Over the past several months we have received numerous calls from individuals trying to improve their property's landscape appeal. This may be a real estate agent trying to improve the eye appeal of a property on sale or golf course superintendent improving the tee box, fairway, or the greens on a golf course. In most cases the contact is trying to turn lawns greener due to poor grass quality or the grass is in a dormant state (brown).

Given this assumption Tru Mark's best application product is going to be a turf colorant versus a traditional bulk latex paint product.

We have recently introduced a turf colorant for both Bermuda and Blue Grass/Fescue turf grass varieties. This product is formulated so you can achieve a dilution ration of 9 gallons of water to 1 gallon of colorant, in other words for every gallon of colorant you’ll generate 10 gallons of diluted liquid. A recent test my a customer reflected that they achieved good results with a dilution ratio of 15 gallons to 1 gallon of colorant.

These turf colorants are an excellent solution for making turf grass divot mix for golf course tee boxes another high use areas. These colorants make the divot mix look similar to the surrounding turf grass versus a brown spot for several weeks prior to the grass maturing.

Each diluted gallon of colorant will cover approximately 100 square feet (Normal house paint is marketed to cover approximately 300 square feet). We are being more conservative due to the turf depth (up to 3" in length). Therefore one gallon of colorant will cover 1,000 square feet.

These colorants are not inexpensive, one gallon will cost in the neighborhood of $85.00 to $100.00 per gallon and a 5-gallon pail will cost $399.00 to $500.00 plus shipping and handling ($40 per 5-gallon pail). This colorant is very “strong” when it comes to a staining so you have be very careful about porous surfaces like concrete.

Here's is a rough price comparison on 100 square feet application without shipping and handling costs included.
Turf Colorant, $85/gal covers 1000 square ft (10 gallons diluted) (9:1 ratio) or $0.085 per square/ft
Latex Paint $20/gal covers 200 square ft (2 gallons diluted) or $0.100 per square/ft

Check the Tru Mark website for the turf colorant information.

For applying this colorant or bulk latex paint you have several options. For the least expensive equipment option we would recommend the Shurflo battery operated backpack sprayer.

For a three wheel battery operated walk-behind unit we would suggest the Model E-100 with the Paint Boom Accessory (or just use the spray wand accessory that come standard).

Bulk latex green paint can be purchased for around $100.00 per 5-gallon pail. You will probably have a challenge getting the “right” color green. This type of product is diluted at 1 gallon of water to one gallon of paint. Ground Boss Green Sweep turf paint is our particular product.

For golf fairways a traditional spray boom applicator can be used.