Yard care (Dallas, Garrett: house, landscaping, neighborhood)

[Spree]

We have a small to average yard and the previous owners really took good care of the grass and landscaping, I would like to keep it up. I was out mowing over the weekend and noticed that some areas of the grass looked to be going dormant. I'm guessing we have a St Augustine type of grass, is this about the time the grass starts going dormant? One tree in the front of the house is starting to loose it's leaves.

What kind of winterizer fertilizer should I put down and when? I really don't want to call a yard service if it's something I can or my husband can do ourselves. Do Crepe Myrtles loose their leaves in the winter? I can't remember what was what when I visited during the winter, but I seem to remember everything but the pines are barren. I am loving all the crepe myrtles!

Do you all still water your lawn during the winter? We have a sprinkler system, what should I do for that?

Thanks for any info - I can't wait to plant some mums for the flowerbeds but I told myself to wait until after Oct 1st in hopes of some cool nights.

[khfar]

You likely either have St. Augustine or Bermuda grass. Usually, at this time of the year, it might start looking dull. Now, if you have large patches where it is looking bad, that's another story. You will probably still mow and water your lawn well into October. Then, just turn the sprinklers off. It's not like in the midwest, where you have to get your sprinklers blown out. TX winters aren't that harsh, of course, so there's no need.

Crepe Myrtles do lose their leaves in the winter, and you should also cut them back some, to allow for better growth next spring.

I don't know if you have just moved to TX from far away, but if you don't know TX gardening, then my advice is to hire someone to come out and help you. At least once or twice. We just moved from Dallas to MI, and we have NO IDEA how to garden up here! Our yard is amazingly landscaped, and we had to hire someone to help us out, the first month we were here. We just needed to know what everything was, how to take care of it, etc.

Good luck!!

[wankel7]

Pave it...pave it all !

[loves2read]

there are plenty of web sites out there with info and photos of tx landacaping--
one of them is
GardenWeb - The Internet's Garden Community

go to the library and check out a book on TX gardening/landscaping so you get pictures of different grasses/plants/trees/diseases/bugs...
a picture is worth a thousand words...if you see a neighbor's yard that looks well kept and attractive--maybe stop and ask for some help--that is way to get to know your neighbors as well....
don't trust just any yard guy or even someone from a company like Scott's or Tru-Green to know what to do for your lawn...they are technicians and sellers of their products first

[Muhnay]

to help keep the grass green and free of bugs, sprinkle a plain white no additive laundry detergent on the grass, every other week or so.. your yard will stay green and pest free. Also does a job on weed control. ( make sure there is no bleach in the mix )

[nativeDallasite]

Xeriscape it...it's super low-maintenance.

[Lakewooder]

Natural Organics Gardening and Living Plants Pets Organics Family - DirtDoctor.com - Howard Garrett - The Dirt Doctor Howard and his family have lived in my neighborhood for 20 something years(will probably see him at the game Friday night) and he was born in Texas...so he's quite the expert - especially if you want to go organic. I've never seen the detergent tip!

[loves2read]

I have heard about using detergent to stop bugs and weeds but think that is probably not a good idea...plus water run off into other yards or the sewers just puts lots of soap where it does not need to be ...

[Spree]

Thanks! I'm going to click on the links provided and read up on TX landscaping. We moved here from a sub-tropical location, everything grew year round, including the weeds :-)

[Pintea]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

to help keep the grass green and free of bugs, sprinkle a plain white no additive laundry detergent on the grass, every other week or so.. your yard will stay green and pest free. Also does a job on weed control. ( make sure there is no bleach in the mix )

This sounds interesting. But how does the detergent kill selectively? Isn't it going to have an effect on grass and other plants as well?