Fall Seeding of Turfgrass

Those who have been putting off seeding bare and dead spots in the lawn because they "wanted to see if the grass will come back" have reached the end of the line.  By now, most of Ohio lawns have experienced sufficient rainfall to green-up and if there are spots that aren't green, the grass isn't coming back!  Take care of re-seeding quickly in order to take advantage of the cool nights and warm days of late summer and early fall.  Grass seed germinates best in this type of weather and needs to have sufficient time to grow in the fall in order to be ready for winter's cold.  
  In lawns containing mostly Kentucky bluegrass, small bare spots (sliver-dollar-size or less) will likely fill in this fall as growth resumes.  In turf type tall fescue lawns, however, since these don't spread by rhizomes, these spots will not fill in and should be repaired.  Bare spots that are not reseeded will quickly be overtaken by weeds since there is no competition with turf.
   

When renovating dead spots, be sure to select the grass species that matches or blends with what is already in the lawn.  For instance, if one reseeds a Kentucky bluegrass lawn (fine blades) with a turf type tall fescue (thicker blades and clump growing), one will definitely notice the difference in the new areas and the rest of the lawn. 

In order for the new grass to thrive (and not just survive) make sure the seed is in contact with soil and exposed to sunlight.  Maximum germination of turfgrass seed occurs when the seed receives full-sun.  In other words, rake to remove dead plants and to loosen the soil before depositing seed.  Additionly, adequate moisture is essential to ensure new seedling survival; don't let them dry out during the establishment period. 

    A "starter" fertilizer should be applied at the time of seeding or shortly after seeding.  DO NOT use a fertilizer that is combined with a weed control product, unless the product is clearly labeled for use on newly seeded lawns.  While fall is an excellent time of the year to control broadleaf weeds, new grass seedlings won't tolerate many types of turfgrass herbicides.  Therefore, worry about getting the seeds established this fall and start a weed control program next spring.  EXCEPTION!  There is one exception to spring weed control programs after fall seeding - do not use a spring crabgrass control product on newly seeded turf unless it's a type of kind of crabgrass preventer that is labeled for seeding lawns such as siduron which doesn't harm turfgrass seedlings. 

 Drought or Death? That is the question

 Not quite dead, but certainly not looking alive can describe much of the turf found in drought stricken areas.  Recent rains have rejuvenated lawns leaving large brown areas without much green poking through.  When making plans for reseeding or over-seeding this fall it is a good idea to assess the overall condition of the turf.  The key piece of information needed is just how much of the lawn is dead or in extremely poor shape.

Before declaring the turf as "brown and out" get down and dirty and look at the crowns of the individual grass plants.  In some cases, the upper portions of the turf may be dead but the crowns may still be viable.  Pull up a few plants and tease apart the crowns at the base.  Healthy but dormant tissue will be white and succulent; new green growth may be present.  Dead crowns will be brown, straw-like or punky throughout.

 Now and over the next few weeks will be the best time to re-seed your damaged lawn. Slit seeding a more drought resistant grass or insect resistant cultivar would be a good option. Some lawns have poor soil and others are just not watered enough to survive what mother nature threw at us this year. Rains have returned to revitalize what has survived as well as a bumper crop of weeds. Be patient as we are still in summer and Labor Day can still bring 90+ temperatures as well as lond hot days to dry the lawns up again. 

  

 Chinch bugs can devastate a home lawn ....damage looks just like dormancy and most likely will need a insecticide treatment to rid the turf of these pests. This is one of northern Ohio's  worst lawn damaging insects. Turf damage will not come back as they kill grass that is fed upon . Re-seeding is the only way to thicken the lawn back up. There are resistant turf types that can be used if a reacurring problem is happening. Call our office for more details.....

They are back?

   Do yourself a favor and buy your neighbor a beetle trap...

  Japanese beetles are emerging a little early this season. The warm spring weather has them out flying and eating colorful plants already. Insecticides like "Merit" are highly effective against the young instar stages of these pests. Applications need to be made early on in May/June for the best control. 

 Well it has not taken long for the weather to turn to hot and dry. If you are not already beggining to  water now is a good time to start. Lawns need one inch of water per week. Trees and shrubs need to be kept moist around the roots on average once weekly. Annuals and pereennials will wilt if not kept moist too.
 Turrf lawn damaging insects like Bluegrass Billbug adults are  past the treatment stages.   Billbugs are a type of weevil (= snout beetle) and this species overwinters in the adult stage.  The adults emerge in the spring to lay eggs in the turfgrass stems.  The grub-like larvae first feed within the crown area of the plant and later in the lower crown and root zone.  The damage causes grass plants to die and turn brown.  Larval feeding activity also causes stems to easily detach; the tried-and-true "tug test" where stems are gently pulled to see if they easily break off remains an effective diagnostic aid for identifying billbug infestations.  The larvae are well protected from insecticides, so the overwintered adults remain the most effective insecticide target for preventing turfgrass damage. 
  The following is an exert from the BYG on-line update.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ASH?  Dave Shetlar reported that the depredations of EMERALD ASH BORER (Agrilus planipennis) (EAB) are becoming very evident in central Ohio with some people just now "waking up" to fact that their ash trees are not "waking up" from the winter!  Several BYGLers in other areas of the state reported the same thing with frantic phone calls from homeowners who just now asking "what happened to my ash trees?"

OSU Extension and tree care professionals have spent years warning Ohio citizens through educational programs and consultations that EAB will eventually kill all unprotected North American ash trees.  However, in many areas of the state, EAB remained below the collective radar while population densities followed a shallow-sloped linear rise.  Now that population densities in those areas of the state are building exponentially, the time between "first infestation" of a tree and tree mortality is collapsing; some trees that appeared healthy last season are dying this season!  Unfortunately, this means the only response is to start-up a chainsaw.

However, for many areas of Ohio, including some areas in the central part of the state, there remains time to develop a plan for dealing with EAB beyond simply reacting to the need to cut down dead trees.  Systemic insecticides can protect ash trees against EAB.  Both university research as well as "real life" experiences has clearly demonstrated that any one of three insecticides (imidacloprid, dinotefuran, and emamectin-benzoate) will maintain healthy ash canopies in midst of an EAB onslaught.  However, applications must be made before the canopies are "see-through" (50% or greater reduction in canopy).

 For more information call our office .

 Over an inch of rain today in Elyria. The grass is starting its spring push . Grass is starting to seed now in lawns all over Northeast Ohio. The Turf will be growing fast and need cut up to twice weekly.
  To see your healthies turf never cut more than 1/3 of  the grass at one cutting. This encourages deep rooting and keeps the turf its greenest. When you cut off more than that the turf will be starved of sunlight on the exposed part of the leaf blade and consequently be of color. (Yellow) This also leads to excess clippings and shallow rooting. Deep rooting will be needed for summer months ahead.
  Also check your mower blades .....tattered or uncut turf will lead to a gray haze or whitish appearance from a distance on your turf stand. This effect will take a cutting or two with newly sharpened blades to correct. Remember .....Forevergreeen Get green stay Green ! 

Frost Damage

A good portion of Ohio gardeners have experienced either frost or freeze (or both) damage to their plants this season because of the unusual early warm temperatures followed by normal spring temperatures.  A variety of plants are looking pretty ragged right now as a result. Perennials that were simply "nipped" by Jack Frost and have a few brown leaves here and there can be cleaned up with simple leaf removal.  Others that were totally "fried" by cold temperatures should be cut back to the ground now in order for new growth to occur and blooms to form for this season.  Otherwise, if left as they are, they will look pretty horrible all season.

In regards to trees and shrubs, most of these plants were nipped on the ends of the branches.  The bottom line is that some ornamentals in Ohio might look a little ragged this season without a little attention.  Take care of this now so that new growth takes over and fills in.

Lawn Damaging insects out

HIGH NUMBERS OF COMMON ARMYWORM MOTHS.  Dave Shetlar reported that high numbers of common armyworm (Pseudaletia unipuncta) moths are currently being captured in black light traps.  Curtis Young also reported observing numerous adults at porch lights at least when the night temperatures were above 50F.  The caterpillars of these moths feed on grasses.  Sometimes these grasses are agricultural field crops (e.g. wheat and corn), and sometimes these grasses are turf-type grasses.  This is especially significant to golf course superintendants, athletic field managers and home owners with turf adjacent to fields of wheat.  Another aspect of this alert is there is little or no corn emerged in fields in many parts of the state and there is less winter wheat growing than in many preceding years, thus turfgrass may be more highly targeted this year

 Welcome to the FGL blog. We will attempt to provide current information here as it relates to the Horticultural field of the Landscape industry. We will keep you up to date on Ohio concerns and cultural practices that will impact your green space around your life.