KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The hum inside Heartland Nursery in southern Kansas City isn’t from the bumble bees buzzing about; it’s from folks like Bruce McNeel, who are asking what they should do with the wastelands that used to be their lush lawns.
“I see a lot of brown,” said McNeel, of Knob Knoster. “It’s starting to green up now thank goodness, but at first it would almost make you sick. It’s not just dormant, it’s probably dead.”
Chase Miller, a lawn care expert with Heartland Nursery said if your lawn hasn’t started greening from last weeks rain, McNeel’s theory is right. In that case, you have two options.
“Seeding would be easier on it for the long run,” said Miller. “If you need something now, sod is the way to go because it’s green right off the bat.”
As with almost everything related to lawn care, it’s not as easy as going out and throwing down seed or sod.
“For your lawn, it’s a rule of thumb never to rely on mother nature,” Miller explained. “Water it if you want to take care of it. Especially if you’re seeding. You have to water several times a day at least. If your lawn is established and it gets to drought conditions, some of the better ways to water is not to water every day but to water several times a week. Do it for an hour and let it get down to the roots.”
Do that now, he said. That way the seed can take root and develop throughout the winter. It’ll go green in the spring and better withstand next summer’s heat.
