Poa Annua
We want to bring a fescue turf issue to your attention, because now (late Spring) is the time you easily see its effects.
Poa Annua is an annual grass that germinates in late Summer/early Fall and spreads throughout the Winter and Spring. For many homeowners, in the Winter and Spring, it is a wondrous sight. They believe they have a great stand of grass! Sadly, all of this is short lived, and the annual bluegrass dies off quickly when the temps rise. Poa can be easily seen in late Spring. As the temperatures rise through the Spring season, Poa turns from a dark green to a light green, and finally can be seen as light brown patches among all of the real turf grass (which is green). Eventually these patches will become bare spots. Unfortunately, Poa is hard to stop. Since it germinates at around the same time we aerate and seed your property with fescue in the Fall , typical pre-emergents cannot be used to stop it. Once it has started growing in the fescue, it completely takes over an area because of its aggressive growth nature.
I think you can agree if you drive around Raleigh, that it is even worse this year!
Photo taken from the NC State Extension website
What does this mean for my lawn:
Anywhere that you see these light patches is an area that will soon be completely bare. Your fescue grass in these areas has been crowded, deprived of all nutrition, and eliminated.
What will happen next year:
Depending on conditions (hurricanes, etc.) the problem could be less, the same, or more next year. If you look closely at the tuft of Poa in the picture, make sure to notice all of the seed heads. ALL of those seed heads will be lying dormant until the first cool nights of Fall allow it to germinate. So potentially, there could be much more next year.
What can TLG Turfcare do:
There is a product available that TLG has had great success with the past few years. It is extremely effective! The treatment involves 2 complete turf spray applications, approx. 30 days apart, in the fall. These treatments not only provide post-emergent control (kills what has germinated), but pre-emergent control as well (keeps it from germinating).
Is this going to be an annual cost for our budget:
This is not something that would be needed every year, but rather occasionally to "reset" the amount of Poa in your turfgrass. The best thing to do is look around now, and see how much there is in your lawn. Only you can decide if the level is tolerable. Our opinion is that every fescue lawn will need these treatments at some point. For many, the time has already come.
We hope this info helps, and gives you a little bit of "cocktail" knowledge if the topic comes up while you are strolling through the neighborhood!
Have a leisurely read of this article on Annual Bluegrass (Poa Annua) Spring Invasion, published by the NC State Extension, discussing more details on the problem (I also recommend a Trophy beer while you read!)
If you would like a quote for these treatments, please let us know.