Is this true?

[TJLC]

My mom in cincinnati just e-mailed me and told me she got a flyer today from a lawn company that claims they can reduce the frequency of mowing and the amount of grass clippings by as much as 50% for 4-6 weeks, long enough to get through the spring surge. They say they can accomplish this by reducing the growth rate of the turf grass. Knowing that alot of you guys are up north I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of this. Thanks for any thoughts.

[Scott Campbell]

I've not heard of anything like that around here yet, but I am relatively new to the commercial side of the biz. If it's true, then I can see many bags of Miracle Grow in the future. ;)

[Eric ELM]

Yes it is true. You can put a growth regulator on it in a spray form and slow down the growth. It's been around for a while. :)

[Scott Campbell]

Shows what I know. :o

[Island Lawn]

Makes me wonder if that if it is such a great thing, why aren't we all doing it???

It must not be "all that"!

[Kansas Turf Man]

Yes this is true. I go to Kansas State University. In my turf science we did an experiment with some of the growth regulators. Many of them work for up to 6 weeks. The best one on the market is Premo turf growth regulator. It will stop top growth in about 10 days then work about 6 weeks.

[Forever Green Lawn]

Primo is a good product. There are others out there. They work by stopping cell division or cell elongation. Just be careful with growth regulators! Do not use them on turf that recieves a lot of traffic or turf that is recovering from disease/insect damage. These regulators effect how the grass recovers from damage and stress. It also requires an exact and even application or stress and uneven growth will result.

Scott

[Kansas Turf Man]

I am in total agreement with Forever Green Lawn. If not applied properly they could cause a headache. They should never be used on a lawn with traffic, athletic fields, or playgrounds. One of the best places for their use is around fences to reduce mowing. They can also be mixed with striping paint. Use a small amount and the stripes will last longer due to the fact that the grass that is striped won't be mowed off a quickly.

[jaclawn]

It is not particurarly cost effective to use it on normal residential lawns, just to reduce mowings. We use it to reduce trimming, and on hillsides that are difficult to mow.

[Keith]

We tested Primo about 5 years ago. Make sure you use marker dye :) or you might end up with a mohawked lawn. It slowed St. Augustine for about a 6 weeks to half growth (less the first two weeks). I don't see where it would be to cost effective on normal residentials. On commercial accounts (and even some residentials) it is great for hard-to-mow areas like hillsides and such.

Damn, I just went back and read Jaclawns comments, sounds familiar :D

[kutnkru]

I was always under the impression that this was primarily for LCO's to help manage Commercial and Industrial properties so that they dont get away from them or grow out of control during a wet season.

I personally would not recommend this for Residential accounts. Afterall, we are in the cutting business in one form or another - Are we not?? I couldnt understand trying to underbid myself, to gain clients.

Just my .02
Kris

[lawnboy82]

they were telling me at a convention that primo is indeed a growth regulator. however college proffessors were saying that you would use it for heavy shade areas. the guy was saying that it messes around with the gerubillin which makes the grass grow horizontally to soak up more of the suns light which would help it to grow. but it is true about the low traffic areas and such.

[John DiMartino]

One of the guys that sells me pesticides at the golf course is tryng to get me to try using a growth regulator with a heavy application of fertilzer.Sounds backwards right.Well in studys this they said that since the plant cant grow up due to the regulator,it has a tremendous food source(fertilzer),that is grows down,and out,thickening and enhancing root structure,and strenthing the plant-this is what he says-ive seen no proof to back it up,but he;s been a GCCSuper intendent for a long time.Guys are using it on greens to an extent-id be afraid to try it on greens to be honest-with the traffic and all,id be afraid damage wouldnt grow out,and other pests that were below thresholds now might come above those and do damage since the grass cant grow out as fast.

[DMC300]

It works good onshrubs that need filled out,they don,t grow up in the growing season ,they seem to stay more under control.Less trimming and fuller look.

[MLS]

John

It is true. The growth is stopped on the surface only. We used primo last year at the recommendation of a friend and the properties where we used it had better looking turf than the others. This was more noticable later in the summer when the ground became dry. THe properties that we had used the primo on for the most part stayed greener longer. It does slow the growth so only use it on accounts where you have a 12 month agreement.

[OBRYANMAINT]

along with the added cost of material the fact that different grass varieties are affected differently many residential lawns are not uniform as well as many commercial so even with proper application you may have varied results within a given area ..........excellent solution to specific areas..........under many circumsatnace still cheaper than labor

[Skookum]

What no one mentioned was, what is this LCO charging for this service? This could be a niche add on! There are several homeowners out there that do not want to hire a LCO to mow their lawn, but hate mowing and get really behind on it in the spring and fall growth periods.

I have a few accounts that have very steep slopes and ditches that I wanted to use a PGR on. But, I decided the cost was not worth the few extra cuts in those areas. I am going to use a PGR this year on some ground cover beds to save some trimming.

Anyway, lawn PGR apps could be a good added service for those willing to pay. Best thing is, I'll bet they get swamped with calls, which could be a even better marketing ploy. Tell the customer the price for the PGR -vs- a seasons mowing contract as a sell in to a better deal. I'll bet they will get MORE lawn cutting accounts through that flyer than they will PGR apps.

[HOMER]

Anybody got a price on this stuff? I have a ditch in my frt yard that I would love to apply this to. Also, has anyone tested it on bahai grass? I would want to use it along commercial buildings and fence lines to eliminate trimming, I see that as a way to really increase productivity on larger contracts. Would you need a applicators license for this too, can't see why?

[Skookum]

HOMER

One PGR I had info on is Embark by Pbi/Gordon Corp. http://www.weedalert.com Its sells for about 38.00 a gallon.

Bahai grass is not listed under turf grass dosages. Unless I am missing it by another name, I am not familiar at all with Bahai. Dosages range from 1.8 to 16 oz per 1000 sq ft in .5 to 4 gallons of water per 1000 sq ft.

There are specific instructions on using as a edger to cut back trimming intervals.

[Edited by Skookum on 02-23-2001 at 01:08 PM]