For those along the east and south east coast [even as far west as Adelaide] it has been a resurgence of cooler weather in mid September. While many might have been thinking about preparing a new area for seed or turf sod, it is a bit of a setback - more cool, wet and poor sunshine weather for September.
But looking at longer term averages it does seem to indicate that October is about the earliest safe time to get motivated to develop your new summer growing turf area in much of the east and south east of Australia.
Planting too early can be a total disaster - with low temperatures meaning slow, uneven, poor germination and emergence as seed reacts to the tough conditions with slow and irregular development and growth. Also relevant is the amount of cloudy conditions providing inadequate sunshine for decent seedling growth. These struggling seedlings can then be exposed to plant diseases and ..........it is a failure, as seedlings die.
Prudence dictates.........wait a little longer into October.
As an example, [ using data from Essendon]
September - mean min temp - 6.7C and mean max temp - 16.8C
October - mean min temp - 8.3C and mean max temp - 19.3C.
More recently, daily weather data for Melbourne for September is distinctly cooler than average- http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW3033.latest.shtml - shows recent weather for Olympic Park in Melbourne clarifying that cool weather still is common in September 2016.
While Melbourne provides an example, checking BOM data for your location should help you to more effectively plan a successful planting. Avoid being too early and suffering from poor weather!
The other notable factor is the amount of sunshine with October much higher than September, with both daylength and solar energy higher in October, which normally boosts growth of seedlings.
It may also be prudent to delay fertiliser application, for a few weeks , with the high recent rainfall likely to cause leaching of nutrients. Longer term weather forecasting seems to indicate more wet, cool,weather possible over the next few weeks.
While it is normal to expect weather to warm from September, the issue is that this year this is expected to be slower due to ongoing cool and damp weather, with lower insolation.
Outcome - be careful and keep a more vigilant watch on the weather and plan for any turf planting or turf seed sowing to be delayed until maybe mid October. And be prepared for change.
We would like to sell clients zoysia seed to be ready for sowing - but do strongly urge zoysia seed users to carefully check both long term data averages, and recent monthly data to aid your decision making. We want to see a successful seed sowing, and can help with data checking if concerned. Our current view for much of temperate areas in Australia is - wait a few more weeks before sowing summer turf seed.
Showing posts with label cold weather tolerance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold weather tolerance. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2016
Monday, November 02, 2015
Growing Zoysia from Seed in Melbourne
Australians generally are conditioned to having a green turf area in the winter months. In many other parts of the world you may have a green lawn in the warmer months, but a dry and brown barren area in winter, or possibly the opposite with a green area in the cool winter and dry and brown in warmer summer weather.
It is often possible in most parts of Australia with careful choice of turf species as well as a suitable variety, to have green turf year round. But there are compromises as often either winter or summer is a bit of a stress time.
There are exceptions with turf adapted to altitude in the tropics often able to handle the winter and summer satisfactorily in Australia, or at least in much of the country, for example - kikuyu grass used as a turf, as well as some varieties of couch eg wintergreen, with both coping with both cool and hot weather.
While zoysia is a great turf from spring through autumn, it may not be ideal where there are cold winters. It usually turns a lovely straw colour. It is possible to oversow a winter active grass such as rye or fescue to meet your needs if a green turf is absolutely needed. but leaving it natural is also okay. It is a relatively short period of several months, and often the weather is not ideal for being outside anyway.
In large cities there are often areas with varying conditions - and cities do tend to be a little warmer than nearby areas outside of the urban conditions, so picking areas where zoysia may remain green or discolour is not always easy.
In late 2014 a modest area was sown to Compadre zoysia in suburban Melbourne.
It did wonderfully well, and by late summer it was thriving. Come winter........it went a golden straw colour, and is now - springtime in 2015 - rapidly regreening and is expected to once again thrive in the warmer months providing a low maintenance but very functional turf area with low mowing requirements.
This is exactly what the zoysia areas in China and Korea where the grass is naturalised, do each year - green up in the warm months yet go dormant in winter. It works very well. Summer in both areas is very hot and humid, while winters are cold to very cold.
So remember that zoysia - think Compadre as more suitable, but Zenith is okay too - will be able to grow in Melbourne, but may not be green in winter. Also remember that winter 2014 was cold, and not all winters are that cold.
[ photo credit - G Speers, Melbourne]
It is often possible in most parts of Australia with careful choice of turf species as well as a suitable variety, to have green turf year round. But there are compromises as often either winter or summer is a bit of a stress time.
There are exceptions with turf adapted to altitude in the tropics often able to handle the winter and summer satisfactorily in Australia, or at least in much of the country, for example - kikuyu grass used as a turf, as well as some varieties of couch eg wintergreen, with both coping with both cool and hot weather.
While zoysia is a great turf from spring through autumn, it may not be ideal where there are cold winters. It usually turns a lovely straw colour. It is possible to oversow a winter active grass such as rye or fescue to meet your needs if a green turf is absolutely needed. but leaving it natural is also okay. It is a relatively short period of several months, and often the weather is not ideal for being outside anyway.
In large cities there are often areas with varying conditions - and cities do tend to be a little warmer than nearby areas outside of the urban conditions, so picking areas where zoysia may remain green or discolour is not always easy.
In late 2014 a modest area was sown to Compadre zoysia in suburban Melbourne.
It did wonderfully well, and by late summer it was thriving. Come winter........it went a golden straw colour, and is now - springtime in 2015 - rapidly regreening and is expected to once again thrive in the warmer months providing a low maintenance but very functional turf area with low mowing requirements.
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| Compadre Zoysia turf in Melbourne - Sown late 2014 - photo from 2 March 2015 |
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| Sown late 2014, photo in mid October 2015 about 1 year from sowing after 1st winter |
This is exactly what the zoysia areas in China and Korea where the grass is naturalised, do each year - green up in the warm months yet go dormant in winter. It works very well. Summer in both areas is very hot and humid, while winters are cold to very cold.
So remember that zoysia - think Compadre as more suitable, but Zenith is okay too - will be able to grow in Melbourne, but may not be green in winter. Also remember that winter 2014 was cold, and not all winters are that cold.
[ photo credit - G Speers, Melbourne]
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