Turf painting for residential lawns has come a long way in the last few years. It has been done for decades on sports fields and golf courses with ever improving products. A 1964 article in Newsweek pointed out that green grass paint was being sold in 35 states. Products have improved to withstand water and light to keep good color longer than ever.
You will see products advertised as pigment, colorant, or paint. I will refer to it as colorant, since that is usually what we use for a dormant upsell application. Pigments are not recommended for long-term use since they don’t last as long. They are usually cheaper and best for temporarily coloring problem areas. It is always helpful to have some pigment handy for dog spots or disease circles. It will amaze customers at how fast you fixed their issues when you just bought some time.
Sports turf managers in the southern states have traditionally overseeded bermudagrass during the fall to maintain playable, aesthetically appealing turf surfaces throughout dormancy. Maintenance throughout the winter and transitioning turf from a cool-season grass like annual rye back to a warm-season grass can be challenging even for professionals. Prolonged cool springs allowed overseeded grasses to persist longer, causing delays in bermudagrass green-up.
In recent years, turf colorants have become the default over seeding. Turf colorants allow for a more predictable spring green-up and contribute to a healthier stand of bermudagrass going into the summer. Research has shown colorants speed green up, which helps the lawn to stand out to neighbors looking for a lawn care company in the spring.
When deciding on turf colorant products and timing of application, ask yourself a few questions. Will the colorant be applied to dormant or actively growing turf, the minimum ideal time needed for acceptable color, and which product matches existing turf color if the grass is not dormant. Cost is also an important consideration as applications can vary from $4.50 to $22.00 per acre, depending on product and application rate. All variables considered, it is important that you identify goals for a colorant application before purchasing product and setting up schedules and sales. Once you have your goals and your product selected, the rest will be easy.
Why Sell Turf Paint Services?
With fluctuating seed prices, using colorant can offer considerable cost savings to you and your customers. Overseeding requires ground preparation, seeding, watering, fertilizing, mowing, pest control, and spring transitioning, such as spraying herbicide on the cool-season grass. Also, the ability to get warm season grass off to a better start and have the lawn stand out to potential buyers is a significant advantage.
Painting requires minimum turf grass preparation. Just mow ahead of treatment.
Realtors have realized that homes sell better with a green healthy-looking lawn. They know that research has shown the value of landscaping is 10-15% of the home. Painting the bare grass gives that healthy green illusion. It is much cheaper and faster to have the lawn painted instead of replaced. Return on investment for a house that needs a buyer can be way over 100%. In areas like California where there are water restrictions, a lawn can be painted and remain green until it can be watered regularly or the weather changes. These products are non-toxic and pet friendly. They won’t stain clothes after they have dried.
What equipment do you need?
For lawns up to 3K sq ft, I suggest using a pump-up sprayer for application. If you have larger lawns, consider investing in a battery-operated backpack sprayer to avoid the pumping. I suggest removing the strainer at the end of the little hose inside the pump or battery sprayer. This will allow the fluid to flow better and not risk it stopping up. If you are doing weed control, you already have the sprayer you need. For large lawns, you can use a JD-9 gun and spray rig if you have one, but you will still need to use a pump up for the edges. Don’t forget to bring cardboard or something to block the paint from the edges.
How and When Is It Done
You can do full lawn colorant services in the spring and fall in the areas where southern grasses go dormant. This works as a substitute for overseeding. Coloring can be done anytime, anywhere, to create the illusion of a green, healthy lawn.
The time the colorant holds ideal color varies with brand, grass conditions, and weather. Certain conditions at the time of application may have a dramatic influence on resulting colorant color and performance. The most common determinants include turf color, presence of moisture on the turf grass surface, and air temperature.
Turf grass color at the time of application influences the appearance of a colorant application. If the colorant is applied to semi-dormant turf grass, the color will look better. For optimum results, do not wait until the turf grass is straw brown. The natural green color of actively growing turf will enhance any colorant application.
If there is moisture on the grass, like dew, it can help coverage, especially if the turf grass is dormant or nearly dormant. Dormant turf grass is dry, so adding supplemental water will increase leaf moisture, protecting the applied colorant from absorption into leaf tissue. This can increase the colorant’s coverage and enhance color.
Use the timing listed on the product for excellent color. Add a couple of weeks to account for early green up in the spring. Then work backwards. If Southern lawns are usually 90% green (temperatures have been over 80 degrees for a couple of weeks) around May 1 and you are using a product that says it will last 6-8 weeks, then go with the 8 weeks and spray around March 1st. If you are doing 2 applications for full season color, you might have to move it up. Applicators in Florida report the lawns transitioning about 4 weeks earlier if painted, so that varies widely. You can mix the colorant with fungicide. In areas where fungus like rhizoctonia attacks in the winter, you will have disease spots until soil temps are above 65 degrees.
Colorants are safe for people and pets after they dry, but you should still use good judgment and wear personal protection equipment when using pressurized sprayers. You should wear safety glasses and gloves when mixing, spraying, and cleaning up.
Many of the colorants do not dry or stick very well when applied at low temperatures. Be sure to read the label and follow directions.
Brands
There are many brands of turf colorant. Some brands are focused on consumers and offer ready-to-use applicators or small containers of concentrate. Other brands are focused on the professional sports field industry and offer products in large pallet size containers. I suggest Lesco Turf Paint, Endurance, and GURUturf™ Colorant to be your starting brand choices. I recommend these brands based on studies showing longevity of color, price, and availability. Endurance and GURUturf™ also sell mulch colorant so it’s handy to use the same company for products if you are considering mulch colorant services. (Why not?) Enduran FW Fairway is their darkest shade of green. It is recommended for Bermuda and cool season turf like bluegrass. Endurant perennial rye colorant is their most popular color. It is a bright, vibrant green. It is commonly used for Zoysia, Centipede, and St Augustine. It is perfect for making Zoysia look like it does in the middle of summer. You can see Endurant’s color chart at https://endurantcolorants.com/what-is-the-best-colorant-for-your-grass-type/.
The mix ratio of all three grass types is a 15 to 1 mix ratio. This is 8 ounces of product for every gallon of water and coverage is the same.
Completely dormant turf coverage will be 4-7K square feet per gallon of product. You could get up to 10 thousand square feet, but there are a lot of factors, including grass height and level of dormancy.
GURUturf™ offers a colorant (paint) and a pigment (dye). Mixing recommendations for GURUturf™ Colorant is 15:1 mix ratio (8 oz. Color to 1 gallon of water). Apply 2-8 gallons of colorant per acre depending on the desired color. Recommendation of 40-50 gallons of tank-mixed product per acre to be applied or until you reach the desired color. That would equate to about 1 gallon per 1,000 sq ft.
Lesco Green is available to purchase from SiteOne in a 2.5-gallon size. The recommended rate is 8-12 oz per gallon and one gallon per 1K sq ft for dormant turf. The rate is lower for coloring problem areas in growing turf. At 10 oz per 1,000 sq ft, your cost is approx. $5.95. This is retail before any wholesale discounts.
Applying these three brands to dormant turf, you should see between 6 and 12 weeks of color. Once the paint has had time to dry to the leaf blade, it won’t bleed off even after rain or snow. You should wait 8 to 12 hours between painting and any substantial water. Make sure that no sprinklers are scheduled to come if you are applying during the growing season.
Before you paint a lawn, it should be mowed short. Clean off any debris, especially if you’re painting in late fall and early winter. Make sure you get all the trash and leaves cleaned up before you start. Rake dead grass out. Work from borders to the inside.
I recommend using a battery-powered backpack sprayer. This provides you with a nice consistent spray and consistency is key when it comes to applying this product. Try to avoid treating on a windy day.
Using 8 ounces of product for every gallon of water, you will be putting 32 ounces of endurant perennial rye into four gallons of water.
Put in half of the water first because the paint is heavier than water. Then put the 32 ounces of paint in and shake well. Add the rest of the water and shake hard.
Unlike old turf paint that was almost permanent and stained like house paint, new turf colorant makes it easy to clean equipment. Just fill the sprayer with water and spray until you see clean water coming out of the equipment. Make sure you get your pumps, seals and nozzles all cleaned.
Experiment in small areas until you achieve your desired shade. Once desired shade is achieved, spray in a random orbital pattern to avoid lines and to create a more realistic look. Keep sprayer head within 6 inches of grass blades. For the best outcome, it is recommended that you shake the sprayer prior to application and periodically during the process to avoid settling of pigment and or clogging the nozzle. Always have the sprayer set to the finest mist setting you can.
Since accidental overspray can occur, it is recommended to have a bucket of soapy water available with a nylon or light wire brush to remove any overspray on concrete, etc. Windex works for removing products that were applied accidentally to any hard surface, such as concrete or bricks.
It’s helpful to use split applications in two directions to get the total rate and even application. Be careful with application and avoid time eating clean up. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Price and Profit
You should compare your turf painting prices to your overseeding prices since you will probably substitute painting for seeding. You will want to make sure it is an attractive alternative. You may need to make two applications to last as long as seeding. One in fall and one that will take the green to spring. Leave yourself some room for a slightly lower price when they buy two services. Like with all pricing, call around and get some quotes from competitors.
Turf Colorant is an ideal service to substitute for seeding. If the price for two services is less than seeding and combined with an explanation of the benefit to the dormant grass, the sale is more likely.
An example of product cost is:
Endurant 1 gallon - $95 makes 16 gallons covers 5,000-12,000 sq ft = $7.92- $19 per 1K sq ft.
Offering lawn painting in fall and early spring can give employees more hours in a slow time. Be sure to check on any other fall services that may be booked. You will not want to put down lime before or after painting.
Pricing is widely variable and should be based on local competition, product, number of services, and special circumstances, such as commercial agreements with businesses such as realtors or sports fields.