If you are gazing out at your lawn on here in early summer, wondering why your grass is not as green and growing as you’d like it to be, you are not alone. Earlier this spring, the up and down temperatures and weeks without rain played havoc on warm season turfgrass coming out of dormancy. You may want to consider giving your lawn some extra TLC this summer to help your grass recover.
First, let’s consider the typical lawn here in Richmond County. Most, though not all, lawn turfgrass here is a warm season grass. This includes Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, centipedegrass, and a little St. Augustinegrass. These grasses are better suited for our hot, often dry, summers, versus fescue, which is a cool season grass more common in other parts of the state with predominately clay soils. Warm season turfgrass is green during the summer when actively growing and goes dormant (turns brown) in the fall, then coming out of dormancy (a period called “green up”) in the spring. During the “shoulder seasons” of fall and spring, weather can impact turfgrass growth and development; a warm fall can delay dormancy, whereas a cool spring can delay green up. Typically, we have complete green up sometime in May. This year, whiplashing weather conditions during the early spring put emerging warm season grasses under a lot of stress.
This spring, NC State University Turfgrass Specialists studied the weather conditions and impacts on turfgrass across the state and provided an excellent analysis on how things went down (see the article at www.turffiles.ncsu.edu). An unusually warm March (the third warmest since 1887) brought exposed turfgrass areas out of dormancy early, while turfgrass protected by surrounding trees or buildings was able to stay somewhat in a dormant state. Looking at weather data from the Sandhills Research Station in Windblow, it reveals a March with temperature highs in the mid 70s and even mid 80s, then, about the third week, nighttime lows going down into the upper 20s. Following that shock, temperatures went back up again in April, with mid-80s and even over 90 degrees, with no rain, low humidity, and winds, which further desiccated the stressed turfgrass. Turfgrass generally needs at least one inch of rain per week to grow and thrive, and the low soil moisture plus high temperatures and low humidity may have caused areas of damage or dieback in warm season turf.
If you are seeing areas of your lawn looking sickly or even dead, there are steps you can take to help bring your turfgrass around. Luckily, we’re at the beginning of the growing season for turfgrass and, if properly managed, most should be able to make a comeback by fall.
Just as humans should eat right and get plenty of rest when recovering from an illness, so also does your lawn needs some TLC in order to make a good recovery from spring injury. If you haven’t devoted yourself to lawncare for a year or two, take stock now to determine what your grass needs to be healthy again. Start by taking a soil sample (materials available at the Extension Office at 123 Caroline Street, Rockingham). The test is free from the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The results of the soil sample will tell you what nutrients need to be added to the soil as fertilizer and/or how much lime needs to be added (lime corrects soil pH, which is needed to enable the plant to take up available nutrients).
Not all turfgrass – or even, all warm season grasses – are exactly alike. Bermudagrass requirements are different from centipedegrass for each to thrive. Each type of grass has different fertility requirements, and even different mowing preferences. Timing of fertilizer applications, and what type of herbicide to use to control weeds, also varies from grass to grass. Don’t worry though – we’ve got you covered! The NC State University Turffiles website (www.turffiles.ncsu.edu) has pest and disease management guides, turfgrass maintenance calendars for each type of grass, photos for identification, and much more.
If you need help interpreting your soil report, or to determine what fertilizer to use to meet the recommendation, give us a call at NC Cooperative Extension, Richmond County Center. We can help with your lawn, garden, and farming questions! Visit our website at Richmond.ces.ncsu.edu, and follow us on Facebook for lots of information you can use!
