August 2018 News From Fairway Green

Read the latest news from Fairway Green, below!

Time for Lawn Renovation

Bahiagrass

August is a good time to start lawn renovation if you have a fescue lawn with perennial grassy weeds. Most grassy weeds will require a non-selective weed control like RoundUp® to control grassy weeds like Dallisgrass, Orchardgrass, Bermuda or Bahia. Bahiagrass is the one that produces a tall seed head shortly after mowing. The seed head is split; similar to when you make the peace sign with your fingers. Bermuda and Bahia will require up to three applications; two and a half weeks apart to provide the best long term control in the lawn. You may want to consider a Bermuda suppression program after removing it from your fescue lawn in the coming years. This will help control most of the Bermuda that will tend to return to the lawn in the future. It is not advisable to apply a non-selective herbicide to control annual broadleaf weeds. In addition to killing the weed, you will also kill your desirable turf.

Fescue Seeding in Transitional Zone

The proper time to seed tall fescue in the Transitional Zone is at the end of August to mid-October; not the spring. Ground and air temperatures are in the best range for the longest period time for germination and root development. Many fescue lawns will require seeding in fall due to our hot dry periods and disease damage. Fescue lawns that did not receive regular preventative fungicides appear to have the worst damage once again this summer.

Core Aeration Seeding

Core aeration seeding is a common practice to seed Fescue in the fall. Core aeration helps reduce upper soil compaction and prepares a seeding bed at the same time. A seeding bed is needed to have the best seed to soil contact for the best possible germination rate and establishment.
Fairway Green is booking now for core aeration seeding. Book early since we have limited weeks to complete this service.

Southern Perfection Turf

Fairway Green uses and offers to customers and non-customers its very own hand selected turf type tall fescue mixture; “Southern Perfection”.  Fairway Green’s “Southern Perfection” contains a mixture of 60% Falcon IV, 19% Tribute II, 19% Renegade DT and 2% Rockstar Kentucky Bluegrass. Turfgrass for the next century…winning the fight against surface-feeding insects, grows low but grows strong…your lawn will never be greener, naturally cut down on clippings and mowing.

Certified TWCA “Southern Perfection”

Falcon IV, Tribute II and Renegade DT are the best tall fescue varieties available in the industry. Tested across multiple states, locations and environments these varieties exhibit improved turf quality, vibrant turf color, excellent disease resistance and improved stress tolerance. Rockstar Kentucky bluegrass is the fastest establishing elite Kentucky bluegrass available in the lawn care industry. Looking for elite turf, fast germination and enhanced knitting of turf for improved sod strength and traffic tolerance? Look no further than Rockstar. In addition to all these great qualities, Southern Perfection contains 0% weed seed and 0% other crop seed.

Southern Perfection is now Water Star® qualified by the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA). Visit Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance for additional information about this exciting program.

Crabgrass

It is not uncommon to see Crabgrass and other weeds in the lawn this time of year even if you utilized the proper types and rates of pre-emergent in the spring.  Pre-emergent breaks down in late summer allowing you to seed your tall fescue in the fall. Crabgrass is an annual plant and will die naturally around mid-October without a post-emergent grass control. Split applications of pre-emergent applied in winter to early spring will control new plants that try to germinate next summer.

Chamberbitter

What is the Mimosa Tree looking weed in my yard? It is a summer broadleaf weed called Chamberbitter.  In fact, one of its nicknames is Little Mimosa weed. It is a broadleaf weed that is thought to have been introduced from Florida from pine straw about 15 year ago.

Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria)

Chamberbitter is a prolific seeder and has done well moving around the Triangle from straw and other means. It typically germinates in mid to late summer and appears around pine straw and birdfeeders first.  It will grow straight up like a tree until mowed. Chamber Bitter spreads by seed. Seed pods are under and along the leaf branches and contain hundreds of seeds per plant. It is a hard broadleaf weed to control with the available broadleaf weed control products.  We identify our customers that have this broadleaf weed and try to make multiple weed control applications to gain control on spreading. 

Why do I need to seed my Fescue lawn every fall?

If you live in the Transitional Zone chances are you will have to seed your Fescue lawn every year or at least every other year.  Tall Fescue in this zone faces many challenges during the year that can create turf damage or injury. Diseases can be one of the causes for turf damage.  Brown Patch Fungus, Dollar Spot and Pythium can be devastating to fescue. Then we experience a couple months of air and ground temperatures that are too high for plant growth and survival. Extended dry periods along with the heat make for a damaging combination on all turf types. In fact, when the ground temperatures reach the upper 80 degrees to low 90 degrees, cool season grasses root system stops developing and actually declines and will lose root mass that supports plant survival.

Armyworm Alert

Armyworms lay eggs on structures like homes, trees and shrubs. Eggs hatch as larva, drop to the ground and start feeding heavily on healthy actively growing turf for about two to three weeks.  After feeding and damaging the turf, they will bury in the ground and pupate. This life cycle continues till October/November. North Carolina could see two to four generations of Fall Armyworms.  It is thought that they do not survive winter months in North Carolina.

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