Summer time and the lawn isn’t easy

For the past few summers lawns from Norristown to Cheltenham have battled the intense summer heat and typically lose the season-long battle. Once temperatures reach the 90's consistently, our cool season turf enter a state of dormancy but typically bounce back in the early fall, while weaker grasses simply die out with the blazing temperatures. This year, the relatively mild conditions have cut back on the drought damage, but a different issue is wreaking havoc on our lawns.

Afternoon thunderstorms promote fungus and disease activity in lawns throughout the summer. By night, the excess moisture coupled with dark, humid conditions create a hot zone for the spread of dollar spot and leaf spot disease which are two of the most common lawn diseases in Montgomery and Chester County during this time of year. Brown spots throughout the lawn are either caused by dollar or leaf spot disease. The grass surrounding the brown grass will have lesions that resemble an hourglass or a cigarette burn, respectively.

Leaf spot disease

There are several solutions to this problem. Fungicides help to stop the spread of the disease but do not return the brown areas to their original, spring-time green. Depending upon the disease, proper fertilization and watering at the appropriate times will speed up the curing process. Once the weather cools, aerating your lawn will reduce the thatch layer which promotes significant disease activity. 

 -Contributed by Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor

Geometry and Your Lawn

It’s summer time in Montgomery County.  It’s been really hot and really wet.  While it’s a common perception to feel the lawn should have plenty of water and be green, the combination of excessive heat, humidity, and moisture create the perfect recipe for disease activity from Collegeville to Hatboro.

In order for a disease to develop, the ‘disease triangle’ must be present.  The disease triangle consists of three components: a susceptible host, a pathogen (cause of the disease), and an environment suitable for disease develop.  If any one of these three factors is not present, the disease will not develop.

There are several common diseases, such as dollar spot and summer patch, in Montgomery County given the high humidity, high nighttime temperatures, and significant amount of rain, which has kept the ground moist.

While fungicides can help stop the spreading, it’s best to manage the disease through proper fertility and cultural practices.  Here are some simple tips:

• Properly identify the disease.  Certain diseases are nitrogen deficient while other are aggravated by nitrogen.  Understanding which disease is present is key to proper management.

• Avoid light or nighttime watering.  Watering should be deep enough to saturate the root zone; typically 30-45 minutes per section.

• Manage your thatch.  Thick thatch, more than 1/2” will promote disease activity.  A healthy thatch layer is 2/10”.  Plan to aerate this fall to reduce thatch and relieve soil compaction.

• Considering seeding this fall with update varieties of turf to improve disease resistance.

• Manage your fertility.  Ensure your lawn is properly fertilized, consistently throughout the year.  Too much or too little fertilizer can promote disease activity.

There are many reasons the lawn can go brown in Montgomery County during the summer, proper diagnosis is key.  If it is an active disease, consider these tips to help manage your lawn through the summer stress.

Controlling Crabgrass Effectively

The very wet summer we've experienced throughout Montgomery County this year has increased weed and crabgrass breakthrough from Dresher to Spring City.  Here's some tips to help reduce the outbreak of crabgrass.

Crabgrass control combines reducing numbers of crabgrass with strengthening the overall health of your lawn. Application of crabgrass control material in the spring before the crabgrass seeds germinate is important.   It will form a barrier to stop crabgrass seed roots as they germinate and remember, following application, this barrier must not be broken by raking or digging or edging, which can weaken and nullify the crabgrass barrier.

Ongoing proper maintenance is also an important step to help rid your lawn of crabgrass.  Crabgrass in the lawn can be reduced over a few seasons of special care by improving the overall density of your lawn through core aeration and seeding with more drought tolerant, updated varieties of turf.  One of the easiest maintenance steps is to remember not to mow your lawn to low. Taller grass will shade the soil and make it less hospitable for many weed seeds, like crabgrass, to develop. Most grasses do well at a mowing height of 2 inches to 3 inches, and some varieties even higher.

The fight against crabgrass requires patience and a commitment to creating and maintaining a healthy lawn. It will take some hard work but a thick, dark green, crabgrass-free lawn is well worth the patience and special care.

Keep Your Lawn Healthy When The Temerpatures Soar

Regardless if you live in Blue Bell or Phoenixville, the temperatures throughout Montgomery County have been near recording this week.  We thought we'd offer some answers to some common questions related to the scorching temperatures.

 Will the fertilizer hurt my lawn when it is so hot and dry?

Many homeowners are under the misconception that fertilizer will burn a dry lawn.  The key is to use a quality, slow-release fertilizer.  Certain types of fertilizer contain a special polymer coating that allows the fertilizer to release as needed based upon temperature, moisture, and microbial activity.  When it rains, the grass plants need nutrition immediately to support their new growth.  The slow-release fertilizer remains in the soil, making those nutrients available as soon as possible for a quick recovery. 

What are the proper watering instructions when temperatures consistently reach 90°?

Avoid light, frequent watering. A more thorough watering helps turf roots to grow more deeply.  With the soil types in Southeastern PA, 30-45 minutes per section is required 4-5 times per week when temperatures are above 90°. Check your soil moisture by pushing a screwdriver into the ground.  If you meet little resistance, the soil is wet. If it does not push in easily, more water is needed.  Early morning is the best time to water.   

What if I cannot water? Will the grass die?

No.  That’s fine.  The turf will not die.  Cool season turf simply goes dormant in excessive heat as a defensive mechanism.  As the temperatures cool and moisture return, the nutrients available will be released to the turf and your lawn will recover.

Heat stress on cool season turf.  The weight of the mower stressed the turf.

What else can I do?

Ensuring your lawn has the proper grass types, especially in areas of the open sun will help.  Core aeration and seeding this fall with drought tolerant varieties of turf will help improve overall color, vigor, and density.  Drought tolerant grass types also recover more readily than inferior types of grass seed.

 

Dollar Spot...It's Not What You Think

Though the name may suggest a positive connotation, dollar spot  is something to be avoided.   Visiting properties throughout Plymouth Meeting and Jenkintown, disease activity is on rise this summer, given the warm, damp conditions throughout Montgomery County.

Occurring in lawns most commonly during warm weather, dollar spot is a fungus that enters grass plants when they are wet. Infected grass blades are riddled with large, tan-colored wounds that result in damaged patches the size of silver dollars in the lawn. If the disease becomes more serious, the patches can expand and damage the entire lawn.
The best method for controlling dollar spot is to alter present lawn care practices. Promoting a healthy lawn in all aspects bolsters your yard’s defense and ability to fight off a fungus like dollar spot.

Hourglass lesions are a common indication of dollar spot disease

Dollar spot is a nitrogen deficient disease, proper fertilization can help manage the disease.

Watering should ideally be done in the morning. Waiting until later in the day allowing standing water to accumulate overnight is not at all beneficial to your lawn’s health. Overwatering is not necessarily the answer, and in fact watering less frequently could be of help.

Additionally, try raising the height of your lawn mower and, if possible, avoid mowing in the evening. Keep your lawn clear of debris and all trees adequately trimmed in order to facilitate air movement. Also, be sure to maintain the thatch layer at ½ inch or less.

If the symptoms of dollar spot persist, contact a lawn care professional.

The Storm's A-Coming

The past ten days have been a surprisingly wet time for Montgomery County.  Usually the first week of July marks the beginning of the drought season from Spring City to Hatboro, but this year has brought record amounts of rain in our area.  While you may think this will help to cut down on the water bill, there are actually some issues with flash storms that bring a large quantity of rain in a short period of time. 

While inspecting lawns last week, each day was very similar.  The early morning was warm, but an iced coffee staved off the heat pretty well.  Soon after, the afternoon became brutally hot followed by clouds and ultimately an intense but brief storm.  These types of storms bring enough rain to help the lawn if it were spread out throughout the day, but the brevity of the rainfall usually doesn’t bring enough benefits for the lawn to pass on its regularly scheduled watering.  The lawn needs to be well hydrated in the early morning to stay in tip-top shape through the afternoon heat.  Imagine skipping that iced coffee in the morning…how do you feel? Even with a quick shot of energy later in the day, you feel something missing.  So even with the afternoon showers that have passed through Montgomery County recently, make sure to keep your sprinklers set for watering in the morning to keep the lawn hydrated. 

          Another common issue with flash storms is the appearance of mushrooms throughout the lawn.  In most cases, these fungi are not a cause for alarm and rarely need fungicides to cure.  Mushrooms form from naturally decaying wood and given the right climate and environment, typically dark, wet, and damp, they will sprout up after a storm.  The easiest way for you to control these new additions to your lawn is to simply practice your golf swing with a broom and send them flying.  More than likely, they will not reappear in the same spots unless there is a more serious issue such as fairy ring.  In the case of fairy ring or any other disease activity, your local lawn care technician can apply a fungicide to control the fungus and offer additional cultural recommendations to help remedy the situation.

Fairy ring disease with mushroom activity, however, mushrooms and disease activity are not related.

 Contributed by Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor