News, Info & Happenings

Here's what's happening with lawns across our area right now.

Heat & Drought

When viewed from a distance, stressed areas often range from dark green to brown or even blue.

Drought stressed blades curl needle-like to retain water

It has been unseasonably hot and dry. Drought and heat stress are appearing throughout Hampton Roads, mostly in fescue lawns, but warm season grasses may be effected too.

Heat Stress (High Temps):

Appearance: The grass transitions from its vibrant emerald green to a dull, bluish-gray tint. As the stress intensifies, the crown of the plant may die.
Cause: Stress occurs when ambient temperatures consistently exceed 80°F . High heat is the primary trigger, it is often exacerbated by high humidity and insufficient soil moisture, leading to a "baked" root zone.
Reaction: The plant shifts into survival mode by slowing down photosynthesis and increasing its respiration rate. This creates a negative energy balance where the grass consumes energy faster than it can produce it, leading to a depletion of carbohydrate reserves and a sloughing off of root mass.
Recovery: Tall fescue can bounce back once temperatures drop and moisture returns, provided the crown remains alive.

Drought Stress (Water Deficiency):

Appearance: Grass turns brown, curls thin, and stays down after walking on it.
Cause: Insufficient soil moisture. It often appears first on slopes or shallow soil.
Reaction: The plant shuts down to conserve moisture in the roots and crown.
Recovery: Recovers fairly quickly after irrigation or rainfall unless crown death has occurred.

Managing turfgrass during the peak of summer is a delicate balancing act between keeping the plant hydrated and avoiding the pitfalls of fungal growth.

Irrigation Strategy

Target Volume: Ensure the lawn receives 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week.
Frequency: Aim for 1 to 3 watering sessions weekly.
Deep and Infrequent: Emphasize heavy, infrequent watering rather than light daily mists. This "deep soak" encourages roots to grow further into the soil to find moisture, which builds drought resistance and prevents the humid surface conditions that promote disease.

Mowing Best Practices

Mow High: Keep your mower deck at a higher setting (typically 3.5 to 4 inches for fescue). Taller grass blades provide shade to the soil, lowering the surface temperature and reducing evaporation.
Root Correlation: Taller top growth directly encourages deeper rooting systems, allowing the grass to access water reserves deeper in the profile.
Skip the Bagging: Leave clippings on the lawn. They act as a natural mulch that helps retain moisture near the plant crown and recycles nutrients back into the soil.
Manage Clumping: While clippings are beneficial, avoid grass clumps. Heavy clumps can smother the turf underneath, creating heat pockets and inviting rot.

Stress Management & Traffic

Know When to Stop: Grass should not be mowed if it is showing signs of severe heat or drought stress (e.g., wilting, bluish-gray color, or footprints that remain visible). Mowing stressed grass causes physical wounding that the plant cannot easily repair.
Minimize Traffic: Reduce foot and equipment traffic on stressed lawns. When the grass is wilted, the blades lose their "spring," and physical pressure can lead to cell wall collapse and permanent damage.

Quick Tip: To measure your water output, place a few empty tuna cans around the yard while the sprinklers are running. Once they hit the 1-inch mark, you’ll know exactly how long your sessions need to be!

Seed Germination

Tall fescue seed germination requires consistent moisture, warmth, and care over a three-week period.

Moisture Requirements: Keep the seed continuously damp by lightly watering 2 to 3 times a day for the first 21 days. The goal is to keep the soil surface moist without creating puddles or washing away seeds.
Soil Contact & Coverage: Ensure seeds maintain direct contact with the soil. If there are dead, matted patches of grass or weeds, please rake them out before calling us for reseeding.
Care After Emergence: Once sprouts reach about 1 to 2 inches, gradually taper watering frequency to longer, less frequent deep soakings to encourage deep root growth.

If you notice any bare spots or areas that are not germinating properly after 21 days, call Dreamlawns at 757-631-9773 for assistance.

The Poa Problem

Poa Annua (annual bluegrass) & poa trivialis (rough bluegrass) are thriving across the region. Mitigating either of these weedy bluegrasses in a fescue lawn is a difficult process with no easy solutions or shortcuts.

● Structurally bluegrasses are very similar to fescues, in fact some varieties can even cross-pollinate creating hybrids. Their similarity makes it difficult to treat one without harming the other.

● Both poa annua & poa trivialis spread very aggressively. Poa annua spreads by producing high volumes of seed, while poa trivialis spreads laterally across a lawn on above ground "runners" called stolons.

● Tall fescue does not produce viable seed at residential mowing heights nor is it capable of lateral expansion. You'll typically lose about 1/3 of the overall density of a fescue lawn each summer (maybe more without proper mowing, watering & protection against fungal diseases), and weedy bluegrasses will definitely capitalize on the lack of competition offered by receding fescue.

So the expanding nature of bluegrasses vs the receding nature of fescue makes controlling plants in the poa family difficult, especially given the similarities between bluegrass & fescue. What can be done?

First, it's critical to keep your fescue as healthy as possible to increase the competition that it offers to bluegrass.

● Mow high. Sometimes it's tempting to cut as low as possible in an effort to remove poa annua seeds. Resist this temptation as it will make the problem worse. Mowing high allows the fescue to absorb more sunlight and better feed itself. It will also reduce sunlight reaching the soil which help to both lower soil temperatures and deprive young poa annua plants of sunlight.

● Water heavily but infrequently in late spring and throughout the summer. The goal is 1 - 1.5 inches of water applied in one or two watering sessions. Watering more frequently encourages fungal diseases (which reduces fescue density) and helps poa annua seeds germinate in summer.

● Seed each fall with a clean seed blend certified to be free of both poa annua & poa trivilias. Seeding is critical to help replace fescue density lost over summer, but many budget seed blends available at box stores or garden centers are contaminated with weedy bluegrasses. Buy quality, certified seed from reputable seed distributors. We suggest (and use) Aqua Maxx available at Landscape Supply on Quality Court in Virginia Beach. After seeding, every seed must be watered 2 - 3 times per day until germination is complete.

● Protect your fescue against disease. Fungal diseases such as brown patch can cause devastating injury to fescue. While these diseases will also injure bluegrasses, fescue will not recover from the damage until fall seeding, while the more aggressive poa pants will recover on their own and spread into damaged areas. We offer a 5 round program that also protects against damaging insects such as grubs & fall armyworms. For those who are DIY inclined, monthly treatments of Headway G should offer sufficient protection. Begin treatments in April or May and continue until Aug or Sept.

Poa annua will die off in spring, but return in August. Poa trivialis will decline over summer. Sometimes keeping the fescue healthy eliminates the need for poa suppression and many homeowners are disinclined to take on the additional expense of poa suppression for a seasonal problem.

Once the fescue is protected, we can look at bluegrass suppression options.

● We offer suppression plans for both types of weedy bluegrass.

● These plans are not included with our standard service.

● These are suppression plans, meaning that the goal is to suppress, not eradicate the bluegrass.

● There is no point in suppression until all of the needs of the fescue are met, so we can't jump straight to these applications unless the steps outlined above are carefully followed.

● These applications are highly dependent on both temperature & season. Some years we will not be able to complete the entire program. You will never be charged for an application that we can't complete.

If you'd like to discuss options for managing these weedy bluegrasses, call us today.

Lightning helps fertilize your lawn. No, seriously.

Rainstorms can greatly benefit your lawn in a few ways:

● A soaking rainstorm provides a more even watering than even the best tuned irrigation system.

● Most of the atmosphere (78%) is made of nitrogen but most of that nitrogen is unavailable to plants until it is broken down into a usable form. Lightning has a strong enough electrical charge to break chemical bonds, helping to form nitrogen dioxide.

● Nitrogen dioxide dissolves in water, forming a fertilizer which is delivered to your lawn with each raindrop.

● Rainfall also helps soil micro-life convert existing organic soil content into usable nitrogen, further increasing the nutrients available to your turf.

● Cloud cover helps to provide a reduction in heat stress by reducing the amount of light that reaches the surface.

● Cloud cover also helps to "prime" the lawn for photosynthesis by encouraging plants to become very active once sunlight returns.

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