A healthy, dense lawn offers numerous benefits to the environment and community. It provides play areas, filters pollutants from air and water runoff, cools the environment, prevents soil erosion, adds oxygen to air, increases property values and much more. University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension publications and fact sheets provide the information you need to establish and maintain a healthy lawn.
Bees and other pollinators provide invaluable ecological and economic services, which is one reason the alarming decline in pollinating insects is of great concern. Through two simple practices, homeowners and professional landscape managers alike can maintain aesthetically pleasing turfgrass landscapes in environmentally responsible ways. Learn the current best practices for improving pollinator habitats and using insecticides correctly in this handy fact sheet.
More and more people wish to move in the direction of creating an organic lawn, or what some people call a natural lawn. This publication helps them decide which route to follow: organic lawn care or reduced-risk lawn care.
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Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology, UW-Extension Revised: 1/8/2012 Item number: XHT1002 What is chlorosis? Chlorosis is a common nutritional disorder of many woody ornamentals in Wisconsin, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the state. Pin oaks are most commonly affected by chlorosis, although many other trees and shrubs (e.g., white oak, red maple, […]
This publication can help you identify some of the most common lawn problems you may encounter, and how to manage them.
S.W. Abler, G. Jung Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: A3187 Want to know what’s ailing your lawn, park, or golf course turf and how to cure it? Turn to Turf Diseases of the Great Lakes Region. Click here to view this 32-page publication which is packed with crisp color close-ups and detailed descriptions to help you […]
Chris Williamson, John Stier, Jeff Gregos, Roger Flashinski Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: A3714 Turfgrasses cover more than 30 million acres in the United States. The majority of this acreage is comprised of over 50 million lawns, the remainder is divided among golf courses, athletic fields, sod farms, cemeteries, and other related sites. In its many […]
John C. Stier Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: A3434 Tips for establishing your turf to give your new lawn the best chance for success. Click here to view this publication Download Article
John C. Stier Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: A3435 Fertilizing, watering, and mowing all help you maintain a healthy lawn. This fact sheet covers these, plus how to deal with lawn problems such as diseases, weeds, soil compaction and renovation of old lawns. Download Article
Increased interest in organic, sustainable gardening, has grown to include a variety of lawn care practices, including use of organic fertilizers derived from natural sources such as plant or animal wastes. As use of organic fertilizers becomes more widespread, understanding ways in which they differ from conventional, inorganic fertilizers is important.
Karen Delahaut, UW-Madison Fresh Market Vegetable Program Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: XHT1095 Recently, several commonly-used insecticides for the control of insects in home lawns have been taken off the market. As a result, it’s becoming ever more challenging for home gardeners to find suitable insecticide products at garden centers, discount stores, and hardware stores. This […]
Typhula blight, also known as gray or speckled snow mold, is a fungal disease affecting all cool season turf grasses grown in areas with prolonged snow cover. These grasses are widely used in residential lawns and golf courses in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Midwest. This factsheet describes how to manage this common fungus.
Wisconsin is prone to dry spells during the summer months, causing our lawns to suffer. This article describes ways to help your lawn survive and recover from these periods of drought.
Sherry Combs, formerly of the UW-Madison Soil and Plant Analysis Lab Revised: 10/27/2007 Item number: XHT1151 Is your soil pH too high? Probably not, although the popular press urges most gardeners to question whether their garden soil pH is ‘right’. Only a soil test for pH can indicate whether the pH is ‘right’, and ‘right […]
Karen Delahaut, UW-Madison Fresh Market Vegetable Program Revised: 5/17/2012 Item number: XHT1085 The word phenology is derived from the Greek word phaino meaning “to show” or “to appear”. Phenology is a branch of science that studies the relationships between periodic biological events—usually the life cycles of plants and animals—and environmental changes. Natural events such as […]
