Zoysia as a game changer
Superintendents had a chance to learn about the advances with Zoysia grass while touring Blade Runner farms and the Golf Club of Texas.
St. Augustine Grass Late Winter Maintenance 2011
St. Augustine Grass Late Winter Checklist
Video Notes:
Watching out for winter kill:
Looking at the stolons can tell you. The stolons are the running vine looking appendages of the grass. Even when the grass is brown, the stolons should be somewhat green which means the grass is probably healthy. If you tear open the stolon and it should have green inside. If the stolons are mushy and don’t have much green to them, that part of your yard might have died from the cold. Winter-kill usually shows up in patches or sections of the yard…based on soil moisture.
So, if you do have find you have winter kill, there are a couple of options to get your lawn looking good again. If the entire lawn hasn’t died out and there is healthy grass around the patch of winterkill, you can always wait for the grass to grow back over the dead area but it can be a long process. If you choose to go this route, leave the dead St. Augustine in place to help keep out weeds. You can encourage quicker growth by mowing the grass tighter.
Most don’t have the patience for that if it’s a larger area…so option 2 is to call your local grass company and re-sod that part of the lawn. The new grass will tack down and blend in quickly.
EMPIRE Turf Seasonal Maintenance – Fall 2010
EMPIRE Turf – Care and Maintenance – Fall 2010
Video Notes:
Step 1 – Fertilization. We recommend something with a 1-0-2 ratio. In other words, 1 part nitrogen, 0 parts phosphorus, and 2 parts potassium….like an 8-0-16 for example. Obviously the 1-0-2 ratio is meant as a starting point. A soil sample can better give you specific needs for your area. If you have trouble finding a fertilizer with that ratio, a fertilizer with a 1-0-1 ratio will also be acceptable.
Step 2 – Fungicide. Fungus outbreaks have been particularly bad this year in the southeastern United States….Particularly large patch. This fungus appears in somewhat circular patterns…usually about 2 to 3 feet in diameter. If you have had fungus or not, everyone should put down a fungicide to help the grass enter the cold months healthier. For fungicide, you will likely need multiple applications. If you haven’t had fungus problems like large patch in the past, then two applications will do just fine. If you have had fungus issues in your EMPIRE, 3 applications will be more appropriate. Remember to wait 21 days between each application.
Step 3 – Billbug Control Insecticide. One great thing about EMPIRE Turf is that Chinch Bugs don’t like it. Chinch bugs are a huge problem in St. Augustine grass lawns. The main insects you have to watch out for with EMPRIE are billbugs. Hunting bullbugs are small black insects ….here is an example. As an EMPIRE lawn owner, the thing we recommend doing is to go ahead and put down billbug control in the fall and in the spring whether you have had issues with the hunting billbug in the past or not. Make sure it’s a broad spectrum insecticide.
Step 4 – (Optional) – Weed Control. When the temperatures start dropping, summer weeds will start dying off and winter weeds will start to pop up. In some areas of the country, winter weeds aren’t a big problem. If you haven’t had problems with them in the past, forgo putting down any herbicide this fall. However, if you know that weeds in the winter time are an issue for you, get a pre-emergent herbicide from your local lawn care store and apply it to the lawn now to stop the winter weeds from popping up.
Step 5 – Mowing. Mowing in the cooler months is slightly different. Leave the EMPIRE a little bit higher than normal to encourage deeper root growth for the winter. Basically adjust your mower settings to go up one notch.
Step 6 – Watering. As for watering, as temperatures drop, grasses won’t need as much irrigation….so adjust your watering schedule accordingly. Too much watering can lead to fungus and disease outbreaks.
Remember with all lawn products be it fertilizer, insecticide or herbicide…read the label and follow the proper instructions.
Conserving water starts in the front yard.
Conserving water starts in the front yard.
The Green Builder VISION House Orlando 2008, built as a model of natural resource preservation, installed drought-tolerant EMPIRE Turf™ throughout the property. EMPIRE was selected because of its ability to reduce landscape water usage.
“Water conservation has become priority number one in Florida and really the entire Southeastern United States,” said Keith Truenow, owner of Lake Jem Farms in Mt. Dora, Florida. “VISION House needed a turf variety that was environmentally friendly; a grass that could handle itself in drought conditions. It needed to look good and have all the other properties a homeowner wants, like less mowing and less overall maintenance. EMPIRE Turf was a perfect fit.”
EMPIRE Turf is a medium-bladed, dark-green zoysiagrass with a much lower water consumption rate than Florida’s common St. Augustinegrass. It features excellent wear tolerance, requires less mowing and chemical applications and is chinch bug resistant. More importantly, EMPIRE Turf allows the water supply to be shut off in severe periods of drought without the danger of permanently harming the lawn.
These traits made EMPIRE Turf a perfect companion for the Orlando VISION House. The purpose of the house is to demonstrate green building design, inside and out. From natural products and materials to renewable resources, the house is a model of environmental awareness following the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Building ideals.
EMPIRE’s water-saving qualities are being backed up by independent research. In a resent study done by the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), EMPIRE Turf was put into a 60 day drought simulator with other turfgrasses and was rated the top zoysiagrass for drought recovery.
While research stands behind EMPIRE’s performance, often times the best test is real-world applications. EMPIRE Turf has been specified in major developments across the state of Florida for its practical advantages. The Villages and Ginn Reunion Resort chose to go with EMPIRE in an effort to stay on the forefront on environmentally friendly landscaping.
Sod Solutions, Inc., the developer of EMPIRE Turf, is an international turfgrass development company incorporated in the early 90s. The company’s primary research facility and headquarters is located near Charleston, S.C. Sod Solutions TM has developed and released Palmetto St. Augustine®, EMPIRE Turf TM, Celebration BermudagrassTM, Sapphire St. AugustineTM and Bella BluegrassTM. For more information, visit www.sodsolutions.com or call 843.849.1288.
FSGC Convenes in Ft. Pierce for Annual Field Day
On an emerald green field of Sapphire St. Augustine, members of the Florida Sod Growers Cooperative gathered at the end of April for the annual FSGC Field Day. This years gathering took place at Bethel Farms Ft. Pierce property. Representatives rolled in (or in one case, flew in) from across the state for 2008’s get-together.
From reel mowers and chemical distributors to turf rollers and harvesters, the Field Day showcased turf industry equipment from around the world. Demonstrations gave even better insight into the latest technology the industry has to offer. The day under the South Florida sun was not only informative, but as usual, the event was a great chance for the movers and shakers in the Florida turf business to talk face to face about the issues facing the industry today.
The big news of the day was the unveiling of the logo for the new St. Augustine, CaptivaTM. Captiva is resistant to chinch bugs and to the sod web worm. The release of the grass itself is expected in the near future.
An exceptional barbeque lunch wrapped up the afternoon and brought the field day to a close. Congratulations on another successful exposition in 2008. Special thanks to Bethel Farms and to the board of the FSGC for all of their hard work and dedication.
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