THIS weekend will see the US Masters golf tournament kick off the Majors in the golf world and no doubt we will envy the lush green putting surfaces and the flowering rhododendrons and azaleas that make wonderful backdrops to those lush green lawns.

It is worth noting a rule of thumb for rhododendrons, azaleas and turf and that is not too give them too much nitrogen.

If too much nitrogen is applied to rhododendrons and azaleas we will find plants with lush green leaves and not enough energy going in to producing nice bright colours in flowering.

Rhododendrons and Azaleas are plants that like iron as a fertiliser nutrient and this help produce bright flowering healthy plants. Too much nitrogen applied to turf will mean you will encourage too much soft growth in the turf and not enough root growth, this will result in you having to mow the lawn more often.

We have had another winter without too much in the way of snow or prolonged frost periods, this type of weather can be conducive to the spread of moss if autumn aeration was not carried out. Frost helps to not only breaks up the soil in the borders but helps to open the soil for better root growth in lawns.

Aeration in the spring by pushing a garden fork in to the lawn can help the drainage of the garden and if your soil is particularly wet applying some coarse sand to the area will help water move away from the surface.

If you mow the lawn with a cylinder machine then make sure any sand applied is well brushed in to avoid blunting the cylinder of your mower. If moss has become a problem then now is the time to tackle it and be prepared for some follow-up work two weeks after applying a balanced fertiliser with iron (ferrous sulphate) – this is a different form of iron to the sequestered iron mentioned for rhododendrons and azaleas, however, if there is no requirement to remove moss you could look at one of the nice seaweed products available from garden centres containing sequestered iron that can be applied to the lawn and also the rhododendrons and azaleas.

If applying the ferrous sulphate type of iron then correct application of this product is important to avoid scorching areas of the lawn. A simple hand held spreader is available now that makes applying the product easier and accurately or alternatively wheeled drop spreaders are available. Application in light rain helps the product to soak in to the moss and will turn the moss black in a few days. The moss should be raked out 10-14 days after application by a springbok rake or a scarifying machine. Doing this will reduce the likelihood of the moss spreading again. Moss is a sign of another problem, possibly poor drainage or mowing the lawn too short.

It is always important to protect the growth of the grass at this time of year by reducing no more than one-third of the grass length during mowing. This allows the grass to stay strong and avoids scalping that can lead to moss. Once the moss has been removed it may be necessary to go over the lawn with a little grass seed, this will help to fill areas where the moss had crowded the grass out.

Once the lawn is nicely striped then you can decide if its to be golf, tennis or football that is best suited or perhaps just for admiring