Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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andy10917
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Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by andy10917 » July 16th, 2019, 11:04 am

Well, we're 1/3 of the way done with the hottest part of Summer - so, what was your expectation of what the lawn would be like now, and what is the reality of the lawn? Were you hoping to keep it green and is it working, or is on the slide to dormancy?

Pway
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Pway » July 16th, 2019, 12:11 pm

Still green but more brown blades than I’d like. I had some unwanted zoysia invade a portion of my yard last year and it spread so I just had a guy use a sod cutter and replace it with sod. Probably not the best time to do that; I’ll have to be very diligent about watering it.

deboy922
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by deboy922 » July 16th, 2019, 12:21 pm

With no irrigation on 2 acres, lawn looks good for 7/16...still mowing weekly at 4". But it is hot and dry here...lawn could really use a drink. If no rain in the next week, lawn will go dormant and brown up.

Paul
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Paul » July 16th, 2019, 12:56 pm

I really don't see a difference in my lawn from what it looked like in May and June. It's still as green and still grows just as fast (Bewitched is a slow grower compared to my previous lawn, but I still mow twice a week). I will not fertilize in July and most likely will give it a shot of Milo mid August. I irrigate weekly unless the temps are in the mid to high 90's, than I will irrigate twice a week.

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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by northeastlawn » July 16th, 2019, 1:00 pm

Im tip toeing the line between giving it enough water to keep it green and stretching that watering out enough to ensure that the POA Annua dies.

We may for may not have a lot of rain coming Thursday.I could have watered his morning before I went away, but I stretched it out to hurt the pot annua. Some of it seems to be doing just fine still and I have only been watering deep and infrequent about once a week.

I am either going to come home Friday morning home to a lawn that got an 1" plus of natural rain, or a lawn that's probably going to be hurting with a 90 deg weekend on the way.


Dargin
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Dargin » July 16th, 2019, 1:32 pm

The color is still holding up. I'm surprised it's still so green at this point; much better than last year when I was under-watering and cutting at 2.5-3". Fungus is another matter. I'm fighting.

My irrigation habits are improved. Dropped the ball on preventitive fungicides.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » July 16th, 2019, 1:44 pm

Brown where not getting sufficient irrigation. I have some coverage gaps

JHazzardB
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by JHazzardB » July 16th, 2019, 2:07 pm

Back yard looks fine, still growing across 95%.

Front yard sounds like HLG, coverage gaps in irrigation. 2 spots that I swear are getting hit but aren't sending off new growth. Replaced two sprinkler heads to help but might be too late if it went dormant. But still, 80% of front is still growing.

I was hoping to keep everything out of dormancy (pipe dream). The places that it looks like dormancy is setting in is literally right next to a continuing growth flush. Leading me to examine irrigation. I fix that, and I should be golden.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » July 16th, 2019, 2:14 pm

The septic fingers are visible too, even with adequate coverage in that area.

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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by TimmyG » July 16th, 2019, 2:55 pm

HoosierLawnGnome wrote:
July 16th, 2019, 2:14 pm
The septic fingers are visible too, even with adequate coverage in that area.
Yeah, I don't miss the big, tan letter "F" we would get in the lawn every summer at our old house, not to mention the rectangle of death. Go sewer connection.

This is me
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by This is me » July 16th, 2019, 3:13 pm

Some browning. Mostly seen after a mow. My deck is already at max height of 4.5".
The color and health are better than I expected for the little amount of water I use this year. Getting the heavy rain helped a lot. I held off on watering for 4 days waiting for a nice thunderstorm coming tomorrow.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » July 16th, 2019, 3:38 pm

No sewer available, and I'm not hooked up.

What really rustles my jimmies is that the city still charges us sewer fees.

In Indiana income and property taxes are political suicide so they bolt on hidden gas taxes and municipal fees.

Iowa Jim
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Iowa Jim » July 16th, 2019, 4:06 pm

Still green and watering twice a week now with the temps in the nineties. There has been no rain now for 3 weeks and not much in sight, first summer for this grass so trying to keep it out of dormancy.

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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by EddieN26 » July 16th, 2019, 6:56 pm

Most of the front 1 yr old Bewitched renovation still looks amazing despite the 1 hand watering I've given it all year. Mother nature's been good to us around this neck of the woods. I do have a few oddball spots that borderline dormancy and dead to my eyes, and hoping it's the foremer.

Image
Image

Other than those 2 areas this grass has exceeded my expectations for its first year. I was worried about its tolerance to full sun. So far so good but as Andy mentioned I'm only 1/3 the way through the dog days and the real test is yet to come.

KBGkicksazz
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by KBGkicksazz » July 16th, 2019, 8:47 pm

As expected. Irrigation system has allowed me to water through the hot spells so far.

Just put down compost in the areas that seemed to dry out faster than the rest of the lawn. Makes it look a little shaggy. Color is holding strong.
Image

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Zareth
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Zareth » July 17th, 2019, 11:07 am

Still green KBG in zone 7A, growth regulated and irrigated 1.5 inches a week.
Image

My front yard is another story, lots of dormancy mixed in with the green tall fescue but it comes back great every year!

Oldschool
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by Oldschool » July 17th, 2019, 11:26 am

Yes, the goal was to keep it green and I have. With lots of help from Mother Nature. Unusual amount of rain so far in July. Have irrigation but have only used four times all season. Temperatures well below normal as well. Went with a 4” HOC this year for the first time, usually 3.5”. Seems to also make a difference. Our growing season is short, I use Milo, SBM and cracked corn in June and July. My fall regimen starts on August 8.

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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by bpgreen » July 17th, 2019, 4:45 pm

The last time we had at least a half inch of rain was during the last week of May.

I've already watered twice, but there's a section of the hell strip that is pretty much completely brown.

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by ken-n-nancy » July 19th, 2019, 11:08 am

andy10917 wrote:
July 16th, 2019, 11:04 am
Well, we're 1/3 of the way done with the hottest part of Summer - so, what was your expectation of what the lawn would be like now, and what is the reality of the lawn? Were you hoping to keep it green and is it working, or is on the slide to dormancy?
I had been expecting to see significant "browning" of the lawn by now. However, here in NH, we've dodged really high temperatures so far this year, and even on days when it has been hot, it has cooled back down into the 60s overnight.

The front lawn KBG is still growing well and looking good, other than increasing amounts of Poa annua in the shadier (thinner) spots.

I mowed last night, which was 5 days after my prior mow, at a height of 3.25" and was probably taking off about 2" which breaks the 1/3 rule a little. I had to go real slow in the sunnier areas to keep from bogging down the mower due to the thickness of grass and the amount being cut off.

I'm expecting growth to slow down a bit over these next 3 days with forecasted highs in the mid-90s and overnight lows only getting into the mid-70s.

I probably should make another Serenade app tonight, as disease pressure will be very high with the heat and humidity.

Front Lawn as of 2019-07-13 (Day 323):
Image

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andy10917
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Re: Summer Dormancy: What's Your Situation?

Post by andy10917 » July 19th, 2019, 11:43 am

So many people stress-out on "the 1/3 rule". Unless repetitively broken, the following is my credo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6kgS_AwuH0

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