LAWN CARE Vs. Artificial Turf Care

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Lawn Care Vs. Artificial Turf Care

Landscaping in Las Vegas allows CGL to work with a large variety of plants and other elements. As Vegas landscapers, we’re lucky to have the stimulation and the choice of many materials, and as a customer, our knowledge of these varied components will be of use.

Case and point: you may have considered switching to artificial turf for your SNWA conversions but wondered how lawn care compares to caring for artificial turf. Since CGL does both, we thought we’d give you a breakdown of the differences between the two.

Lawn Care

Chances are, you’re not entirely unfamiliar with lawn care, mainly if Vegas is not the only city you’ve called home. For many of us, as teens mowing a lawn might be one of our first home responsibilities or ways to make a few extra bucks from a neighbor. But lawn care in the desert is a little different.

Mowing

Mowing a lawn is simple right? You just cut it shorter. Likewise, cutting your grass isn’t super complex, but you should arm yourself with some knowledge to do it right.

Different grasses need different heights, and the optimal height of each grass species varies by season.

Beyond that, mowing should continue your regular maintenance routine. To keep defined lines and prevent creep between your lawn and gardens, you should also spend some time edging your property and follow that with a blowout to remove any clippings.

Watering

In Nevada, watering is the crux of lawn care. Unfortunately, because we live in a desert, water is challenging to come by, and our supply is running low. SNWA conversions aim to prevent this, but they’re only mandatory for nonfunctional turf. Since residential lawns are exempt, you may still have some watering to do.

An irrigation system is the best way to water your lawn efficiently and without overdoing it.

Seasonal Care

Finally, to stay healthy each season, there are a few things that your lawn needs. These tasks include aeration and overseeding, fertilization, and weed control.

Artificial Turf Care

Artificial Turf care will feel unfamiliar to those used to lawn care, but once you get used to it, it’s pretty straightforward. Artificial turf mainly needs to be kept clean. If properly cared for, it will last 15-25 years.

Cleaning artificial turf usually involves an occasional spray-off with the hose. If something has landed on it that has the danger of staining it, it’s best to get it off the turf as soon as possible, much like you would if you got food on your clothing.

Which Is Better?

With grass and artificial turf, preferences come into play, and personal mileage may vary. But here are how CGL views the two.

Pros & Cons of Lawns

Lawns hold a certain appeal as part of the American ideal. When they think of the American dream, people frequently imagine a home with a lush green lawn and a white picket fence.

But lawns take care and resources. And when you live in a dry, hot climate (that’s getting hotter and dryer), those resources are growing scarcer.

Pros & Cons of Turf

At CLG, we’re big fans of artificial turf. Admittedly, it takes some getting used to since most people haven’t grown up around it, but it does have many benefits.

Turf takes less maintenance and only the amount of water needed for occasional cleaning. The biggest con of artificial turf is that it can get scalding in summer temperatures, and you can’t walk on it. Because of that heat, it may not be suitable for every home.

The most significant benefit of artificial turf is that it saves water and money. That also makes it more environmentally sound in Nevada.

Until 2026, there is also an excellent cash incentive for switching to artificial turf or other desert landscaping. Homeowners and businesses can get three dollars per square foot of converted grass to desert landscaping (including artificial turf).

False Dichotomy

We hope you’ll remember this if you take nothing else from today’s blog. Regarding grass or artificial turf, you can choose one or the other if you’re a homeowner.

There may be some situations or parts of your yard where grass makes more sense, such as where your pets go to relieve themselves, whereas elsewhere, you want to make the most of your yard’s low-maintenance turf. Unfortunately, business owners have no choice since, by 2026, you must convert all your nonfunctional turf to some form of desert landscaping.