This week I will share with you some real life examples and recommendations for the use of growth regulators in the landscape.

A homeowner with a St. Augustine lawn wants to retreat from the summer heat in Charleston and spend the month of July in upstate New York. Who is going to mow the grass? This homeowner decides to have the lawn sprayed with a growth regulator and the lawn does not need mowing for a month. By keeping the grass mowed lower and not having it grow taller, the grass should dry out quicker making the conditions less favorable for the disease. Systemic fungicides will stay in the plant longer without growing out of the plant (same with fertilizer and systemic insecticides).

A ten acre site I work with mows the bermuda grass three times a week in the summer (12 times a month). It takes an experienced operator two and a half hours to mow this turf with a seventy-two inch mower.

The chemical to spray this turf would cost about $240. A certified applicator would have to use a tractor type sprayer to go over an area this size (has at least a 12 foot boom so the time to spray and the time to clean the sprayer should take less than two and a half hours).

The growth regulator could easily reduce the mowing from 12 to four.

What is the advantage of growth regulators then? The mower did not have to bounce over 80 acres! No fuel needed for 20 hours of operation, no blade sharpening or replacement, no greasing the mower, no air filter maintenance, no tire wear and tear, no oil changes, no washing the mower and no other maintenance associated having a mower bounce over 80 acres. If it rains and you cannot mow for a day or two, the area does not become a hay field that has to be triple cut to disperse the clippings.

The maintenance of Ligustrum, Eleagnus, and other buffer hedges can be greatly reduced by the use of growth regulators.

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply, 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600).