Over the summer many lawns in the Phoenix area can develop weeds, particularly Spurge. You might recognize this weed as close to the ground, dark in color with some forms having hairy or purple-red spotted leaves and red stems. Spurge can grow in a circular shape and create a dense mat of weeds (see image to the right). As you prepare your winter lawn we want to help you get rid of these pesky weeds.

Spurge is the most common turfgrass weed in the US, and Arizona in particular due to the heat. Spurge primarily grows in the summer, but it can grow well into the fall. It is easy for this weed to grow in Arizona sod in the fall since the weather remains warm here.

Your first reaction to kill this weed would be to spray it, but we advise against doing so. If you are planning to overseed your lawn, applying weed killing chemicals could slow down the growth of your new lawn. We recommend pulling the weed up with your hands, roots and all. This method of removing Spurge weeds is better for your lawn if you are preparing it for overseeding and in general, since it isn’t as harmful to your lawn.

If your lawn in Phoenix did grow Spurge this year we hope that you were able to pull it out before any real damage was done to your winter lawn. If you feel like your lawn is already a total loss you can always order fresh sod from our Arizona sod farm, already overseeded. In any case we want to help you prevent weeds from ruining all of your hard work in maintaining your sod in the Phoenix area, as it can be a struggle given our environment. The best weed prevention is a healthy lawn!

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This summer has been rough on sod in Arizona, especially on many of the golf courses in the Valley. With all of the crazy weather Arizona had this year it made it difficult for bermudagrass to grow in well, creating sub par greens. We are happy to know that summer is almost over and things are looking up for Arizona golf courses.

In order to get some of the Valley’s best golf courses ready for the fall Evergreen Turf is rolling out the green carpet for these courses. After the hard summer these courses have had we will be busy maintaining the greens and fairways to ensure they are up to par come fall. See our latest job at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona home to Accenture Match Play Championships.

Evergreen Turf, Arizona’s premier sod producer is also working on TPC Scottsdale, Wildfire at Desert Ridge, Poston Butte (see image on right) and Gainey Ranch just to name a few. We have our freshest varieties of sod from our Arizona farms ready for all golf courses. We’ll be sodding and sprigging with some of our Arizona sod varieties such as TifGrand, Tifway, Tifgreen, MiniVerde, TifEagle and TifDwarf. Evergreen Turf isn’t the only one who has noticed how hard Arizona golf courses were hit this summer. The United States Golf Association (USGA) has also taken note of the huge difference Arizona golf courses have had transitioning this summer compared to last. Read more about the USGA’s take on the summer golf course sod in Arizona this year.

Evergreen Turf is looking forward to Valley residents and guests getting the chance to play on these golf courses once they are fresh and ready with some of our very own Arizona sod. Also we are looking forward to our Arizona Cardinal’s getting out on their field of our Arizona sod come fall, now that the NFL lock out is over!

There are many Arizona sod varieties to choose from when it comes to picking out the best grass for your Arizona lawn. As one of Arizona’s premier sod farm producers, we went ahead and compiled a list of top features of residential Arizona sod varieties to help you choose which sod is best for your lawn. Keep in mind all of these are great choices for the Arizona climate, which one is best for your lifestyle.

TifGrand is the newest Arizona sod variety to hit the market and is an excellent choice for those Arizona grassy lawns that have a lot of shade coverage. TifGrand is specifically designed to grow in shaded areas (4+ hours of sun).

Midiron is the best grass for Arizona lawns when it comes to transitioning in the winter. It is known to recover quickly from over-seeding which is great if you love having a lush lawn in the winter. If you enjoy entertaining outside during Arizona’s mild winter or refreshing spring than Midiron just might be the Arizona sod variety for you. It handles high traffic areas well, is easy to maintain and is both heat and drought tolerant.

Palmetto St. Augustine is the second best shade tolerant grass for Arizona lawns. This Arizona sod variety is one of our top choices for lawns with shade coverage. People are attracted to this variety not only for it’s shade tolerance, but also for it’s unique texture. The Palmetto St. Augustine is a lighter colored Arizona sod variety with a wider blade. This is a great choice of sod for your Phoenix area residence if you have shade coverage on your lawn, and kids that like to play in the grass.

Any of these are great grasses for Arizona lawns. When selecting your sod variety, consider your lawn surroundings, your lifestyle (kids or pets) and how often you want to mow it and how many hours you want to spend maintaining it. Remember that these are just a few of the Arizona sod varieties that Evergreen Turf offers, if you need help selecting a sod variety for your life and home use our easy “Lawn Selector Tool.”

Find out more about our other residential sod varieties.
Order one of our Arizona sod varieties (10% off online orders).

April is water awareness month in Arizona, so we want to make sure you’re Arizona sod is getting the right amount of water while not wasting any. We found some tips that are useful and can be used year round.

For the next week you can make a great impact by following some of the water awareness tips found here. Click on each day for the Water Use It Wisely special tips; we know some of the tips aren’t just for your lawn, but in the grand scheme of things we still want you to conserve water for our state.

When it comes to watering your lawn we recommend that you check the Water Use It Wisely watering guide or your local newspaper daily. If you are unable to check it daily, check it weekly to ensure that you are not only over watering your lawn, but that you aren’t wasting any water.

With summer coming right around the corner you can also refer to our irrigation/watering schedule for summer time to make sure you know how much water your Evergreen Turf lawn requires. Make it a goal to adjust your watering schedule and conserve as much water as you can!

TifGrand - Available Summer 2011

Evergreen Turf, Arizona’s premier sod producer, is the exclusive licensed seller of TifGrand bermudagrass in the Southwest. TifGrand bermudagrass is brand new to the sod market. One of the most distinctive and beneficial characteristics of the TifGrand variety is it can grow in the shade! Evergreen Turf is currently one of 18 licensed turf providers to sell this amazing new sod variety.

For Arizona residents TifGrand Bermudagrass is an excellent sod choice. Arizona residents who want shade in the heat of the summer no longer have to compromise their beautiful green lawn. If your yard contains shade tree coverage or if your home creates shade coverage over your lawn during the day, TifGrand might be the answer for you.

• Can flourish in growth in 60-70% shade coverage; is known to continue growth well in up to 90% shade levels.
• Can grow at the same capacity in full sun.
• Requires considerably less water and fertilizer.
• Has a naturally denser and darker green blade.
• Mole cricket non-preference, which means the pests will eat it, but will eat other grass varieties nearby first.
• TifGrand was developed by scientists Dr. Wayne Hanna and Dr. Kris Braman and the University of Georgia’s turfgrass breeding program.

Evergreen Turf is also a proud provider of TifEagle, another sod variety to come from Dr. Hanna out of the Georgia program.

Arizona was a testing location throughout the development process of TifGrand bermudagrass and Evergreen Turf is confident this new sod variety will be a great choice for Arizona residents. Not only is TifGrand great for Arizona homeowners, but it is also a great sod variety for golf courses, athletics fields, and stadiums.

Anywhere where turf grows and shade is present, make the change to TifGrand bermudagrass.

*Please note that all TifGrand cannot tolerate 100% shade. It will still require 4 hours or more of sunlight per day in order to thrive.

On Thursday, September 30th, Evergreen Turf and Landscapes Unlimited completed sod installation on a new putting green at The Phoenician Resort Golf Course. The golf course hole was rerouted after the Resorts’ completion of a new ballroom. The hole adds to the character of the resort with its stunning island green surrounded by white sand. “It makes a dramatic back drop for the new ballroom and a dramatic finish for the golfers,” said (our very own) Jimmy Fox, Co-Owner of Evergreen Turf. The Phoenician Golf Course is surrounded by majestic desert views and attached to one of Arizona’s finest resorts.

Evergreen Turf used sod variety, TifEagle, the third generation of bermudagrass varieties developed exclusively for golf greens at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, GA. It’s used on more golf courses than any other ultradwarf and is the standard that all other greens are measured by. “TifEagle is ideal for putting greens because it is extremely fine-textured and can be mowed below one-eighth of an inch,” Fox said. TifEagle is a patented variety and can only be sold as certified sod or sprigs, and only by licensed members of the TifEagle Growers Association. Evergreen Turf is a one of those proud members to provide this variety.

TifEagle was created to withstand the abuse from reduced mowing height, frequent-verticutting, increased topdressing and minimal irrigation. TifEagle was designed to improve the speed, consistency and playability of greens and in test after test, TifEagle’s quality rated superior to Tifdwarf and other warm-season grasses. Putting speed tests are routinely in the 9 to 10 range on the Stimpmeter and often exceed 10.5 to 11 during intense management for tournament play.

Check out some of the sod installation photos on Evergreen Turf’s Facebook page, while you’re there become a fan too and keep up on lawn care and maintenance tips as well as new installations.

Interested in learning more about the TifEagle variety? Visit our professional sod varieties page, scroll to the bottom to find specification on TifEagle.

The University of Phoenix Stadium — home of the Arizona Cardinals and twice named the top football stadium in the NFL by Street & Smith’s Sportsbusiness Journal and Sports Business Daily — kicked off pre-season last weekend when the Cardinals took on the Houston Texans. The Cardinals came back from 16-0 to defeat the Texans 19-16.

The stadium, which was recently damaged in a monsoon storm, was ready for competition as was the playing field installed by Evergreen Turf. As Arizona’s premier sod supplier, Evergreen Turf is proud to be the exclusive provider of sod to the Arizona Cardinals.

Prior to the game there was some concern about whether the stadium would be ready for competition due to the storm damage. University of Phoenix Stadium suffered damage during a reported micro burst that occurred on July 29, 2010. A hole was torn in the retractable roof and a piece of metal was ripped from the side of the building. The turf field itself was undamaged.

If you’d like to install a new lawn on your property with the same turf that’s used for the Cardinals, call Evergreen Turf today. Also visit our site for Arizona landscaping ideas.

Evergreen Turf, your Arizona sod producer, is proud to be the premier supplier of MiniVerde Ultradwarf Bermudagrass in Arizona and California. MiniVerde Bermudagrass was designed specifically for high-stress golf course greens and has received praise from golf course superintendents and golfers alike.

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The 2010 FIFA World Cup culminates this weekend in South Africa. And as the World’s premier soccer stars lace up their boots for their final 90 minute battle, Evergreen Turf has set the stage for some great soccer matches to take place right here in Arizona.

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