Lawns make up a large part of many landscapes. A good lawn is made up of a blend of different grasses. The best blend of grass for the Prince George area consists of a 60% mixture of Kentucky Blue grasses, 30% Creeping Red Fescue, and no more then 10% perennial Rye. You don't want more then 10% of perennial rye because it freezes out after the first two years, but it is important to be a part of the blend because it germinates quickly and helps to protect and nurture the other grasses.
Part of having a nice lawn for some people is having a weed free lawn. This would include having a lawn with no dandelions. Dandelions are a broadleaved perennial that are blooming now, and can be a challenge to get rid of. There are several ways of ridding the lawn of dandelions. You can choose the organic way or use a herbicide. An organic method, to get the dandelions out of the lawn is to manually pull them out. This can be tricky as they have long fleshy tap roots that can grow to 25 cm. There are dandelion pullers available from the garden centres that work quite well. When pulling out the dandelion you want to make sure that the entire root is removed from the soil, because if even a small portion of the root is left in the ground it will grow and it will have to be removed again. The easiest way to remove the dandelion is when the soil is moist, and when the dandelions are still small. Another way of getting rid of dandelions in the lawn, is by using a herbicide. Weed and Feed is no longer available but there are still herbicides that can be purchased at the garden centres, and applied to the lawn to kill dandelions. Products such as 'Killex' are selective herbicides that will kill broadleaved weeds in the lawn. Killex contains 2-4-D, and can be applied to the lawn following the manufacturers instructions. It will kill the broadleaved weeds , but not the grass. Another product is Weed-B-Gon is an 'EcoSense' iron based weed control. The Weed-B-Gon is applied to the weed and is absorbed through the leaves which shrivels the weed causing the weed to die, but not the surrounding grass. It is best applied directly to the weed rather then the whole lawn. Always use caution when using any sprays and follow all the manufacturers instructions before using any chemical.
When all of the dandelions are out of the lawn you want to keep them out. The best way of keeping dandelions out of the lawn is having a thick, and healthy lawn, so that the dandelion seed and other weeds cannot take hold. Weeds tend to thrive in an unhealthy lawn. Do not keep the lawn too short. Ideally the lawn should be 7-8 cm long. The lawn should be full and thick with no bare spots, as it is the bare spots where the weed seeds will have easy access.
Part of keeping a lawn healthy is fertilizing it. Use a balanced fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, (the three numbers on fertilizer)along with other minerals and trace elements. A slow release fertilizer such as 24-4-16 is good for this time of the year. The first number is the nitrogen which produces foliage growth. Phosphorous is for developing a good root system, and potassium for overall health, and vigour.
