Houston Lawn Problems

February 3, 2004 11:52 AM

Oh, my lawn, my beautiful lawn. . .could anyone help me with a problem lawn in Houston?

I have the worst looking lawn in the world. I understand that it's dormant right now, but it's really, really ugly, and we're trying to sell the house. We have giant dead (and I do mean DEAD, not dormant) patches, that nasty crab grass stuff, etc. We've just begun using a chem lawn service, but I need a more short-term fix.

posted by LittleMissCranky to home & garden (5 comments total)

Go for rye grass seeds - you just spread them all over the yard with a spreader and they make the lawn quite verdant in a couple of weeks. You may have to water if it doesn't rain, but hey - it's Houston, who are we kidding?
posted by pomegranate at 12:05 PM on February 3, 2004

Oh and also it grows REALLY fast, so you'll definitely have to mow, and be sure to tell your chem lawn people when you put it down, so they don't burn the grass before it has a chance to get started.
posted by pomegranate at 12:14 PM on February 3, 2004

"Winter rye" certainly seems to be the approach that most of the lawn-obsessives around here (TX288, outside the beltway) take. There's a guy down the street who works for TruGreen, so his lawn is always in picture-perfect condition, and the whole thing is soft, green rye right now. Come summer (you know, March) I expect all the rye will burn out, and be magically replaced by thick, well-irrigated St. Augustine. SIGH

(On the other hand, this same guy has a little fountain in his front yard, flanked by sculpted shrubs, and a trellis of ivy encircling his front door. So, I mean, you can go too far.)
posted by dsandl at 1:07 PM on February 3, 2004

Don't ignore soil. If you can quickly learn about what soil you have. Clay? Sandy? Alkaline or Acidic? It's not as complicated as it might sound but it will give you proper ammo when you come to planting suitable grass or plants.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:05 PM on February 3, 2004

Also check your Cooperative Extension Service.
posted by turbodog at 8:06 PM on February 3, 2004