“A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” Michael Polan
Beautiful lawns normally don’t just “happen.” They are the result of patience, persistence, and tiresome preparation. Luckily, McDonald Garden Center has figured out a way to take the guesswork out of Hampton Road's lawns.
Proper maintenance, mowing and nutrition are all essential to attaining those blades of glory but ultimately success rests on the grass seed itself. Whether establishing a new lawn or maintaining an existing one, matching the best cool or warm-season grasses to your growing region is crucial.
For more than 70 years, our lawn experts have been gathering valuable information and products to help you establish and maintain successful lawns here in Hampton Roads. To help you on your road to lawn success, we've developed easy-to-use lawn kits specifically formulated for our area. In addition, we're offering complimentary lawn classes every Saturday at 11am, through October 14.
The good news is that we have something no one else will have. We have three tall fescue varieties that are all on the Virginia Tech Category 1 list for 2017-2018. Not only are they all top rated grasses but two of them have the “Lateral Spread Characteristics.” Basically this means it has the potential to spread, which is the hope for fescue as they make advancements. Another benefit to a potentially spreading fescue is the root system is more vigorous and deep, therefore better in our drought and heat conditions we experience in the summer.
The three varieties we offer in our mix are Spyder LS, Firecracker SLS, and Raptor III.
Spyder LS - tall fescue is an initial release from Mountain View Seeds Lateral Spread Technology™ (LS) research program, striving to develop fescues that, through natural mechanisms including increased tillering or rhizome formation, exhibit greater potential for tighter density, particularly under stress, and self recuperation from traffic, wear, or injury. Spyder LS has scored in the highest NTEP grouping for overall turf quality under medium maintenance, traffic exposure, and shade. It is dark in color, vigorous and aggressive, with broad disease resist-ance, particularly to brown patch. Quicker to fill-in, weed presence is minimal. Its drought tolerance is also top rated, reducing irrigation costs and conserving water resources.
Spyder LS is versatile. Its excellent turf performance occurs under varying climates and soil conditions, well down into the transition zone. The inherent genetic characteristics of color, compact growth, and texture and density result in a more manicured appearance under only normal maintenance. Spyder LS is suggested for finer quality residential and corporate turf, sod production, and sports areas, as well as golf course roughs.
Firecracker SLS - is the top-rated, tall fescue performer in the most recent NTEP trials and continues on the tradition of excellence established by the original Firacracker LS. Firecracker SLS offers excellent salt tolerance, allowing it to be used in applications that require effluent irrigation or along roadways and sidewalks. Fire-cracker SLS has excellent Lateral Spread potential as well as great resistance to brown patch and net blotch. Firecracker SLS is dark green and dense, producing a very aesthetically pleasing turf that’s ideally suited for all types of high-quality turf applications.
Raptor III - is the next generation tall fescue in the highly successful Raptor line. Raptor III is one of the top-rated NTEP performers in the latest tall fescue trials. Raptor III ranked #1 in mean turfgrass quality. In addition to its outstanding turf quality, Raptor III is a compact, wear tolerant, tall fescue. Raptor III has excellent disease resistance scoring high in all the NTEP disease trials and showing outstanding resilience to Brown Patch. Raptor III also shows excel-lent turf density, ranking high in both the fall and spring trials.
TIP: Be sure to keep up with mowing, as the grass is growing at a rapid pace this time of year. Mow often enough to avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blade in one mowing. Continue to mow your lawn at the highest setting recommended for your lawn.