Despite a winter that tormented us, most plants did pretty well in the snow. While there was plenty of mechanical damage from several heavy snow storms, the snow accumulation actually protected many plants. Snow cover helped to prevent winter desiccation, particularly in plants lucky enough to have been buried, like turfgrass. It also kept the ground in many locations from a hard freeze, which helped provide much needed moisture to the landscape. [Read more…]
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March 23, 2014 Richard Buckley
Frosty Finally Melted!
Last week, the cats from John Deere had me up to the northern tier of NY for John Deere University and we had a blizzard! This week I was in Lake Placid with my friends at NYSTA and the morning temperature was something like -7°F. All I could think of was “How do I get winter speaking gigs in Florida instead of upstate NY?!”
A healthy, but winter dormant turf area.
Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
February 24, 2014 Richard Buckley
Spring Fever?
Hold your horses, the Spring Equinox is not until March 20th and if the 10-day forecasts hold true, then we are in for another visit from old man winter before the seasons change.
Skip laurel buried in a snow bank. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
February 19, 2014 Jim Murphy
Drought Ends in New Jersey
Last autumn I was blogging about the drought conditions that we were experiencing. Thankfully, this winter’s precipitation, albeit lots of snow, has changed our water status in the region. The U.S. Drought Monitor no longer lists New Jersey as having abnormally dry or moderate drought. You can view more details at http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu/page_drought.html
Expect I will have to post about snow mold disease and flooding, once we get a thaw.
November 18, 2013 Administrator
Abnormally Dry to Moderate Drought Condition
in Much of NJ
By Jim Murphy
I mentioned in my previous post that dormancy has been apparent in many non-irrigated turfs. These conditions still persist throughout the central and northern NJ.
Drought induced dormancy in non-irrigated turf areas on Cook Campus of Rutgers University during early November.
Drought induced dormancy under trees where the root competition and rain shadow effects have resulted in very dry soil conditions.
You can view the distribution and severity of the dry conditions throughout the northeastern U.S. at http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu/page_drought.html This map shows that southern NJ is not experiencing drought conditions; whereas, central NJ is experiencing abnormally dry conditions, and northern NJ is experiencing moderate drought. This dryness typically doesn’t last through winter but it is something to watch. Moreover, you should assess your landscapes for any potential susceptibility to winter desiccation.
I want to share a some observations and ideas that have come up while discussing this topic with turf managers.
- In those areas experiencing limited rain this fall, there has been very little recovery from summer stresses on non-irrigated turfs (and other plantings). These turfs may benefit from an application of a slow release N source to ensure recovery starts when water levels improve in late winter and early spring. Recall that NJ prohibits N applications to turf by professionals after December 1st (except on golf courses).
- While dry soil conditions this fall may have induced dormancy of the grass, the grass may be vulnerable to extended dryness through the winter especially in localized areas of turf that are sloped (water runs off) and exposed. These dry areas could experience desiccation damage if there are cold harsh winds combined with little to no snow or rain. If feasible, some irrigation of these areas before winter sets-in may be helpful in avoiding winter damage.
- Localized dry areas may have developed water repellency (become hydrophobic). These areas could benefit from an application of wetting agents to improve infiltration of rain and snow melt into the soil. Even if the soil is not hydrophobic, wetting agents will improve water infiltration of irrigation or winter precipitation.
Let’s hope that precipitation becomes more typical where it is currently dry.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
October 26, 2013 Administrator
Dormancy in October? It is very dry and cool.
By Jim Murphy
I spent a couple days this past week teaching in a turf care training program at Central Park in NYC.
Lawn area entering the onset of dormancy.
Shoot growth is shutting down and leaves are wilting.
Many lawn areas in Central Park that are not irrigated were entering dormancy because of the dry soil conditions. And as you look around there is an increasing acreage of turf as well as shrubs and trees in our area that are being challenged by drying soil conditions. Fortunately, it is cool and many plants are tolerating the drying by entering dormant.
However, managers should think about their end of the season programs related to irrigation shut down on high value turfs and other plantings. Make sure that you fully evaluate soil wetness/dryness before blowing out and shutting down the irrigation system. If the soil is very dry, it would be wise to irrigate to restore some soil wetness under your high value areas before shutting down the irrigation. Allowing soil dryness to extend into winter, should it continue to stay dry (little to no rain or snow cover), could set up those plants for desiccation injury during winter. Desiccation injury is relatively rare in our climate but the current conditions are a precursor for that possibility. Obvious high risk scenarios include sand-based putting greens and plantings grown on the very sandy soils of the coastal plains of NJ that have been allowed to dry down during October.
Below: Central Park provides some beautiful landscapes within the very urban setting of Manhattan. The Conservatory Garden is one of the formal gardens at Central Park.
Recently restored lawn on
Frisbee Hill in Central Park.
A very colorful display of Korean mums in the
Conservatory Garden at Central Park.
Source: Read More on the Rutgers Turf Blog
