Hi,
I have a couple hundred square mtrs of santa anna and it is just starting to get a bit too tall, what steps should I be tacking to get it back down abit. I dont want to just butcher by cutting too much off.
Any help would be great Thanks
Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 22, 2012 8:46 am Hi, I have a couple hundred square mtrs of santa anna and it is just starting to get a bit too tall, what steps should I be tacking to get it back down abit. I dont want to just butcher by cutting too much off. Any help would be great Thanks Re: Santa Anna 2Apr 22, 2012 9:04 am Should always cut no more than a 3rd at a time. So mow it progressively lower and then top dress with some good soil I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: Santa Anna 3Apr 22, 2012 11:10 am Yep take a third off each time, but definately do not top dress this time of year in southern oz. If your in vic or south aust just tidy the area up with a gentle mow taking off just the tips/weeds. Then come november scalp it to the ground. Re: Santa Anna 5Apr 22, 2012 10:32 pm Yep same for all grasses except kikuyu, you can do anything you like to kik . To lower height drop a notch from one week to the next week then mow for a few weeks at the height then lower again. This will keep it healthy. But really again if you live in climate that has a proper winter (not) perth all warm season grasses (except kikuyu) stop growing till spring. So what you mow off wont grow back for months. If your up north ingore this and mow away. Re: Santa Anna 7Apr 23, 2012 7:32 pm Yep kik grows year round, it slows right down through in winter. If your in a harsh frosty area like canberra, or have it growing in full shade all winter it will go very dormant and discolour for a couple of months. Kik has the most growth activity at lower temps than all the other warm season turf grasses. That doesnt come for free though, in spring/summer it goes beserk. Re: Santa Anna 8Apr 24, 2012 11:06 am Yep, goes nuts in Spring and I have to mow and whipper snipper every week. Lately i mow about every 2-3 weeks. I keep my lawn tall and always mow on the highest setting coming into Winter. I use Bactivate and Gogo Juice so im hoping it looks this good throughout Winter aswell. I may actually fertilise with something like Seamungus or Dynamic Lifter soon. Re: Santa Anna 9Apr 24, 2012 4:03 pm Krilnik, Just keep an eye on the thatch level of your kik, eg the sponginess and/or the lawn height compared to paving/paths. Its probably worth scalping it every october. If the thatch builds up to much the lawn will stress easily in summer making it look ordinary. Re: Santa Anna 10Apr 24, 2012 9:01 pm The lawn was planted from seed just over a year ago, so I can't say I have that much thatch. Thanks for the advice!! Wouldn't a build up of thatch retain more moisture under it all? Meaning a healthier lawn during drier periods?? Re: Santa Anna 11Apr 25, 2012 10:45 am Thatch builds up in most/all? warm season grasses, My buffalo was looking great I was mowing it on the highest setting, looked good for close to 12 months, then when the thatch built up there was more thatch and less leaf blade for the same height. Over the next few weeks (5 or so) I dropped the height and and midly scalped it. Now I mow it back to the old height and there is more leaf blade so it looks good again. Had to do the same with the emerald kikuyu at the back although there is much less thatch and it recovered much quicker. Re: Santa Anna 12Apr 25, 2012 2:54 pm Krilnik Wouldn't a build up of thatch retain more moisture under it all? Meaning a healthier lawn during drier periods?? A healthly level of thatch is very beneficial especially for weed suppression and overall softness. But once it builds up too much the turf roots are actually growing in the thatch layer rather than the soil. The roots then are very shallow and so if you have a dry hot spell the lawn stresses very quickly. It also becomes hard to mow as its all spongy and it scalps and looks crap. But giving your kikuyu a good old fashioned butchering in spring (when it needs it) will force the roots back in to the soil. You are supposedly to do it gently but if its warm and wet the kikuyu will rebound in 2 weeks and look better for it. Your lawn is new though will be a while before you have to bother. |