TURF IDENTIFICATION

A. TurfGrassRegions.

1. TheUnitedStates hassixregions or zonesbasedon:

  1. Climate.
  2. Temperature.
  3. Available moisture.
  4. Lengthofgrowingseason.

2. NorthCarolinahasthreeoftheregionsor zones:

  1. MountainsandWesternPiedmontareregion/zone 1.
  2. Central andEasternPiedmontareregion/zone2.
  3. ExtremeSoutheasternCoastisregion/zone3.

B. Turf Characteristics

  1. Cool Season grasses:
  1. Growbestinthespringandfall 65-75degrees.
  2. Staygreeninthewinter.
  3. Best establishedinthefall.
  1. Warm seasongrasses:
  1. Growbestinthesummer 80-95degrees.
  2. Godormant (turn brown)inthewinter.
  3. Best establishedinthespring.
  1. Leafcolor:
  1. Lighttodarkgreen.
  2. Lightgreen.
  3. Medium green.
  4. Light todarkgreen.
  5. Mediumtodarkgreen
  1. Leaftexture:
  1. Fine-thinneedletexturedblades.

  1. Medium-medium texturedblades.
  2. Coarse-thick,widetexturedblades.
  1. Growthhabit-hownewshootsareproduced:
  1. Rhizome-undergroundstem thatgrows horizontally.
  2. Stolon-abovegroundstem thatgrows horizontally.
  3. Stolonandrhizome-aboveandundergroundstemsthatgrowhorizontally.
  4. Bunch-bladesgrowinsmall cluster or tuftsfrom thesoil.
  1. Wear- howthegrassstandsuptofoottraffic:
  1. Excellent.
  2. Verygood.
  3. Good.
  4. Fair.
  5. Poor.

f.Verypoor. C. Grassesfor lawns:

1. Tall Fescue.

  1. Region-1, 2,3.
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leafcolor-mediumgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-mediumtocoarse.
  5. Growthhabit-bunch.
  6. Wear-verygood.
  7. Location-sunandpartshade.

2. KentuckyBluegrass:

  1. Region-1, 2.
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leafcolor-mediumtodarkgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-finetomedium.
  5. Growthhabit-rhizome.
  6. Wear-verygood.
  7. Location-sun.

3. RedFescue(finefescue):

  1. Region-1,2(somecounties)
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leafcolor-mediumgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-fine.
  5. Growthhabit-rhizome.
  6. Wear-fair.
  7. Location-shade.

4. CreepingBentgrass:

  1. Region-3.
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leafcolor-bluishgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-fine.
  5. Growthhabit-stolon.
  6. Wear-poor.
  7. Location-sun.

*special treatment- creepingbentrequiresfans onthe golf course greensand frequentwateringtokeeptheseedbedscontinuallymoist andcool.

5. Centipede:

  1. Region-2, 3.
  2. Season-warmseason.
  3. Leafcolor-lighttodarkgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-medium.
  5. Growthhabit-stolon.
  6. Wear-poor.
  7. Location-sun.

6. St.Augustine:

  1. Region-2, 3.
  2. Season-warm season.
  3. Leaf color-medium to dark green.
  4. Leaf texture-coarse.
  5. Growth habit-stolon.
  6. Wear-poor.
  7. Location-sun but shade tolerant.

7. Bermuda:

  1. Region-2, 3.
  2. Season-warm season.
  3. Leaf color-light to dark green.
  4. Leaf texture-fine.
  5. Growth habit-stolon and rhizome.
  6. Wear-excellent.
  7. Location-sun.

8. Zoysia:

  1. Region-2, 3.
  2. Season-warm season.
  3. Leaf color-medium to dark green.
  4. Leaf texture-fine.
  5. Growth habit-stolon and rhizome.
  6. Wear- good.
  7. Location- sun or part shade.

C. Grassesnot usedalonefor lawns:

1. Annual rye(over seedingfields andsomelawns,never usedalone):

  1. Region-2.
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leafcolor-lightgreen.
  4. Leaftexture-medium.
  5. Growthhabit-bunch.
  6. Wear-good.
  7. Location-sun.

2. Bahia(notrecommendedfor lawns,mostcommonlyusedfor highwaygrass):

  1. Region-2, 3.
  2. Season-warm season.
  3. Leaf color-medium to dark green.
  4. Leaf texture-coarse.
  5. Growth habit-rhizome.
  6. Wear-good.
  7. Location-sun.

3. Perennial rye(seededwithKentuckyBluegrass never alone):

  1. Region-1.
  2. Season-cool season.
  3. Leaf color-medium green.
  4. Leaf texture-fine.
  5. Growth habit- bunch.
  6. Wear-very good.
  7. Location-sun.

TURF SITE ESTABLISHMENT

A.TurfGrass SitePreparation.

1. Removetrashanddebris.

2. Control weedswithherbicide. Spraypost-emergencebroadleaf

herbicidesfour tosixweeks beforeseedingor sodding.

3. Gradeavoidingsteepslopes,low areasandpoorlydrainedareas (nomore

than15%formowingsafety).

4. Protectexistingtreesandbedareaswithsiltfencing, edgedbordersor

mulch.

5. Incorporatea2%-3%slopeawayfromthehomeor structure.

6. Soil preparation.

  1. Till soil to a depth of 2-3”.
  2. Add 4-5” of top soil.
  3. Run a soil test.
  4. Incorporatelimeandfertilizer basedonthesoil sample results.
  5. Finish grade.
  6. Roll area with a lawn roller.
  7. Water.
  8. Seed or install sod.

B. Methodsof establishinglawns.

1. Seeding.

  1. Isthe mostcommonandleast expensivewaytostartalawn.
  2. Seedissownbyhandor witha mechanical devicesuchasarotary or droptypespreader.
  3. Applyhalftheseedinonedirectionandtheother halfata90degreeangletothefirst pass.
  4. Roll thesoil lightlytoensuregoodseedtosoil contact.
  5. Lightlycover theseedwithpeatmossor weedfreestraw.
  6. Water to stabilize the seed and peat moss or straw.
  7. Seedingfor cool seasongrasses.

1) September 1- September 15- piedmont region.

2) September 15- October15- coastal region.

3) August15- September1- mountainregion.

4) Emergencyseedingmid-FebruarytoearlyMarch.

  1. Seedingfor warmseasongrassesMarch1- July1.
  2. Purchasequalityseed.Readthelabel.

2. Sodding.

  1. Usingestablishedturf(grass androots) thatiscutinthinlayers andremovedfromgrowingareainstrips.
  2. Itisthenmovedtothenewlawn,rolledoutandfittedtogether.
  3. Startthesoddingprocessfromastraight edgetoensureuniformity.
  4. Buttstripstogether andstagger rowsinabrick pattern.
  5. Thenewlawnsoil shouldbemoistbeforelayingthesod.
  6. Water after installing the new sod.
  7. Install thenewsodwithin24hourstoprevent rootsfrom dryingout.
  8. Unroll sodifitcannot belaidwithin48hours.
  9. Soddingprovides aninstantlawn.
  10. Soddingfor cool seasongrasses-anytimeduringthecooler timesofthegrowingseason.
  11. Soddingfor warmseasongrassesApril- July 1.

3. Plugging.

  1. Usessmallplugs or blocksofsodtoplantinholesabout 6-12 inchesapart.
  2. Verytimeconsumingmethod of planting grass.
  3. Thisisacommon methodusedformanywarmseason grasses thatarepoor seedproducers.
  4. Water.
  5. Pluggingfor warmseasongrassesApril- July 1.

4. Sprigging.

  1. Uses plantrunners,cuttings or sprigs(cutstems).
  2. Sprigs arerolledorpressedintothetop½ to1inch ofsoil.
  3. Water.
  4. Spriggingis usuallyusedonlarger areassuchasgolfcourses.
  5. Spriggingfor warmseasongrassesMarch1-July.

C.Carefor newlyestablishedlawns.

1. Irrigating.

  1. Keepthetop1.5” ofsoil moist bywateringtwotothreetimesadayfor thefirst7to21days.
  2. Water early in the morning to reduce the risk of disease and water loss.

  1. Waterestablishedlawns twotothreetimesaweek½ incheach watering.
  2. Soil shouldbemoistsixtoeightinchestoencouragegood root development.

2. Mowing.

  1. Mow whengrassis 50% higher thanthedesiredheight.
  2. Mowtothesuggestheight for thetypeofgrassyouhaveplanted.
  3. Mow whenthegrassisdrywithasharp,cleanblade.
  4. Mowingheight:

Grass / Mowingheight
Tallfescue / 2.5- 3.5inches
Kentuckybluegrass / 1.5-2.5inches
Redfescue / 1.5-2.5inches
CreepingBentgrass / .125-.5inch
Centipede / 1-1.5inches
St.Augustine / 2.5-4inches
Bahia / 2-4inches
Bermuda / .75-2inches
Zoysia / .75-2inches

3. Fertilizing.

  1. Applyfertilizerwitharotaryor droptypespreader.
  2. Applyhalfthefertilizerinonedirectionandtheother halfata90degreeangletothefirst pass.
  3. For seededlawnsfertilizesixtoeightweeksafter seed emerges.
  4. For sodded,pluggedor spriggedlawnsfertilizeeverythreetofour weeksthroughoutthe growingseason.

4. Pestcontrol.

  1. Weeds.

1)Commoninnewlyseededlawn.

2)Propermowingwill eliminatemostweeds.

3)Followthedirectionsonaselectiveherbicideifweedsarean issue.

  1. Insects.

1)Checknewlyestablishedlawns onaregularbasisfor insect

issues.

2)Identifyandtreatasneeded.

  1. Diseases.

1)Donotoverwater newlyestablishedlawns asthiscancause

diseases.

2)Hotsummer weather canalsocausediseaseissues.

3)Identifyandtreatasneeded.

D. Grassseedterminology.

1. Viable- theabilitytogerminate.

2. Inertingredient- stemsand/or other plantproductsthatisnotviable.

3. Weedseed- anyseednotdefinedasacomponentin“other crop”.

4. Noxiousweed- invasive, hardtocontrol weedseed.