Two Lawn Questions That Keep Recurring

“What grass can I grow in this shade?”
I don’t think this question will ever go away. As long as Texans plant shade trees, it will keep coming back. Sadly, too many people think that pruning their trees will solve the problem, but the trees grow right back. And they wonder about “miracle” grasses that will tolerate total shade, but there is none.

To that end, I dedicated my entire e-gardens newsletter on Easter weekend to this very topic. In the chance that you didn’t see it, I’m going to take you back to it now. Much of what you’re going to read is set in the Sperry landscape. I hope it’s useful.

 

“What’s happened to my St. Augustine?”
And then there’s this question that has hit me a couple of times daily since the weather turned hot back in early June. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a year where chinch bugs were any worse.

Again, I’m going to link you to recent information we’ve had here in e-gardens about coping with this terrible pest.

And to answer to questions that now start to come up: Yes, chinch bugs are still active (as long as it’s hot), so you may need to treat. And, yes, you probably will have to plant sod or plugs into the dead areas. You can still do that in South Texas, and you’re probably safe in North Texas, but don’t delay. This is last call for planting new St. Augustine in order for it to get established before cold weather arrives.