Fall Fescue Seed Germination is Very Slow this Year Regularly irrigated lawns are faring better but still a little slow. If you are not willing to or unable to water, be patient. We are seeing many lawns that have germinated and stopped developing because of the dry periods this Fall. It is not uncommon to… Read more »
Fall Fescue Seed Germination
Regularly irrigated lawns are faring better but still a little slow. If you are not willing to or unable to water, be patient. We are seeing many lawns that have germinated and stopped developing because of the dry periods this Fall. It is not uncommon to have seed germinate and develop throughout the Winter and very early spring. Usually, the turf has developed enough to use pre-emergence safely in late February and early March.
Adding additional seed on top of viable seed on the ground will not improve germination. Seed is extremely hardy and can lay on the ground for extended periods without losing seed vigor.
Autumn Leaves on Lawn
Make sure you remember to rake your lawn this Fall! It is important to remove and keep leaves off your turf. Severe damage will occur if leaves stay on your turf for extended periods. Damage can be quick and severe for Fescue lawns that had Fall seeding or sod.
It is best to blow leaves off of immature turf rather than raking. It is equally important to keep leaves off dormant warm season turf. Your lawn will thank you for keeping it clean and free of debris.
White Fly on Gardenia
Dormant oil or otherwise known as Horticulture Insecticide Oil can generally be applied safely from now till around March. Horticultural Oils control insects by suffocation and tissue absorption. It can be a good insecticide to control some of the difficult to control Scale insects. However, oils will not help control all Scale insect and eggs. Knowing your insect and proper timing is always the best way to control insects of all types.
Oils are an effective tool in controlling difficult mites and scale. However, dormant oils can cause plant injury so read and follow the label carefully.
It is not uncommon to see different parts of your cool season turf (fescue) lawn developing faster than others after seeding. Many lawns have areas with more shade or harder clay soil than others. Perhaps, it is slow in your area with tree roots that were drawing more moisture later in the season. It could be more sun in the day on a section drying the soil faster than others delaying development. Rarely does turf germinate, develop and mature at the same rate throughout the lawn.
Large Patch Fungus on Zoysia
Late September starts the Large Patch fungus season on Zoysia, Bermuda, Centipede and St. Augustine. Fairway Green is seeing more cases of this disease every year in our area. This disease is similar to Brown Patch Fungus on Fescue. Large Patch Fungus needs to be controlled with two applications of fungicide in the fall and possibly two in the Spring when ground temperatures are between 50 and 70 degrees. Damage occurs before you are aware you have it and is not visible until green-up in the Spring. Preventative Fungicide in the fall and early Spring is the only way to control this disease.
Poa Annua in Bermuda
Now is the time to apply a quality pre and/or post-emergent for annual grassy weeds like Poa annua in warm season turf.
Poa annua is a common Winter annual grassy weed in all turf types. It is easily seen in warm season turf during the Winter because the turf is brownish in color while Poa annua is green. However, most people with fescue turf do not realize they have it until late Spring when the Poa annua produces tan colored seed heads.
Limestone with micronutrients is part of your regular turf maintenance program and can be applied any time of year. This product is not dependent on timing like your other scheduled services. Therefore, you may receive this application very close to a previous or upcoming application. This is a regularly scheduled application; not an additional one.
Starting in early January, Fairway Green will be emailing our special prepay offer. This is an excellent opportunity to save 7% on your annual programs.
In our continued effort to improve and deliver the best possible turf and ornamental management service, we will be moving to a more efficient method of communication. Fairway Green will be implementing an email/text notification system in the coming months. The notification will be used for invoicing after service, important alerts pertaining to your lawn and contact before service for customers. This new notification system will help us service your lawn in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Please help make this transition as smooth as possible and update/correct your cell number and email addresses in our system.