One interesting thing about the turf maintenance industry is that no 2 years are alike.
2010 was a very difficult year for fescue turf. Last year, the Charlotte area received over 80 days with temperatures above 90 degrees. Fescue is a cool season turf that thrives for about 8 to 9 months a year. June, July, and August are extremely stressful for fescue in a normal weather year. When the temperature hits 90 degrees, fescue will go into dormancy. The return of cooler temperatures revives the fescue and allows it to put on new growth. With the prolonged heat last summer, the fescue that went dormant suffered mass root loss and did not recover. Because of this we lost a good percentage of the turf that would have normally come back with the cooler temperatures.
Overseeding normally allows us to repopulate the turf in bare areas caused by heat stress. However, once we did the fall overseeding in 2010, the weather threw us another curve-ball. We basically went from the extreme heat, had 1 month of normal temperatures, and then went straight to below normal temperatures. This short window of opportunity did not give the seed enough time to fully germinate and develop. With this scenario a certain percentage of the seed either did not germinate or did not survive. That is some of the reason for the bare areas that we are left with now in many landscapes.
If there are bare areas, weeds have room to flourish. We've seen an abundance of weeds this year as a result. The good news is that when used in conjunction, pre-emergent and post emergent sprays can eliminate most weeds. Spraying for weeds is a service we provide to the majority of our maintenance clients. (Check your contract if you are unsure if we provide you with this service.) If you have questions about your lawn, please call our office and we're happy to help or set up a free analysis.
Thanks,
The AA Tex Lawn Team
