Painting dormant grass green has become popular across the U.S.
Initially, it may sound odd to paint grass. However, with droughts, water restrictions and chemical usage, applying a nontoxic colorant becomes a viable solution.
Geoponics, the makers of Endurant, and their distributors across the U.S. and across the globe, are aware how helpful turf grass colorants are. Home users and professionals alike apply Endurant during seasonal dormancy and extreme drought. They also use the colorants for increased curb appeal or to get TV-ready, tournament-ready turf aesthetics and playability.
"If you watched the football game last night you looked at painted turf," says Brad Gentry, of Horizon. "Don’t tell me the NFL can’t grow grass. You know they can. But Endurant works. It looks natural," he adds.
In Gentry's area of Dallas, Texas, the Endurant is sought after for painting dormant bermuda grass. When the grass turns brown, many want to find a way to get green again. Bermuda and other warm season grasses go into dormancy due to drought, lack of irrigation or temperatures that dip under 55 degrees for just long enough.
Endurant provides green turf grass all year. It requires less labor, less water and fewer chemicals to achieve gorgeous results.
(See a successful landscaper in Texas using Endurant here.)
Overseeding with winter cool season grass species, such as perennial rye, has historically been a big part of the turf programs throughout much of the U.S. However, over the past 10 to 15 years or so, in part due to population growth and expansions in the Texas area, there is an inability to support rye grass with irrigation, says Gentry. This trend is true across the country for various reasons.
"It takes a tremendous amount of water to establish rye grass. It takes even more to maintain it in our area," he says. "So, in our area, rye grass overseed has become less of a priority."
Turf colorants are providing an alternative.
This year, because of the drought in the Northwest area of the country and other factors, rye grass seed has become less available, he adds.
"Prices of rye grass seed have skyrocketed. They have doubled year over year for the past several years," says Gentry.
(See an article in Golf Course Magazine about the seed shortages and costs as well as alternatives, such as colorants, here.)
Grass paint not only provides a solution to the drought and overseed challenges for the end user, but also helps with commercial clients.
"This is a way to maintain a revenue stream in an out of the box kind of way for the commercial landscaper," says Gentry.
As a distributor, the paint puts Horizon in a unique position to offer success to clients, Gentry adds.
The Texas rye grass season or overseed season lasts approximately 7 to 8 months, he notes.
The cost of the Endurant program labor and materials combined is half to a third of a full rye grass overseed program, says Gentry. (See an estimate of the cost comparison of traditional overseed versus grass paint here.)
Thus, Endurant Liquid Overseed turf colorants become a viable alternative to traditional overseed, he says.
Gentry is particularly enthusiastic about the opportunities for Endurant on dormant bermudagrass throughout Texas.