5 tips for maintaining your lawn to help it thrive

Lawns provide not only an open green space but also a pleasing backdrop for showier perennial gardens and container displays. Here's how to make sure the grass is always greener on your side of the fence.

• For a healthy lawn that will survive the seasons, use a turf grass seed or sod suitable to your geographic area and your growing conditions.
• For instance, fescues do best in shade, while Kentucky bluegrass needs lots of sun to grow well.
• Unless you live somewhere very warm, you'll probably want to go with "cool-season" grasses that grow in spring and fall, slowing down in summer, because they will survive harsh winters.
• And if at all possible, use a blend of grasses instead of just one type. That way, if an insect or disease attacks one grass, you're unlikely to lose the entire lawn

• If you fertilize your lawn — and lawns don't automatically need fertilizing — don't be taken in by products billed as lawn fertilizers that have a very high "N" (nitrogen) number, especially if they come at a premium price.
• Nitrogen is a nutrient that moves quickly through soil; heavy rains or an excessive amount of irrigation can wash it away.
• Using only as much fertilizer as your plants need and applying it only when the plants can use it will keep your lawn healthier by promoting moderate, sustainable growth.

• Some grasses — Kentucky bluegrass, in particular — tend to build up a layer of stems and woody roots called thatch.
• Water and nutrients have a tough time penetrating this layer, starving and dehydrating the lawn.
• Some lawns may never need de-thatching, while others will need it every few seasons.
• To see if you need to de-thatch, take up a seven x seven centimetre (three x three inch) square of lawn.
• If you see more than five centimetres (two inches) of thatch — it will look almost like thick woven fabric — it's time to de-thatch.
• Rent a de-thatching machine, and make plenty of room in your compost pile for all the material it will pull out of your lawn.
• Your grass may look raggedy for a week or two after dethatching, but it will benefit from the grooming.

• Cutting grass too low can harm it, causing brown patches and dieback. Set your lawn-mower height to 6.5 to 7.5 centimetres (2 1/2 to 3 inches).
• That will leave the blades long enough to photosynthesize and regrow healthily.

• In general, lawn grasses prefer moderately alkaline soil, and that's what lime provides. That's why twice-a-year liming is recommended in areas where acid soils predominate.
• Get a soil pH test to see if you need to lime your lawn at all.
• If you do need to lime, make it part of your regular maintenance schedule, applying the lime as recommended for your local area.
• At just a few dollars per bag, agricultural lime is a cheap way to help your lawn thrive.
• Just don't apply too much; if you raise the pH above 7.5 or so, you'll actually start to harm your lawn.