the grasshopper's gazette frost bite

Wow! What a winter this has been! Meteorologists are calling this the coldest winter Florida has seen in over a decade. It has been a few years since we experienced a freeze, much less multiple freezes back to back. This weather has done some significant damage to trees, plants, and grass. There are several factors that determine just how much of an impact this cold weather makes on your lawn and landscape.

GRASS TYPE

Grasses are impacted differently when the cold weather moves in. The variety of southern turf you have plays a huge role. The three most common grasses in The Villages are: Zoysia, St. Augustine and Bahia. Bahia will stop growing almost immediately when it is hit with cold temperatures. It will lose quite a bit of its color but stay a uniform shade because of it’s deep root structure. Zoysia grass will turn brown and basically stop growing as soon as it is hit with frost. The grass will stay dormant until we begin getting back into the 80’s. St. Augustine will turn patchy and have some green blades mixed into the brown. Its growth will slow substantially. All of the grasses will begin to grow again in the Spring.

GRASS HEALTH

The health of the grass going into winter plays a big role in how well the grass will handle a frost. Thick, healthy turf protects it’s root structure and will stay greener longer into winter. This type of turf can take years of a proper fertilization, watering, and pest management program to achieve. Any areas that have struggled during summer will become more evident as soon as that first frost appears.

SOIL TYPE

The type of soil underneath the turf helps determine just how much cold it takes to impact the grass. A light, well drained, sandy soil will hold less water and provide more air flow which will enable the root structure of the grass to be more impacted by the cold temperatures. Rich, darker soil helps hold the moisture around the roots, better insulating them from the cold. Nutrient rich soil helps give the turf the food it needs to fight off the cold. There is some controversy within the green industry as to whether or not turf takes in nutrients during dormancy. However, everyone agrees that as soon as the weather warms, the grass begins growing and will desperately need that nutrition readily available . 

MOISTURE

Proper moisture plays an important role in protecting your turf. This is why if you are an Ahead of the Grass customer you’ve received quite a few email reminders to not turn off your water. You can decrease the amount of time on your irrigation program because we are not as warm and water isn’t evaporating as quickly, but please don’t turn it off. All plants need water to survive. The turf is dormant not dead. Grass also needs water during winter to help insulate it’s root structure to protect it from the cold. In most cases we recommend you keep watering twice per week but decrease the time by half. 

TREE COVERAGE

Exposure plays a big role in how well your lawn will do when a frost comes. If you drive around, take notice of the greenest lawns after a tough winter. Chances are you will find them under a tree canopy. The trees act as nature’s blanket and helps prevent the frost from settling onto the turf below. Some variety of trees, like maple, sycamore and oak, will drop their leaves to help add that bonus of a leaf blanket. If you leave the leaves past the worst of winter you will uncover a beautiful, green lawn.