It’s very cold in Tulsa. It’s been very cold for several weeks now. The ”Christmas Eve Blizzard” from two weeks ago is still covering many parts of our city and state. Only today did I see my old lawn that’s been buried under the snow and ice for quite some time. It’s fescue, so it’s just a little green, but looking kinda frozen after all this cold weather.
My Fescue turf if finally showing some life!
Bermudagrass is prone to winterkill during harsh Oklahoma winters. Most situations which cause winterkill are either earlier in fall, when sudden drops in temperatures can sometimes occur before the bermudagrass has had a chance to really harden off and go completely into dormancy. This occurred way back in 1989, when we had sudden sub-zero temperatures in early December. The following spring was not pretty! Most lawns, golf courses, and other bermuda areas had from 30%-80% winterkill.
The more common occurrence is when we have an early spring, and warm temperatures cause the bermudagrass to green-up too soon, only to be hit by a hard frost in early or mid-April. This has happened several times over the past few years it seems, but not all over the area. The extent of the winterkill was not nearly as bad as the “big one” in 1989. With these late spring events, the grass seems to come back quicker also.
I think we made it through this cold snap OK, but you never know until late April or May when the turf greens up. Temperatures were very cold, but did not reach the critical -5 degree area in most areas. However, I’ve never seen a period where the temperatures remained this cold for several weeks. It remains to be seen as to how this affected the bermudagrass turf. It’s a warm-season grass, and the Tulsa ares is on the northern edge of it’s growing area.
Now Fescue will be just fine, since it’s a cool-season turf. It can tolerate much colder temperatures. We’re on the southern edge of it’s growing area. In other words, in Tulsa, it can get too cold for bermuda and too hot for fescue! Makes it kinda tough sometimes to be in the lawncare business.
This cold weather does make it difficult to get excited about global warming, and believe that it’s as much of an issue as some would lead us to believe. I’m a old science teacher by trade, so I know that there is some truth to the fact that excess Carbon Dioxide can contribute to the greenhouse effect. Hey-I taught that to students 25 years ago. I’m all for clean air and conserving our natural resources. But I also taught them how effective grass, plants, and trees are in absorbing Carbon Dioxide and releasing Oxygen during the process of photosynthesis and respiration. Healthy lawns in the urban environment do not get the credit they deserve in contributing to a healthier urban environment, in part by making our air healthier to breath. That’s what we do at LawnAmerica, and we’re proud of it. By caring for lawns and landscapes, we’re all doing our part towards a better environment in the urban world we live in.
One of our trucks converted to a snow plow and ice-melt spreader. It's awesome!
One good thing about the snow is that it’s given us a chance to try out our new snow plowing equipment. LawnAmerica is now providing snow and ice control with liquid pre-treating before the event happens, along with plowing after we get snow. We also have a smaller, but very effective ATV that is equipped with a snow plow to be used smaller areas such as driveways and small parking lots. After plowing, we spread a quality granular ice-melt product that is safe for concrete and vegetation. Contact us at 249-5296 for a quote on getting setup for snow and ice-control. If the early part of our winter is any indication, I’ll bet we have some more weather events before springtime.
