerating soil that to too wet or dry. Experts like All American Turf Beauty suggest letting you soil breathe naturally for a few days after aerating. During this phase, use slow-release nitrate fertilizers and irrigate moderately. This makes your soil nutritious for the new grass seeds you are about to plant.

#4: Rectify Those Bald Spots

Even the best maintained lawns may have a few bald spots. These spots can be seen by the end of Summer where the old grass dried off. Fall is the best time to rectify these bald spots according to lawn care experts. However, laying down a turf patch isn’t the best option either.

If you see bald spots in Fall, it’s time for a bit of specialized lawn care. Iowa (and most of the Midwest) will have snowfall from the end of November. Any adult turf will die in such conditions. It’s best to let a fresh turf-bed grow on the bald spot than a cover-up. You can use something called a “Lawn Repair Mixture” which has organic mulch, fertilizer, and grass seeds. However, do make sure you’re using seeds of the same kind of grass as the rest of your lawn.

#5 A Few Final Touches Before Winter

Experts who do a lot of landscaping near Des Monies and Cedar Rapids know what winter does to your soil. Over the years, service providers like All American Turf Beauty have learnt some secrets of maintaining a garden and turf bed in the extreme climate of Iowa. Since we’ve covered the primary features of proper lawncare, it’s time to speak about the finishing touches.

Take care of this lawncare checklist before the snows of winter come in November –

• Do a final de-weeding run to rid your lawn of those tough broadleaf weeds
• Mow the last growth spurt and clean out the last falling leaves
• Get your plants and grass bed checked for diseases and grubs
• If needed, get a new seed bed for a brand-new Spring lawn
• Double down on the fertilizer to keep your soil nourished through the dry winter

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