Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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Spacklerstyle
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Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
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Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Spacklerstyle » February 21st, 2021, 11:26 am

Greetings all. As many of you are aware (and some of you just lived through), most of Texas was hit with nearly a week straight of below freezing temps and several feet of snow and ice. This was all after parts of my bermuda lawn were slightly beginning to wake up. My question is what to do now. Leave it completely alone for a few weeks? Try to get some compost on it? Scalp now so the sun can warm the ground quicker?

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » February 21st, 2021, 1:29 pm

Probably the smartest thing you can do right now is Hands Off. While scalping wouldn't be an error (the top growth didn't survive that), I'm also chary of putting any stress, including your weight, on the roots right now unless I have to.
Rather than rush into anything, let it recover naturally, on its own, to the extent that it can. Most lawns down there look like they're going to do it, probably not without some damage in some cases at least. Bermuda should be one of the more durable lawns.
Looking at the regional weather, it does seem that near-normal (slightly cool) temperatures for the period have resumed and it doesn't look like you're due for another blasting. Next week looks to be normal. So the grass will pause a bit in shock, then resume recovering.

Spacklerstyle
Posts: 92
Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Spacklerstyle » February 21st, 2021, 5:00 pm

Thanks Morph. I will do everything I can to resist the urge to smother it with love...

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » February 21st, 2021, 10:19 pm

...which is always very, very hard to resist. Believe me, after the winter we're having, I'm already itching to do something--anything--to help the lawn and garden I already know are going to be exposed, brown and ugly, after this is all over. Unlike the normally green state it's in during early March.

It's exactly the wrong response to try to force anything out of dormancy any faster than it wants to move on its own. I will, if I have to, sit on my own hands until late May before I feed (you shouldn't do that with Bermuda, of course, but I have a northern lawn in Pennsylvania). The lawn will be fine. The lawn will be fine. The lawn will be fine.

Maybe if I just keep repeating that to myself, I'll believe it? Yeah. It snows again tomorrow.

cjac9chris
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by cjac9chris » March 1st, 2021, 1:58 pm

It's now March 1 and I'm seeing bits of green in my St. Augustine down here in San Antonio. I thought for sure it was a goner. Fingers crossed most of it comes back strong and healthy!


Spacklerstyle
Posts: 92
Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Experienced

Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Spacklerstyle » March 1st, 2021, 10:09 pm

Yep, I’m already getting a green-up. Pretty quick recovery!

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 8th, 2021, 12:13 am

In Bandera I have two different varieties of St Augustine. The Floratam has been straw colored since December. The Raleigh never turned completely tan and has an acceptable appearance even after 2 nights of 8 degrees, etc. The Floratam is showing some green sprouts. I'll take a closer look at the Raleigh tomorrow.

bam8004
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by bam8004 » March 12th, 2021, 1:59 am

Related question. Are any of you holding off or entirely forgoing pre-emergent application to your lawn this spring. I've got some granular dimension that I've been waiting to apply until I could see some signs of life in my Raleigh St. Augustine. The Raleigh in my south facing backyard retained a little bit of its green even after the big freeze and I started started seeing new sprouts back there a few days after the thaw, but I just started seeing signs of new growth in my north-facing front yard this week, so I'm thinking it might be ok to go ahead and apply. I would love to not have to apply it at all, but my neighbors on both sides have decent amounts of dallisgrass and crabgrass every year that I would very much like to keep out of my yard. Thoughts?

Spacklerstyle
Posts: 92
Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Experienced

Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Spacklerstyle » March 12th, 2021, 2:16 pm

I’m gonna apply early next week on my Bermuda after I lay some compost. It’s actively growing so I I’m good... unless anyone says otherwise...

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » March 12th, 2021, 3:58 pm

If you think you may have to reseed in spring, don't apply pre-emergent. You won't be able to seed through it, and even sod can have a bit of a challenge (although far, far less).

If you're sure you don't have to, go ahead and drop the pre-emergent. If that means you drop your pre-emergent in zones this year (south, west, east, and last north as that returns), I'd say that's OK if you have to. It's better to have less of a problem in some zones and more in others rather than get locked out of reseeding and having a dead lawn (that will end up as a weed pit anyway when the pre-emergent runs out).

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: Texas Ice-Polcolypse recovery

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 28th, 2021, 6:34 pm

To tag onto what Morph said, if you think you need to reseed bermuda, DON'T, until and unless you are certain you have only common bermuda or so much common bermuda you can't recover to a hybrid like Tif 419. There are no hybrid seeds for bermuda - only common. The hybrid bermuda varieties don't get seed heads like the common varieties do. Common varieties can get seed heads developing in 4 days. If a hybrid gets them, it takes weeks and there are only a few. It is the seed heads that make the lawn look shaggy, unkempt, and just not manicured. If you determine that common is what you have, then you can seed, but wait until mid June to do it.

Bam8004
Check this link for info on killing crabgrass. It applies to dallisgrass, too.

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