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June 15th, 2010
 Shot by Brad Johnson while hiking the AT
Many of you are aware that Brad started hiking the Appalachian Trail about 19 days ago. He is off on a Compassionate Journey to help raise $100,000 for five local charities, and by all accounts he is having a blast. Thanks to our friends and customers, we have already raised and donated $58,540 to The Little Light House, Young Life – Rogers, The Salvation Army, Folds of Honor, and Habitat for Humanity. We are excited to be over half way to our goal!
Already Brad has met some interesting people to keep him company along his journey. We even got word that he had his first encounter with a bear last week. She was 50 feet away, but ran the other way when she saw “The Compassionator” coming.
 Brad, we love the pictures of the trail and the mountains, but we could do without the pictures of your feet. As of Monday Brad has made it to somewhere around the Hot Springs, NC area, having covered some 271 grueling miles, up one side of a mountain and down the other side, day after day with a 28 pound pack on his back. His feet appear to be getting better judging by the ugly picture of his toes that he sent out this morning, and for the most part he is right on schedule with where he had planned on being. 271 miles down, only 1,905 miles to go!
While Brad is busy blazing the trail you can rest assured it is still business as usual at LawnAmerica. We are still working hard fertilizing lawns and killing weeds all over the Tulsa area. We are still here to answer your calls and emails. You can still request an optional service or a service call, and we are definitely here for you to refer your friends and neighbors. Nothing has changed, other than the fact that no one has brought in donuts since Brad left!
Since Brad is a little preoccupied with making it to his next shelter, and not being eaten by a bear, I will do my best to keep you up to date on things going on that pertain to your lawn by keeping the LawnAmerica blog updated with useful information. While I may not necessarily be as eloquent or entertaining as Brad, I will do my best to keep you informed.
“Who am I?” – you ask. My name is Benjamin Allen. I am the Operations Manager for LawnAmerica. I have spent the last 9 years in different positions here at LawnAmerica, learning the in’s and out’s of lawn care. While I don’t claim to know it all, or have it all figured out, I do know that I have had one of the best teachers in the lawn care industry. Brad has spent countless hours teaching and mentoring not only me, but all of the staff here at LawnAmerica. It is our goal to take what we have been taught and apply it by continuing to provide the top notch service that our customers deserve.
Be sure and keep up with Brad’s progress along the Appalachian Trail by keeping up with his blog. There you will also find a slide show featuring some of the gorgeous views that Brad has been able to capture with his camera. Not only that, but you will be able to donate to the five local charities we are supporting, helping individuals and families right here in Tulsa. And don’t forget, every dollar you donate is matched by LawnAmerica, so give generously!
Posted in Business
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.
Tags: Bermudagrass, winterkill
Posted in Environmental, Lawncare
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!
Tags: Bermudagrass, Tulsa Lawns, winterkill
Posted in Environmental, Fertilization, Lawncare
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