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.

Backyard lawn update

Not much to report in the backyard. It really hasn't changed a whole lot since my last update; there's still a ways to go. But considering how it looked at the end of last year, I'm content.

Here are some photos:

I'm wondering if perhaps it might want a little fertilizer?

I'm also thinking that I'll likely need to put down some seed this fall to fill in those very bare spots. Plus, of course, there's the "supina bluegrass experiment" that has been floating around in my head...

Just how shade tolerant is supina bluegrass? A pondering of an experiment

So I think I've seen that supina bluegrass is quite shade tolerant, but I was doing some wondering today as I watched our irrigation system water the weeds out under the trees (perhaps years ago there used to be grass out there when the trees were smaller?): just how much shade can supina tolerate? Our backyard has numerous mature trees, and thus lots of shade. The lawn we do have back there gets some mid-day sun due to some clearing provided by our deck and the trees being further from our house.

Left side

Center

Right side

I am quite certain that we could extend our lawn further under the tree canopy. In the morning as the sun comes up over our house the light shines back under the trees since the lower limbs have been removed up to probably 15-20 feet. The question is just how far into the shade zone can the supina bluegrass tolerate?

There would be some benefits if it could grow there:

1. Obviously more awesome grass to look at, walk, run, and sleep on (duh)
2. Potentially better protection from erosion during heavy rains
3. It would help keep weeds from growing there which I continually have to fight
4. The irrigation system already reaches out there, so no adjustments would need to made

Hmmmmmmm...

Backyard Lawn Update

I covered the front lawn in my previous post, now on to the backyard. Considering how the lawn looked after last year, I had no idea what to expect this spring, but my expectations where low. Well, I must say that I'm impressed! Still far from perfect, it's at least somewhat beginning to look like a lawn again!

I think this area will need some love this fall.

Another sparse area.

Kinda looks lawnish!

Utter barefoot bliss. This patch is the best!

Another area that needs some love.

I transplanted this patch by the brick in order to help
prevent erosion in this area during heavy rain. Need to
transplant some more.

And this is my favorite surprise. I noticed these little grasslings coming up in some of the bare areas throughout the lawn. While I'm not certain (yet), I think that these were actually from seed heads of the grass from when I mowed it last. It was seeding at the time and I wondered it it might be possible for those seeds to survive and germinate. I think some did!

New grasslings sprouting in a bare area!

Now that I'm aware I'm going to try to keep the lawn well watered and hope these little guys can survive the summer! I'll note that not all bare areas had so many sprouting, but I did see some in other areas of the lawn. It'll be interesting to see how things progress; perhaps there are more seeds that haven't germinated yet.

First Mowing

Lawns have greened up quickly in the last week or so with the warmer weather. So I got out and mowed for the first time of the season yesterday. Although most of the lawn didn't need it yet, I mowed the front lawn anyway to mulch up some leaves from the oak that fall and gather on the lawn during the winter.

Here are some photos of the front yard (after mowing):

Most of this grass didn't need mowing

Lots of weeds

Note the patch of the dubbed "new invader" on the left (patch of lighter colored grass).

Not much growth here

Overall, not looking too great. Lots of weeds again due to thinned turf. And it seems like the new grass planted in the fall of 2011 is again being slow to green up. This lead to the fungus problems last year. I'm not about to let that happen again, so I decided to be more proactive this year and applied a generous portion of fertilizer along with a pre-emergent crabgrass application (which also contains fertilizer). I ended up putting down about 4 lbs of Endure Crabgrass Preventer Plus and about 6 lbs of Espoma Organic Lawn Food which in total comes to roughly 1.15 lbs N/1000 sq. ft. (0.475 from the Endure and 0.675 from the Espoma). I applied more liberally to the younger grass. In addition the Espoma also contains some Phosphate and Potash (8% and 6% respectively). Lots of rain is in the forecast, so we shall see how this turns out.

On to the backyard:

Still a sad sight in the backyard considering how nice it was last spring and early summer, but I have hope that I can get it back, even if I have to plant more seed this fall. It's knowing when to fertilize that's the tricky part.

In other news...

The phlox is sprouting:

I trimmed back the hydrangea tree again:

The hybrid tea rose bush is growing:

The hydrangea bushes are growing:

The Sedums are sprouting:

And it appears that the Boxwoods are doing just fine after last years drought as I see new growth on most of them (and flowering on some):

The second from the right is the most iffy.

I guess I haven't mentioned this before, but I lost one Holly bush due to the drought last summer (despite watering them). It's visible in the last two photos above (the middle Holly in the upper right of both photos). I'll have to replace it this year. I don't think I lost anything else due to the drought, thankfully.

That's all for now.