What's up, Supina?

Ok, so I've been focused on the front lawn and haven't said much about the backyard in some time. That's because I don't have a clue what's going on back there, but it sure doesn't look good and it seems to only be getting worse. The following photos show the progression.

Here are some shots from 7/26:

A closer shot of a patch that appears to be dying

And some from 9/1:

It's not a pretty sight. I just wish I knew what was wrong.

This is what I do "know":

1. It doesn't appear to be a fertilization issue. Not long after the first set of shots from July I gave some fertilizer to two small areas of the lawn and it didn't seem to make any difference.
2. I've also been keeping it well irrigated, watering roughly every other day or so. That said, we haven't had much rain since late June.
3. The summer hasn't been particularly hot (unlike last summer). There was a hot stretch in mid-July (7/14 - 7/19) with highs in the low 90s, and also the end of August (8/19 - 8/31).
4. There are some areas that seem to be fairing better than others - why?
5. From what I can tell (which is next to nothing), it doesn't appear to be a disease.

My best theory at this point is that it's simply the heat since supina bluegrass doesn't like it hot. This theory will soon be tested as fall arrives, at which point I'm very much hoping it will spring back to life. At this point since I don't have a clue what to do about it, I'm just going to wait it out and see what happens.

I think it goes without saying that my "experiment" idea is off for this year, which is just as well since I'd barely have the time for such a project.

Caring for turf in times of heat and drought

This post will be a summary of some recent heat/drought-related posts off the always informative Purdue University Turf Tips site. I don't want to forget this great information.

The first post is titled The Heat is On!. This post gives some great information about keeping your lawn healthy in times of heat and drought like we've had this year (and also last year) in central Indiana. Here's my takeaway points:

• Temps above 87 degrees will cause cool season grasses to stop growing (due to photorespiration which occurs instead of photosynthesis)
• Lack of water can cause some grasses to go dormant such as Kentucky bluegrass (but not tall fescue!)
• When in drought, any traffic on the grass can cause damage to the plants, so don't mow and stay off the grass as much as possible
• You can keep grass green through drought by watering about 1 inch per week
• To keep grass alive during drought, water with 1/2 inch of water every 2-4 weeks
• Irrigating in the morning is best

The second post is titled Turf: Dead or Alive? and provides information on how to determine if grass is still alive after a dry period has ended and there has been some rain that has otherwise greened up the lawn. If brown grass still remains in some places, don't despair because it might still be alive. To tell, pull up some of the dead blades and look underneath for new growth. If new blades are coming up, the grass will likely recover. I have noticed a few areas of our lawn that is still quite brown despite the rest of the lawn greening up after our recent rains and I've wondered if it is dead (even though I watered occasionally throughout the drought). I checked and there are a few blades of green that have and are come up, so I guess we'll see if it recovers!

And finally, another great resource related to irrigation is the Irrigation Practices for Homelawns (AY-7) publication (also by Purdue). Some takeaways from this publication:

• Overwatering can potentially cause just as much if not more damage than underwatering (resulting in increased crabgrass, increased disease, shallow rooting, and a waste of water)
• Water when the first visible signs of stress appear
• First signs of stress include a blueish-green color, and when footprints remain after walking on it (and later the grass will wilt and turn a grayish-green color, before turning brown and dying/going dormant)
• Water only when it's needed instead of a regular set schedule
• Most Indiana lawns need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week
• It's best to water all at once so that the water reaches the deepest roots
• To measure the amount of water applied, put a dish out and water for a set amount of time to calculate the rate
• The ideal time to water is 4-8am
• Dormant grass can survive up to 4-6 weeks without water
• Water 1 to 1.5 inches ever 4-6 in drought conditions (this conflicts with info above, so I'm not sure which is correct)

These posts and publications have been extremely useful to me and I'm very grateful for the information that Purdue has and continues to publish!