Spring Lawn Care

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Spring Lawn Care

• February 2008

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Turf in late winter and spring

• Bermudagrass often dormant
• St. Augustine doesnt go dormant
• Fescue grows through winter
• Spring regrowth typically starts earliest in the
  southeast in Oklahoma

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• Bermudagrass often dormant
• May not be this year!

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Turf in late winter and springThere may be
winter annual weeds

• Herbicides such as Trimec may be used
• Do not use Roundup if bermudagrass not dormant!

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Turf in late winter and springWhen should I
fertilize?

• If you fertilize now, you are fertilizing the
  weeds
• It is a little early to encourage bermuda growth

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Turf in late winter and springWhen should I
fertilize?

• Now is a good time to soil test
• This will tell you your fertilizer needs for April

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Fertilization Programs

• bermudagrass
• 5 lb N/1000 sq ft/season
• Apply 1 lb N/1000 in May, June, July, August,
  September if quick release N is used
• Blended sources containing slow release
  fertilizer can be applied at 1.6 lbs N/1000,
  each, in May, July and Sept
• buffalograss and zoysiagrass
• 2-3 lb N/1000 sq ft/season
• applied in single 1 lb N/1000 sq ft applications

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Fertilization Programs

• cool-season grasses
• 3-4 lb N/1000 sq ft/season
• October, December, March, early May
• Do not fertilize in June August to reduce heat
  and drought stress and risk of brown patch
  disease

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Turf in late winter and springWhen should I
fertilize?

• Now is a good time to soil test
• This will tell you your fertilizer needs for April

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• St. Augustine doesnt become truly dormant

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• St. Augustine may be very green in protected
  areas picture Feb 19 , 2008

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• Never use Roundup on St. Augustine
• Even if it looks dormant

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• St. Augustine
• Now is a good time to mow as short as possible
• Remove clippings
• Help prevent take-All disease

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• St. Augustine fertilization
• As with bermudagrass, wait until April to
  fertilize
• Soil test now

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Turf in late winter and springTheress always
exceptions!

• St. Augustine
• Keep it watered even though it is not green

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St. Augustinegrass

• Full-sun to lightly-shaded areas of south eastern
  OK. Not found much north of McAlester-Poteau
  areas
• High water requirement
• Better soil conditions required
• Use only Raleigh at this time
• Raleigh is cold hardy
• St. Augustine Decline virus resistant
• Susceptible to Take-all disease
• Expect occasional winter-kill
• Water
• Cold

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Centipede

• Vegetative
• Slow establishment
• By seed VNS
• Marginal cold tolerance
• Southern Oklahoma?
• Oklawn
• Tenn. Hardy available?
• Light shade to full sun

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Zoysiagrass

• warm-season grass
• fine to medium-texture
• yellow green color
• stolons and rhizomes
• winter hardy
• full-sun to light-shade
• requires less fertilizer
• requires less mowing
• requires more waterthan bermudagrass, but
  lessthan tall fescue

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Lawn Weed Control
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Weed Control

• Identify your weeds
• Modify management program to favor desired grass
  over the weed
• Small numbers of weeds can be tolerated or
  removed by hand
• Select herbicides to control weeds and not injure
  turf (Read the Label!!!!!)

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• apply herbicide when conditions favor
• Preemergence - germination
• Postemergence - rapid weed growth
• apply at the recommended
• time
• rate
• coverage

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Common Winter Annual Grassy Weeds

• annual bluegrass (Poa annua)
• downy brome, cheat, rescuegrass

Annual bluegrass
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Winter Annual Broadleaf Weeds
Carolina geranium
henbit
Creeping speedwell
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Winter Annual Broadleaf Weeds
Lawn burweed or spurweed
Mouse-ear chickweed
Common chickweed
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Summer Annual Grassy Weeds
crabgrass
Crabgrass seedlings
goosegrass
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Summer Annual or Perennial Grassy Weeds

• sandbur

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Perennial sedges

• Yellow nutsedge (left)
• Purple nutsedge (right)

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Post-emergent nutsedge control

• Image use only on warm-season lawns
• MSMA use only certain on warm-season lawns
  not on St. Augustine and others!!!!
• Basagran warm or cool-season lawns
• Sedge-Hammer warm or cool-season lawn
• Only Image and Sedge-Hammer will control both
  yellow and purple nutsedge, the others will not
  control purple nutsedge

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Warm-season Perennial Grassy Weeds

• dallisgrass

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Cool-season Perennial Broadleaf Weeds

• Violet

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Chemical Weed Control

• pre-emergent - applied to kill weeds at
  germination
• post-emergent - applied to actively growing weeds

Left received no pre-emergent herbicide yellow
color is due to large amounts of crabgrass Right
has received pre-emergent that is providing good
control of crabgrass.
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Sodding

• provides almost instant lawn
• moist seedbed
• place in staggered,
• checkerboard pattern,
• fit snugly
• tamp or roll area
• water immediately
• warm-season in full sun, lay sod at least 1 month
  prior to first fall frost, in shade, lay sod at
  least 2.5 months prior to first fall frost
• Cool-season do not sod in June-Aug.

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Choose quality sod a good roll or slab ofsod
can be picked upby its end and will not break
under itsown weight
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Plugging

• transplant small pieces of sod (1-2), use only
  those grasses that spread by stolons
• used when transplant shock to sprigs will be
  excessive.
• requires more time for total coverage
• more labor intensive
• 6-12 centers (zoysiagrass - 6)
• roll or tamp, keep moist
• plug at least 2 months before first fall frost

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Spring Dead Spot disease

• fungus, active in fall
• damage appears in spring
• avoid late, high applications of N
• chemical controls not reliable
• remove dead plant material to speed up regrowth
• allow remaining grass to cover or reseed/ plug
  with resistant cultivars

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Dollar Spot disease

• Small circular spots size of silver dollar appear
  in turf
• N deficiency
• chemical control

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Brown Patch

• Most prevalent on tall fescue
• Disease severity increases with reduced air
  movement, high temps (80), high humidity, heavy
  dew, summer fertilization, heavyshade
• Fungicides oftennecessary

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Mowing Height

• Cool-season
• inches
• fall and spring 2 - 2 1/2
• summer 2 3suitable for tall fescue,
  Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and their
  mixtures

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Thatch Control

• manage through propermowing, fertilization,
  watering, and responsible pesticideuse
• if thatch is greater than1/2 deep, then
  dethatch
• warm-season grassesprior to spring greenup
• cool-season grasses in early fall

Excessive thatch in plug onthe left
Excessive thatch removedfrom a lawn
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