Site Adapted Lawns

Timing and practices of lawn care and management vary by your local conditions and areas defined by the site of optimum adaptation. Use Figure 1, the Turf Site of Optimum Adaptation Map, to best identify your site of optimum adaptation, then find resources that will help you manage your lawn.

Figure 1. Turf Site of Optimum Adaptation Map. (Photo credit: USDA)

If you identify your growing area as being in the transition zone, review the following article; otherwise, find information for your lawn's site of optimum adaptation in the "Care and Management Resources by Site" section below:

• Transition Zone Lawns.

Care and Management Resources by Site

Select resources that best match your lawn's site of optimum adaptation and local conditions:

Warm Humid

Warm/Humid Adapted Grasses (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

• AggieTurf (Department of Soil & Crop Sciences Department, Texas A& M University) covers warm-season lawns from start to finish.

• Clemson lawn fact sheets (Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center) provides links for care and maintenance of home lawns in and near South Carolina.

• Florida Lawn Handbook: Best Management Practices for Your Home Lawn in Florida, 3rd ed (2005) (University of Florida Extension) is a listing of online publications providing "how-to" lawn care information.

• Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture: Turfgrass (Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, University of Georgia) is a listing of turfgrass articles.

• Georgia Turf (University of Georgia) is a comprehensive turf site from the University of Georgia, with some of the information geared toward homeowners and some toward the turf industry.

Warm Semiarid/Semiarid

Warm Semiarid/Semiarid Adapted Grasses (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

• AggieTurf (Department Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A& M University) covers warm-season lawns from start to finish.

• Arizona Lawns (Arizona Cooperative Extension), from the Arizona Master Gardener manual, provides information on establishing and maintaining lawns in the southwest.

• The UC Guide to Healthy Lawns (University of California - Statewide IPM Program).

Detecting and Diagnosing Problems

• Turfgrass Diseases (University of Georgia Extension) is a systematic approach to diagnosis of turfgrass diseases. The Turfgrass Disease Identification Key is very helpful for diagnosing common home lawn problems.

• Pest Management (University of Florida Extension) provides pest prevention and management strategies, as well as helpful references for pest management of warm-season lawns. Information on chemical control strategies and fungicides are also included.

• How to Manage Pests...Turfgrass (University of California - Statewide IPM Program) contains listings of helpful turfgrass pest management links.

Additional Resources

• Hort on the Internet Lawn Care links is a listing of links relevant to growing warm-season turfgrasses.

• Calibrating a Spreader. Ever wonder how much fertilizer your spreader is actually applying? This resource will walk you through steps for calibration.