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It’s in the Genes!

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

This week I attended a conference at Oklahoma State University (go pokes!)  on winterkill and spring dead spot.  I know it doesn’t sound too exciting for most folks, but that’s what I do—take care of turf.  So, I went to see if there was any new information on these two things which have caused me to lose hair every spring over the past 26 years.

Yea, that bermudagrass looks pretty dead, Dr. Martin!

My previous blog was about winterkill.  And yes, we sure enough have had some from the winter of 2009/2010. Dr. Dennis Martin, the head of the turfgrass department from O.S.U., showed us the damage they received on their turf plots, spoke about the factors involved in winterkill, along with recommendations on what to do to help bermudagrass turf recover.

It’s always amazed me over the past 26 year when homeowners look at their lawn, and it’s damaged from winterkill, not as green, has a few more weeds, etc, than maybe the lawn across the street.  “Why does my lawn look so bad, and Billy Bob across the street doesn’t do anything with his lawn, and look how nice it looks!”   We’ve seen some of this with the winterkill event, with some lawns being damaged, even just in certain areas, while other lawns are just fine.

Being an old, or maybe I should say previous science teacher, I have to bite my tongue and not criticize homeowners for failing to pay attention in their science classes and learning more about how nature and science works.  Many think that the only variable as to how their lawn looks is who they make the check out to.  Now I’d love to take credit for all of our lawns that look great, but it’s just not that simple.  And with things such as winterkill, if a certain lawn has winterkill, and the one across the street is green, it often has nothing to do with the lawncare company one is using.

It’s in the genes!!

Turfgrass is like any other living organism—the characteristics and health of it are mainly determined by genetics.  Do you look like your neighbor?  Do you act like your neighbor?  For that matter, do you look and act like your kids or siblings, who have a genetic makeup much closer to you than your neighbor (let’s hope)!

As you can clearly see from the turf plots at O.S.U., different varieties of bermudagrass responded differently to the winter conditions we faced this year.  Some, such as the variety of bermudagrass that

Some varities held up well to the winter cold, while others were toast!

is sold at the box stores, were totally dead.  Others, such as Patriot, which is sold at Easton Sod Farms here in Tulsa, held up pretty well to the winter.  Other varieties were affected some, with one variety looking even better than Patriot.

These were all growing in the same type of soil, with the same weather conditions, irrigation, fertility, etc.  The only variable (or experimental factor if you were paying attention in Science class) was the genetics of the turf—the variety of turf.

All bermudagrass is not equal.  There are hundreds of varieties, each with different characteristics, and differing in their color, thickness, and in things such as winter hardiness.  Even among the same verity, such as the commonly used U-3 bermudgrass, there are hundreds of what we call “genotypes”, coming from different sod farms, with small differences in how they look and perform.  Think of it as being “brothers and sisters”.   Although they have similar genetic makeup, they also have differences, just like your kids are all different in some ways, yet still with commonalities.

This variety of bermudagrass is history--need to re-sod!

This variety, while not as green and thick as normal for early May, still made it through the winter just fine.

So if you do have winterkill, don’t blame anyone.  It happens.  This is Oklahoma, on the northern edge of the bermudgrass belt, and we’ll always lose some grass when the weather is cold during the winter.  Bermudagrass is tough though, and most will come back if you are patient and continue to water, fertilize, and mow properly.  And if areas of turf need to be replaced, now is a good time to do it with new sod.

As a previous science teacher, I do get frustrated at times with the simple thinking of many.  In today’s society, many are far removed from nature, with little understanding of the science of how things operate, with a quick fix and instant results mentality to boot.  Many do think that the only variable as to how one’s lawn looks is which company they use.  In reality, LawnAmerica has direct control of only two important factors when it comes to turf health and performance: soil fertility and weed-control.  While these are very important, we strive to do it better and more responsibly than anyone, other factors which play major roles in turfgrass are:

  • Mowing (#1 in most textbooks)
  • Irrigation and soil moisture (a close second)
  • Soil type (who controls that?)
  • Weather (that’s a God thing)
  • Shade or sun
  • Disease and insect problems (now we can help there also!)
  • Soil compaction (aeration helps)

And probably the most important, as we’ve discussed, is what type of grass you have to begin with—the genetics of what we’re working with.  If it’s no good, then it may be time to take it out and put in a different type of grass.  It may be time to start over from scratch.  Just make sure you are picking out a winner, and one that will perform well in the area that you are trying to grow it.

And of course, make sure you are using the lawncare experts, who have the experience and knowledge to know what is best for your lawn–LawnAmerica!   I’ll still take a little of the credit when things go well and your lawn is looking great.

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Posted in Environmental, Lawncare

Winterkill of Bermudagrass

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Winterkill along a concrete edge, where soil temperatures were colder. Also, too much ice melt could have caused this.

I recently received a memo from Dr. Dennis Martin, Turfgrass Extension/Research Specialist from Oklahoma State University, concerning winter-kill of bermudagrass.  Although it looks like the problem is not as severe as he and others believed it would be, there are areas of turf that have been damaged, or are just slow to come out of dormancy.   A recent Tulsa World article also had information about winterkill and the effect it was having on local golf courses. 

North facing slope and too much shade--perfect conditions for winterkill!

Even during the mildest of winters in Oklahoma, several node and internode segments of the aerial shoot system of bermudagrsss are killed by freezing temperatures.  Sunlight  then bleaches the dead tissue to a straw colored appearance.  Following these events and while temperatures remain too low for sustained regrowth, people refer to the bermudagrass as “being dormant.”

The relatively severe winter of 2009/2010 has resulted in above average winter-kill of bermudagrass across Oklahoma. “Winter-kill” simply means that part or all of the turfgrass plant died during the winter season.  Winter-kill can occur from either acute or extended exposure to low temperatures.  It can also be due to complications from the interaction of low temperatures and any number of stressing factors such as insuffient or excessive soil moisture, shade, excessive traffic, soil compaction, low mowing height, insufficient or excessive nutrients, or any number of other predisposing stressful physical, chemical, or biological factors.

 Even during the mildest of winters in Oklahoma, several node and internode segments of the aerial shoot system of bermudagrsss are killed by freezing temperatures.  Sunlight  then bleaches the dead tissue to a straw colored appearance.  Following these events and while temperatures remain too low for sustained regrowth, people refer to the bermudagrass as “being dormant.”

 During most of the last decade in Oklahoma, mild winter temperatures have resulted in bermudagrass aerial shoots only being killed back a few node/intermodal segments.  During the 2009/2010 winter, many strands of bermudagrass had most or all of their above ground  aerial shoot system killed back to or slightly below the soil surface.  In more severe cases of winter-kill, death of node and intermodal segments below ground, as occurred.  In the most severe case, shallow rhizomes (below ground horizontal stems) may have been killed.  Each turfgrass stand is unique due to the cultivars or varieties being used as well as the soils, exposure and management programs.

Winterkill of bermudagrass, with weeds coming into the thin turf.

So as to not bore you with an abundance of technical terms, this is what all this means:

Some of your bermudagrass may be dead, damaged, or just slow to come out of dormancy.  It happens.  Cold temperatures is just one of many factors affecting turf in a negative way, which nobody can control. Normally by early May, the bermudagrass is looking very nice and green, but not so this year.  I’ve seen very few bermudagrass lawns that are fully out of dormancy and looking great.  Bermudagrass needs nighttime temperatures consistently in the 60’s and 70’s to be able to grow and develop, and for much of this spring, we’ve been not even close to that.

Bermudagrass lawns normally look much denser and greener by May 1st. Not so this year with winter damage.

So what to do?

The key ingredient for your bermudagrass to recover and greenup nicely is PATIENCE!!!  As the weather warms, with more spring rainfalls, most bermudagrass will recover and fill in.  We can only go as fast as Mother Nature allows us though.  Dumping more fertilizer on your turf will not help, and will probably even harm the root system, which we do not want. 

In some cases, new sod or plugs may have to be installed, if the turf is totally dead.  In most cases however, with time, the turf will recover if you are patient.  Don’t go out and throw seed on the turf!  You’ll be introducing a different variety of bermudagrass,even if it does germinate.  If you must re-sod or plug, rake the dead grass out as best you can, plug or sod those areas with new sod, and keep well-watered for several weeks while it roots down.

Don't confuse Spring Dead Spot with winterkill.

Do not confuse Spring Dead Spot with winterkill.  This is a very common turf disease unique to bermudagrass.  It occurs every season, and is worse this year due to the harsh winter.  These will be circular areas up to several feet in diameter.  Fall fungicides can be applied to help prevent the disease for next season, or you can dig out those infected areas and re-sod. 

To help your bermudagrass recover as quickly as possible, maintain a good fertility program (which LawnAmerica does for you), irrigate when needed, and consider core aeration this summer.  Mow your lawn well.  As of this writing in late April, we’ve encountered many bermudagrass lawns that have not even been mowed yet!  Mowing a little shorter than normal now will help the soil temperature to warm up quicker and stimulate new turf growth.  Mowing will also help any post-emergent weed-control efforts.  So help us out by doing your part!

Weak bermudagrass areas due to lack of sunlight may need to be converted to fescue this fall with seeding, or even sodding this spring.  For example, much bermudagrass on the north side of houses has been killed from the winter.  Now may be a good time to convert to fescue, or even plant shade-loving groundcover into those areas. 

 The good news is that the winterkill we’ve had this year is nothing compared to what we experienced in 1990.  I was in the lawncare business then as the owner of green-up!  Things were not to green in May of 1990, as about half of the total bermudagrass was totally dead then.  I believe this was the year I lost some of my hair that no longer exists—call it hairkill I guess.  I said it then, and I’ll say it again with this winter-kill event—It’s not our fault!  It happens.  Be patient, and it will be OK.

In most cases, your bermudagrass just needs warmer weather, good watering, proper fertilization, and alot of patience!

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Posted in Environmental, Fertilization, Lawncare

The Native American Lawn

Monday, March 15th, 2010

My wife and I recently spent a Sunday afternoon driving up to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve northwest of Tulsa.  The Nature Conservancy purchased 29,000 acres of prairie land several years ago with the goal of recreating a functioning tallgrass prairie ecosystem, preserving the native biodiversity of the prairie.   If you’ve never taken the short drive up through Skiatook and on to Pawhuska, it’s worth the trip.

Buffalo, along with fire, are nature's way of "mowing the grass" on the native prairie.

The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is what this part of Oklahoma, and on up through the great plains, looked like before the area was settled.  This is how God created this area–with vast expanses of tall grass, wildflowers, birds, and herds of buffalo.  At this time of year, the prairie is a sea of brown, dormant grasses, along with a splattering of buffalo herds roaming the area.  And there are no weeds, as urban home lawns that are not treated are showing right now.  A weed is a plant growing out of place.  In the native prairie, the ”weeds” we are going after in the home lawn, are welcome somewhat, as they do have their place in the native prairie for a time.

This is how your lawn would look if left to itself, after about 200 years of ecological succession.

I’m an ecologist at heart, and by trade.  My degree is in Biology, and remember learning about the native prairie, and things such as ecological succession.  Many folks think that Bermudagrass is native to Oklahoma, but that’s not true.  It was imported from Africa years ago, and has adapted quite well.  Zoysiagrass came from China (as allot of other stuff did also).  There are in fact only four true native grasses that grew in eastern Oklahoma for thousands of years, before the Sooners came, and the growth of cities, agriculture, and the urban environment of today.   

I love the prairie, and the changes it gives us during the seasons.  I love the mountains also, which is obvious, as I’m hiking through the Appalachians from May through September.  The tallgrass prairie is a unique ecosystem, which takes hundreds of years to fully develop, yet can be destroyed in a short period of time.  Things we think of as destructive, such as fire, actually bring life to the prairie, through generation of regrowth of green vegetation.  

While this isn't the prairie, it works for me.

Face it though–we mainly live in cities.  The environment of cities, with turf and landscaping is totally different, which is fine.  While I love the tallgrass prairie, I don’t think our neighbors would like buffalo grazing on our lawn.  The city I’m sure would not like it if we did a controlled burn on our dormant turf!  And yes–I’ve seen some homeowners try that.  One actually burned part of his home also.  I love green, lush turf in lawns along with healthy trees and shrubs.  That’s what works in the urban environment, but it’s not natural!  Left to itself, your lawn and landscape would change through the natural process of succession, and eventually end up as a tallgrass prairie, or possibly an upland forrest. 

That’s what makes our job as turfgrass managers in fact so challenging.  In reality–we’re fighting against mother nature, to produce the ultimate lawn and landscape!  Left alone, your lawn wants to have weeds, which is the first stage of succession.  And we’re trying to stop that, and produce an environment with just one species–bermudagrass, or zoysiagrass, or fescue. 

Now that’s OK.  I’m not down on turf–believe me.  It’s what works best in the city.  It’s my job to produce that nice, thick, green turf.  And, there are tremendous environmental benefits in the urban environment to the turf we are growing, even though it’s not native grass to this area.   We cannot grow native grasses like Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Swithgrass in your urban neighborhood.  It’s not gonna work.  There is a place for them, and it’s on the native prairie.   I’m all for that–believe me!

Here's to the "not-truly native" American lawn!

So here’s to the guys like us at LawnAmerica, who are trying their very best to produce great-looking and healthy lawns in Tulsa, Owasso, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Bartlesville, Sapulpa, Sand Srpings, Bixby, and many other communities in Northeast Oklahoma.  It’s tough trying to fight the powers of mother nature, trying to produce a tallgrass prairie in your front lawn with the constant introduction of weed species.  They are not weeds to mother nature–they’re plants.  If our weed-control products don’t get them all, give us a break.  We’re trying, but we don’t want to overdo it at the same time. 

We’re also proud of our product–healthy, green lawns which add value to your property and benefits to the urban environment.  And personally, I always will have a nice lawn to enjoy around my home to play on, walk on, and enjoy.  But someday, I also hope to have a tallgrass prairie or an upland forest at the edge of my lawn to walk into and enjoy.  As the song goes–give me a home where the buffalo roam.

Posted in Community, Environmental, Lawncare, Weed Control

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