Master Gardener Turfgrass Refresher. Part 1: Turfgrass ID. --Becky Griffin, Center for Urban Agriculture September 2013

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1 Master Gardener Turfgrass Refresher Part 1: Turfgrass ID --Becky Griffin, Center for Urban Agriculture September 2013

2 The majority of people become Master Gardeners because they love to grow vegetables, herbs, trees. or flowers! Only a very small minority become Master Gardeners because they love turfgrass.

3 However, most of us have turfgrass in our own yards to manage. And, as Master Gardeners you WILL get calls regarding turfgrass. I guarantee it. So, this brief refresher on turf will give you information to confidently answer calls and be able to identify the main Georgia turfgrasses.

4 What type of seedhead is present? If good mowing practices are followed, you may not see a seedhead. Identifying what type of turfgrass you are working with is important.

5 Seedhead Examples Bermudagrass seedheads have a helicopter blade shape. Several turfgrasses have spiked seedheads like this St. Augustinegrass. Photo from UGA

6 What type of seedhead is present? If good mowing practices are followed, you may not see a seedhead. Identifying what type of turfgrass you are working with is important. Does the grass have stolons or rhizomes to help it spread?

7 These bermudagrass stolons are one of the reasons this grass is so hard to keep out of flowerbeds. Bermudagrass rhizomes spread under the ground. They are the other reason this grass is hard to keep out of flowerbeds!

8 This centipedegrass has stolons but no rhizomes. St. Augustinegrass also has stolons but no rhizomes. Zoysiagrass has stolons and some rhizomes. These are all clues to help with grass identification.

9 What type of seedhead is present? If good mowing practices are followed, you may not see a seedhead. Identifying what type of turfgrass you are working with is important. Does the grass have stolons or rhizomes to help it spread? Being able to determine the vernation, arrangement of the leaves in the budshoot, can help with identification.

10 Vernation, or arrangement of leaves in the budshoot, is either folded in the bud or rolled in the bud. Folded in the bud appears flat, or two dimensional. It pops as you roll it between your fingers. Rolled in the bud is more cylindrical. It smoothly moves as you roll it between your fingers. This is bermudagrass. This is zoysiagrass.

11 Another angle of rolled in the bud. As with any plant id, a hand lens can be helpful to see the details! Think of a rolled up newspaper.

12 Now that we have reviewed some identification tools, let s look at some common Georgia grass types. Cool-season grasses grow best during the cooler spring and fall months. They can become dormant or very stressed during our hot summer months and may require more water. We may see tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and ryegrass in Georgia.

13 Tall Fescue *The most popular cool-season turfgrass in Georgia *A bunch type grass with no stolons or rhizomes and is rolled in the bud *Primarily seeded in the fall; Kentucky 31 is the old standard but newer cultivars, such as the Rebels, show improved performance. *Not a good performer in the shade *Does best at mowing height of 2-3 inches *Grows best at a soil ph of 5.5 to 6.5

14 Sadly, fescue that is not being properly maintained can easily become this by August. The fact that fescue is a bunch type grass only adds to this demise. Weeds are opportunistic and will quickly invade a bare spot of ground.

15 Luckily, Extension publications like this one are readily available in print and online. They are useful for step-by-step lawn maintenance. Also, is full of useful lawn information.

16 Kentucky Bluegrass is usually seen in very Northern Georgia. However, breeders are working on cultivars that are more heat tolerant. This photo is a mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and ryegrass in Roswell, Georgia. Kentucky Bluegrass has rhizomes, so it will spread. It does best in partial shade and prefers a soil ph of 5.5 to 6.5. Mow it at a height of 2-3 inches. Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue are easy to differentiate. Fescue grass blades feel very rough to the touch while bluegrass blades are more smooth. Also, bluegrass spreads by rhizomes and is folded in the bud, while fescue is rolled in the bud. Kentucky Bluegrass

17 Ryegrass Annual ryegrass and perennial ryegrass are usually used as temporary, cool-season turfgrasses throughout Georgia. Ryegrass can be over-seeded in warm-season grass to provide winter color. However, this may damage the warm-season grass when the ryegrass competes for nutrients, sunlight, water, and space in the spring. Ryegrass can also be used for winter sports fields. This field is at Kennesaw State University.

18 Warm-season grasses grow best during the warm months when temperatures reach 80-95⁰F late spring through early fall. They turn brown and become dormant during the winter. The warm-season grasses we commonly see in home lawns in Georgia are bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, St. Augustinegrass, and centipedegrass.

19 Bermudagrass *Is the most widely used common warm-season grass in Georgia *Stolons and rhizomes make it difficult to keep out of flower beds *Tolerates a wide soil ph range but 5.5 to 6.5 is ideal *For home lawns, a mowing height of 1 1 ½ inches is preferred *Tifway 419 is the industry standard

20 Remember the helicopter shaped seedheads in bermudagrass.

21 Bermudagrass at Georgia State University Bermudagrass has folded in the bud vernation. This will be important when you need to differentiate between bermudagrass and zoysiagrass.

22 Remember folded in the bud? Folded in the bud appears flat, or two dimensional. Bermudagrass is folded in the bud. Let s look at several popular varieties of bermudagrass.

23 Tifgrand bermudagrass became commercially available in It was bred to have more shade tolerance. It is a darker green color than Tifway 419. Even so homeowners sometimes purchase pallets of Tifgrand for more shady areas and use the traditional Tifway for the very sunny spots.

24 It is important to realize that regardless of how turfgrass varieties are promoted, they are full sun plants. Shade tolerant does not mean thrives in shade. Even the most shade tolerant grass needs 5 to 6 hours of sun a day. Research shows that turfgrass planted in too little sun may appear healthy after the first year but by year two or three it will struggle. You will probably get calls from homeowners that want to know what type of grass can they grow in the shade. After all, they have heard of shade tolerant varieties. Remember there are several other plant types that do thrive in shade!!

25 This church league field was seeded with Bermuda Triangle, a mix of bermudagrass cultivars. Most bermudagrass is started with sod but seeding is becoming more popular.

26 Tifsport bermudagrass was bred for more cold tolerance which results in a longer growing season. It is easy to see why this is desirable for sports fields where fall sports can be played well into November. This grass has greater density than Tifway and tolerates a lower mowing height. This is a Tifsport field at Georgia Tech.

27 The most famous bermudagrass field in Georgia is the Tifway 419 field at the University of Georgia s Sanford Stadium in Athens. For sports field managers, safety of the athletes is the number one priority. And you can imagine the abuse the turfgrass takes during football season as 22 Division 1 athletes push and shove each other for 60 minutes of play.

28 Zoysiagrass *Forms a dense, beautiful lawn *Spreads by stolons and some rhizomes and is rolled in the bud *Likes a ph of *Prefers a mowing height of 1 to 2 inches *May need periodic dethatching *Mostly started by sodding or plugging *Most cultivars grow slowly compared to other grass species

29 Zoysiagrass seedheads Notice these spikes are very different from the bermudgrass helicopter seedheads. However, if the lawn is regularly mowed, you may not see the seedheads for a turfgrass identification!

30 Remember zoysiagrass is rolled in the bud!

31 Zeon Zoysiagrass There are several varieties of zoysiagrass that vary greatly in appearance.

32 Emerald zoysiagrass

33 Meyer zoysiagrass

34 St. Augustinegrass is that beautiful grass we see in the historic squares in Savannah and all over Disneyworld in Florida. Although it performs better in those warm climates, we are seeing St. Augustinegrass in more northern Georgia counties. The key for success in those counties is picking the right cultivar. Remember right plant, right place? Having a slightly warmer microclimate will also aid this grass.

35 St. Augustinegrass *Is propagated only by vegetative means (sod or plugs, no seed) *Is a coarse grass with wide leaves *Spreads by stolons and is folded in the bud *Prefers a ph of and likes a mowing height of 2-3 inches

36 These are the coarse, flat stolons of St. Augustinegrass.

37 Mercedes St. Augustinegrass This is a cultivar that shows good cold tolerance and good shade tolerance. Notice the microclimate of the woodlands around the lawn perimeter.

38 Centipedegrass *Is an apple green color instead of the typical grass green *Spreads by stolons, no rhizomes *Low and slow growing coarse grass *Mowing height is 1-2 inches *Has a pointed leaf tip and it folded in the bud *Likes a ph of 5.0 to 6.0; notice this is lower than other Georgia turfgrasses

39 Notice these centipedegrass seedheads Tifblair Centipedegrass

40 These St. Augustinegrass seedheads look very similar to the Centipedegrass seedheads we just saw. Photo from UGA files

41 So the question you are probably asking yourself is how do you tell the difference between St. Augustinegrass and centipedegrass! If they are side by side, the grass color should tell you. Remember centipedegrass is more apple green. But, here you can see the leaf tips are a big help.

42 Finally, Seashore Paspalum is another warmseason grass. The light green grass you may have noticed in the Atlanta Braves infield is Seashore Paspalum. It is not only attractive but, it helps slow the ball down during play. Seashore Paspalum is often used on coastal golf courses because it can handle higher salt content in water. As pretty as it looks while the Braves play ball, especially when they are winning, it is not suitable for us as a homeowner grass. It is too high maintenance!

43 Congratulations! You made it through the Master Gardener Turfgrass ID Review!! I hope this will be helpful as you deal with Extension clients and in your own yard. Let s see what you learned! A client brings in a turfgrass sample for identification. The grass has no seedheads. It is a warm-season grass with a fine textured leaf so you realize it is either a type of bermudagrass or zoysiagrass. How can you tell the difference?

44 By rolling the grass shoot between your fingers. If it easily rolls, it is rolled in the bud zoysiagrass. If it pops in your fingers it is more two dimensional and is folded in the bud. That means bermudagrass. Folded in the bud - bermudagrass Rolled in the bud - zoysiagrass

45 A client calls and wants to know what type of turfgrass she can plant under her oak trees. This area gets three hours of sun a day. What do you advise? You say none! No type of turfgrass will thrive with only three hours of sun a day. Great answer; good job!

46 Finally, a client wants to know how to take care of their tall fescue lawn. What do you advise? You give them one of the Tall-Type Fescue Lawn Calendar publications. Fantastic! This will give them a step-by-step approach to caring for their lawn all year long.

47 Thanks for participating in this Master Gardener Turfgrass ID Review. A special thanks to the Cobb County Master Gardener group who are always so very generous in letting me photograph their beautiful lawns! May your turfgrass always be healthy and beautiful! Becky Griffin Center for Urban Agriculture UGA Cooperative Extension