Perfect weather for bentgrass, bermuda needs some rain
We have had a handful of warm days now and it is easy to see where some bermudagrass is not greening back up. The combination of cold January temperatures and shade from trees are the simple culprit. On January 6th we got a few inches of snow. Most of it melted the next week but the shaded areas did not melt fully. Temperatures plummeted January 19th through the 22nd creating ice and direct cold stress. Four days of the high not getting above freezing and the lows dropping to single digits dinged up our shade areas.
We manage 200 acres of bermudagrass. We are going to sod out 1 acre. That is .5%. Do you want to imagine what we would look like after that winter if we had not been so diligent with tree removal and drainage work every winter? As the temperatures continue to warm and we finally get some rain, the sod will root in and we will be back to normal before the end of May.
Not a single patch of sod going down sits in a full sun situation. We do basically everything to ensure maximum health going in to the winter. Continued deep tine aeration, shade management and drainage will help keep our winterkill percentage low in future years. Here is a great article if you have a few minutes to dive all the way in.
Some areas are regenerating from deeper stolons. These spots have been fertilized and we are attempting to keep them moist and happy.
Remember, we aren't importing this sod from Florida, it is from Charles City. They aren't growing bermuda any faster than we are. The new sod will perk up and get moving over the next two weeks.
The pond dredging on 16 Manakin is on its last day. We have pulled enough muck out to get a pretty solid 2-3 foot depth across the pond. The water should start to clear up over the next week or so. We will wait on the mud to dry then grade it out and sod it over. This newer depth should help us keep this pond clean of algae and give the fountain a little more room to work with.
A little disappointing to only find one wedge in 16 pond. Its a 56 degree Vokey with a Lamkin grip. It is sitting outside our office if anyone wants to claim it!
We finally have some moisture and humidity in the forecast which is what the bermuda wants. In the meantime enjoy some firm bentgrass and be glad we still have 50 days left in spring!