Clever ways to spring through a drought

The toll of a drought is enough to make a lawn lover want to throw a funeral. Adieu, grass. Dust to dust. In lieu of live flowers, please bring plastic.

Now, there's an idea.

Yves and Melisa Conze of Tampa did it eight years ago, and they've been happy ever since.

"It looks great; just like the first day," Yves says of the AstroLawn synthetic grass he rolled out in 2001. "I just vacuum it every once in awhile. You save money. It pays for itself. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Not quite ready to go there? Whether it's grass, shrubs or a garden you want to hang on to, there's more than one way to stretch a raindrop.

Synthetic turf

Yves Conze installed his AstroLawn with help from his brother. His home was brand-new, so the yard was already bare and graded.

"Anybody could do it if they're physically able," he says.

About a thousand foot-long stakes and a lot of fine-grain sand swept into the blades hold down the AstroLawn blanket, he says. His grass hasn't faded or wrinkled since he laid it, though it gets toasty on hot days.

AstroLawn, www.astrolawn.com, is based in Georgia. Conze had his turf shipped. Today, it runs $2.25 to $5.45 per square foot, and there are other costs: the sand to weigh it down and special tape for the seams. The Web site lists them, along with instructions for installing it yourself, and people can order sample packs to get a good look at the turf styles.

If DIY is NYT (not your thing), shop companies that sell and install fake grass. Look for something porous, so rainwater can soak through, and watch out for lead.

Last year, California sued a number of turf companies for lead levels exceeding the state's standards. Lead can cause serious neurological damage in children if it's ingested.

The metal came from rubber mulch used instead of sand as ballast, and it was found in the pigment used to keep the color from fading. Tests showed it can come off on children's hands.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned it also can be released in dust as the turf ages.

To be doubly sure a product lives up to its lead-free claim, test it. Consumer Reports magazine recommends Homax's Lead Check ($7.99 at leadtesttoys.com) and Lead Inspector ($12.99 at www.leadinspector.com).

Hydretain

An Ocala-based company, Ecologel Solutions, is getting a lot of word-of-mouth praise for its blend of moisture magnets.

Spray Hydretain on lawns and around shrubs, or add it to potted plants, and for about three months it augments the water supply by grabbing water molecules from humidity in the soil and turning them into droplets, company president Rick Irwin says.

University studies have praised it for helping potted geraniums and greenhouse tomatoes thrive days longer without watering. But the research is thin, says Lynn Barber of the Hillsborough County Extension. Horticulturists at the University of Florida say there isn't enough yet to offer an expert opinion.

Still, many landscape professionals swear by Hydretain. In a testimonial posted at www.ecologel.com, Rich Cope, golf course superintendent at the University of Texas, wrote that it reduced watering by a third during a 2006 drought.

Hydretain was developed by an Australian chemist to help cut down on road dust, says Irwin, who began selling it in 1995. It's often compared to other water-stretching products, but they're different, he says.

"Super-absorbent polymers have water-holding capacity. The problem is, you have to dig up your yard to put them down," he says. "Wetting agents increase the spreadability of water. They allow it to penetrate in.

"Hydretain starts working when there is no water."

Application is a bit of a chore. Water the soil first, then apply Hydretain (the easy part), then soak it in with about a half-inch of water so the product gets down to plants' roots.

A quart container, which comes with a sprayer, costs $25 to $30 and should treat a 3,500-square-foot yard. Order online at www.ecologel.com.

Get smart

People don't stop buying plants and trees during a drought. But even the most drought-tolerant plants, except maybe cacti, require big gulps of water to get those hardy root systems growing.

The solution?

Drip irrigation systems work best for shrubs and trees, says Scott Bailey, owner of Treemart in Tampa.

Go native

Maybe it's time to get that sod monkey off our backyards.

"Fifty percent of potable water goes on landscaping. When you turn on that tap, the impact goes far beyond your yard," says Brightman Logan, ecologist and owner of All Native, a 28-year-old wholesale nursery in San Antonio.

Native plants - once they're established - don't require sprinklers. Or fertilizer. And growers like Logan are refining the stock so people can buy more predictable, aesthetically pleasing plants.

Instead of turf, he suggests Sunshine Mimosa, or Mimosa strigillosa. It's cute, likes sandy soil and starts spreading quickly. Weeds pop up in it, but you can kill them in the winter, when Mimosa loses its vegetation.

"In winter, some people throw rye grass seed over it," Logan says. It comes back in the spring.

Coral honeysuckle vine is tough and pretty. It masses nicely on the ground, creating a bed. It's easily kept to about a foot tall with a weed-whacker, Logan says, but it wanes a bit in August and September.

Honeysuckle paired with pink muley grass, which has soft, cotton-candy blooms, makes a pretty display.

Bunch grasses don't spread, and there are a variety of looks and sizes available. Eastern gamma grass grows to about 4 by 4 feet. Plant several together, mulch between them and they'll stifle any weed ambitions while filling a lot of yard, Logan says.

"Every two years or so, they'll get brown tips. Just cut them back to about 5 inches and they'll grow right back."

If you decide to plant natives, wait till the rainy season so the roots get plenty of water while settling in. Never plant in dry soil, Logan warns. That will damage roots.

If your favorite nursery doesn't carry natives, ask for them.