SEPTEMBER 2011

This time last year, I believe I wrote that I had never seen growing conditions as dry and hot before in our 30 years in business.  That was a true statement until now.  For the second year in a row, central Indiana has suffered from extremely low rates of rainfall and extraordinary high temperatures.  If I am reading correctly, July 2011, in Indianapolis, was the driest July in recorded history.  We also recorded in excess of 15 days in a row above ninety degrees at the airport.  As I write this update, it raining hard in New Orleans and Hurricane Irene has finished flooding New England.  It seems we have been missed all summer in such a manner.

What we need to understand here is that such growing conditions are just too much for plant life to sustain.  Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and other area states are located in what generally is referred to as cool season growing conditions.  What that means is that the grass, trees, and other plants we grow are designed to perform best in a temperature range of between 60 and 85 degrees with periodic rainfall or supplemental watering.  If outside temperatures consistently fall below 60 degrees, as they do in fall and winter, or consistently rise and hold above 85 degrees, as they have done this summer; then plant life suffers.  This suffering is due in large part to the fact that they simply are not designed to sustain such weather.  For the same reasons, plant life common to the far northern or southern regions of the country; do not grow well in Indiana where we go from extremes.

Not much can be done to change varying weather conditions.  We can, however, learn to modify how we care for plants that live in such extremes and are indeed doing so.  Don’t worry, it will rain again.  And when it does, we will need to be ready to help the lawn and landscape recover and prepare for the next extreme, called winter.

JULY 2011

Entering July, we now are beginning what is usually one of the hottest and driest months of the growing season. Despite regular and often heavy late spring rainfall, the landscape tends to dry out quickly and watering will be required.

Our biggest challenge always centers on the poor quality of our native clay soil here in central Indiana.  Clay is very compact and does not absorb water, let alone hold onto it.  After a period without persistent rain, a sudden thunderstorm usually results in a good deal of runoff so that the lawn and landscape gets little benefit from even and inch or two of quickly falling rain.

Supplemental watering is required during dry weather, particularly if it is hot.  You do not need to water every day, but you should try and water two to three times per week.  Water deeply for say thirty to forty minutes in each sprinkler location.  Water in the early morning so that little is lost to evaporation.  Concentrate watering on sodded areas and areas in full sun.  Don’t forget to water along streets, drives, and walks where heat radiating into the landscape can be even more damaging.

Water efficiently.  Your do not need to soak the lawn.  The objective is to keep it cool enough to withstand summer heat. Accomplishing that alone will greatly improve and protect the life of the plant.

We have all been impressed with the rebound made by the landscape from the drought of 2010. With the exception of some trees, it is hard to find much trace of what was one of the driest years on record.  However, Indiana summer is back, and knowing how to protect the lawn and landscape with appropriate watering is very important.

JUNE 2011

We could not buy a good rainstorm in the fall of 2010 and we can’t get them to stop in 2011.  I certainly hope that the rainy weather now does not become extremely dry weather later in the summer.

Growing conditions are excellent.  Grass, trees, and shrubs have done a remarkable job of recovering from the drought and it is actually hard to find large amounts of remaining damage except for sodded lawns which suffered most in 2010.  So what do we look for now.

Broadleaf weeds have grown well, right along with the grass.  While cool weather and ground temperatures kept them at bay for awhile; I saw dandelions in full bloom the last week of May which is very late for this common weed to still be active in the landscape.

The grass plant itself is using up fertilization rapidly for a couple of reasons.  Excessive rain has prompted a good deal of upward growth which normally would go to the root system.  Secondly, the plant has had do work pretty hard at recovery from a long dry fall and a very harsh winter.  While everything looks good now, be observant for grass plants to begin discoloration or what we call “leaching out” which simply is an indicator of a loss of energy.

Insect activity will also increase along with warmer weather.  Should we continue to have damp moist soil conditions thru June, then I look for a good deal of white grub activity later this summer.  Beetles will begin appearing later this month and the female will lay eggs from the first to the middle of July.  These eggs will eventually become the White Grub and The Greenskeeper will be treating for them throughout the summer.

MAY 2011

April 2011 in Indiana went down as the 3rd wettest month in the history of the state with over 7.4 inches of rain in the greater Indianapolis area.  This has both hurt and helped growing conditions.

Much needed water has been added back to lakes, ponds, and streams with the combination of melted snow from earlier in the first quarter to the large amounts of rainfall this past month.  Plants are indeed growing and many drought affected areas are responding better than most experts have anticipated.  Even with the heavy precipitation, spring diseases have been suppressed due to cool temperatures.  What we need now, is spring.

This is the time of year for planting and warm sun-filled days are needed to get the new growth process started.  Farm production in the Hoosier state is a fine example of how too much water can hold back new crop production.  Purdue University reports very little of the state corn crop is in the ground and that much of it has been stunted by soils that have become too wet and air temperatures that remain too cool.  Such growing conditions also hold back germination of new grass seed and have made it difficult to actually conduct aeration and seeding due to constantly wet weather.  In most of Indiana, garden center plants remain on the shelves as folks wait for a beautiful spring day to spend working in their yards.

Growing conditions could be better and certainly could be worse.  Let’s just hope that we enjoy several weeks of great seventy degree days before typically hot weather arrives back in Indiana

FEBRUARY 2011

While there is not much "growing" in our current weather conditions; there are some things we need to be aware of as we move out of winter and inter very early spring.

Grass, trees, and shrubs all have suffered a good deal as the result of teh 2010 drought. What makes this damage noteworthy is that these plants did not have recovery time between the late summer drought and winter weather. there was no period of fall rain, no gradual cooling, and no last bit of energetic growth before it got cold and started snowing in early December. Thus, when this snow does melt, the damage to these plants will still be there to challenge us this spring.

Many lawns, particularly sodded lawns, will require some amount of reseeding this spring. Turfgrass suffered msot shere it bordered driveways and walks that radioted additional heat into the lawn. Trees went for a long period without any water, lost their leaves early, and will need a boost of spring fertilization. Most affected will be evergreens which may not survive in the year ahead.

It is also a mistake to believe that the large amount of snow this winter will help the grass, tree, or shrub in recovery from the drought. Certainly melting snow will help restore water levels in ponds, lakes and streams; but it will have little or no effect on plant health because the plant is in winter dormancy and thus not taking inmoisture at this time.

We probably will also see some damage from Snow Mold wich is a turf disease caused by extended periods of snow cover. The potential for disease damage will be more prevalent along driveways and walks where the snow has been shoveled or plwed. these areas typically retain some snow cover longer due to packing ice.

Therefore, while nothing is growing now; we all need to prepare for a good deal of recovery effort this spring. Proper fertilization and the introduction of new seed may well play a part in ongoing care of the landscape once winter has ended. The extremely dry summer of 2010 was followed by the extremely cold and snowy winter of 2011. Neither helped and rebounding fromtheir impact will take time and proper management.s

Bob Andrews
Owner, The Greenskeeper