Notes from a Recent Tree Seminar

By Jason Ferrell and Donna Zandt

Pin Oak on right side of #7

This past week Assistant Superintendent, Jason Ferrell, along with Landscape Manager, Donna Zandt, attended a tree workshop in Belle Plain, KS. The speaker for the workshop was Tim McDonnell, the Community Forestry Coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service. The workshop covered areas of selecting and planting trees, drought stress, diseases and choosing the right tree for your location.

There are many different factors to consider when selecting a new tree. The most important are the size, condition and planting space for your location. It is also important to know what the disease and insect pressures are for your area in order to select trees that are resistant. A few of the more common diseases and insects in our area are pine wilt, canker and emerald ash borer.  Other things to look for when selecting a new tree are trees with a well-developed leader, no cross branches and free of mechanical or insect damage. 

Planting the tree can be the most critical step to a trees success. The two most common ways of purchasing a tree are either in a container or balled and burlapped. Container grown trees tend to have more trouble establishing due to spiraling of the roots while in the container. Before planting, the container must be removed and roots sliced and loosened to promote outward growth. For balled and burlapped trees, the top half of the wire basket and burlap should be removed to promote outward growth. Trees should be planted so that the root flare (which is right above the roots) should be at soil level. A soil ring that is 4 to 6 inches high should be built around the edge of the hole and covered with mulch.

As most of you know 2011 and 2012, were very hot and dry years that has caused a lot of stress on trees. Water is one of the most important resources for a trees growth. More than eighty percent of the variation in tree growth is because of water supply.

Growing periods with little water can lead to decreased rates of diameter and height, poor resistance to disease and insects, disruption of food production and distribution, and changes to the timing and rate of physiological processes, like fruit production and dormancy. The first visible sign of a tree experiencing drought conditions are wilting of the leaves.

As mentioned above when selecting a new tree, the size, condition and planting space for the location must be taken into consideration. Some trees for our area that are drought tolerant are Caddo Maple, Trident Maple, Red Oak, Shumard Oak, White Oak, Chinese Pistache, Golden Rain Tree and Lace Bark Elm.

           

Course Update

About the time I start thinking that fall is really here, we end up with another 90 degree day! Cool mornings have been nice but we continue to remain hot and dry.  Looks like Saturday may offer some relief.

The last couple of weeks have been busy on the golf course.  Similar to the spring, we have several things that need to get done in a short amount of time.  At the top of the list was greens aerification.  The solid tine, deep tine aerification has become the norm for us during fall aerification.  Great results, without the threat of greens not healing in before they shut down for the winter.  During this time we worked in an aggressive verticut and heavy topdressing.  As always with aerification, temporary headache for long term benefits.

Deep tine aerifier in action on Greens.

Along with greens aerification, we have also aerified all of the primary rough (approximately 40 acres) with our recently purchased Toro 1298 Aerifier.  This machine has been unbelievable.  We have not been as consistent with our fairway and rough aerification in past years.  With this new machine, I actually look forward to punching holes. Following aerification, we are working our way through seeding all of the rough throughout the course with Turf Type Tall Fescue.  Rough is a little beat up following these
practices.  Should see recovery over the next couple of weeks.

Aerifying rough with the Toro 1298.

Not to be left out, the Zoysia has seen its share of attention as well.  We start off with an application of 5-10-31.  A little Nitrogen and Iron for fall color, but we are mostly after the Potassium to help prepare the plant for the stresses of winter.  Along with the fertilizer, we are also applying one last application of products to help eliminate any Bermuda contamination.  And finally, we apply our preemergent to keep the weeds out over the winter (Poa annua is the main target) and last but not least is a fungicide application to prevent Large Patch of Zoysia in the spring.  Zoysia is an ideal turf for our area, however, it still has its fair share of inputs.

Heading into the weekend, we are hoping to see some rain.  For as wet as we were early in the season, we are equally as dry heading into fall.  Funny how weather never works out exactly the way you want it to!

Rough

After a season of record rain, the rough is once again a hot topic.  Early in the season the cool season Fescue and Bluegrass were thriving creating difficult playing conditions.  As the summer progressed, the Bermuda in the rough hits the peak of its growth stage with tough lies and hard to find errant shots.

Finding the ideal turf for our area is a never ending battle.  The cool season grasses look great during certain times of the year, unfortunately, the amount of water required to keep the grasses looking their best is almost unsustainable during a typical hot and dry summer.  The new fine bladed seeded Bermuda's would be an excellent choice for our rough, however, there is still a stigma attached to the dormant turf during our shoulder season's.  

There was a point we were discussing the use of Zoysia as a primary rough.  The Zoysia has proven to be a good choice in our Intermediate Rough cut at 1.25".  Zoysia at 1.5-2.0" might be too clumpy and thick.  This takes us back to the seeded Bermuda's.  With a height of cut under 2.0", the Bermuda will still make the fairway a premium, however, finding balls and putting a club on them will be much better compared to our current rough which ranges from 2.5-3.0" during the summer months.

Due to the time required to kill existing turf and establish new turf from seed, this conversion is not to be taken lightly.  Ideally, the project would take place in conjunction with other yet to be scheduled projects (such as bunkers, tees, greens, etc.).  Below is good article describing the steps to convert to an improved variety of Bermuda.  

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/MP477.pdf

Another option to consider would be to kill the existing stand and convert to a pure stand of Turf Type Tall Fescue.  This would completely remove the existing Bermuda that when combined with the cool season grasses makes for difficult playing conditions.  The trouble here, as we currently face, is an irrigation system not suited to water fairways separate from the rough.  Giving the rough what it needs leads to soft fairways.  I choose to prioritize the Zoysia fairways at the roughs expense.

Until the time comes, we will continue to make the best of our current stand of turf.  This week we will be lowering the height of cut in preparation for aerifying and seeding that we started today.  In the short term, conditions will be more playable.  Heading into next spring, the cycle will continue until significant changes are made.

Rough left of #18

Bermuda Control

Over the past couple of weeks we have been experimenting with a new product for removing unwanted Bermuda grass from cool season grass.  The primary areas we are targeting are the Collars and Intermediate Rough bordering our greens.  Both of these areas have historically suffered from Bermuda encroachment.  Up until now, our only reliable method of removing the Bermuda was a non selective kill (Roundup) followed by sodding.  Even then, Bermuda seems to find its way back within a year or two.

Fortunately, BASF has come up with a product called Pylex that is (so far) showing positive results for removing the Bermuda in these areas. 
 

Day 4 after treatment

Day 10 after treatment

The photos above are of the first test plot from the chipping green collar.  After seeing the results, we have also treated areas on #16 collar, as well as the Intermediate Rough on #1 Green.

#16 Collar

 

Intermediate Rough on #1 Green

 
As you can see, the product is definitely having an impact on the Bermuda, with minimal impact to the desired turf.  We will continue to experiment with small areas around the course, with the hope of moving forward next season with a plan for Bermuda eradication in the Collars and Intermediate Rough.

Fall Aerification Schedule

Over the years, the one constant in our greens management program has been the commitment to aerification.  What started out as a simple spring and fall coring has now incorporated the use of venting greens with pencil tines throughout the season.  For our greens especially, keeping them open and breathing is the single most important practice we utilize.

Along with the aerification, we also use this time to work in an aggressive verticutting with a heavy sand topdressing.  Greens take a temporary setback with the disruption but the long term benefits are clear.

For the fall of 2013 we will begin aerification on September 10th.  Due to a Monday outside event and a Tuesday WGA Invitational our first full day of aerification will be the 11th. The schedule is as follows:

•  Tuesday September 10th:      Aerify Practice Greens.
• Wednesday September 11th:  Aerify Front Nine Greens.
• Thursday September 12th:      Aerify Back Nine Greens.

Throughout the process we will have at least 9 holes available for play each day.  Since we are only utilizing the deep tine aerifier, without pulling a core, this should be less disruptive compared to our spring aerification.  I would expect greens to be decent by the middle of the following week.
 

Golf Course Update

Wanted to give you a quick update on where we are with the golf course.  So far this week we have had a little over an inch of rain.  Not too much, but on top of an already wet golf course, it felt more like three inches of rain!

On Monday we finished mowing all of the rough before the rain moved in.  The front nine rough was actually cut twice, which made a big improvement.  Today (Thursday) we were able to get started again with the rough.  Still a little wet, but we are making progress.  Our biggest concern is the 50% chance of rain for tonight.  If we miss this rain, the golf course will be completely mowed for the first time in over two weeks.  As you can imagine, we are praying for no rain tonight!

Through all of this weather, the fairways have been slower to dry out compared to the rest of the course.  For all the benefits of Zoysia, the downside is the tendency to act like a sponge following a rain event.  Luckily, as slow as the Zoysia  has been growing, it hasn't been as bad as you might expect.

Along those same lines, if we miss the rain tonight, I would expect to get carts off the path on Friday.  Any amount of rain, would limit our ability to mow or get carts off the path.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we deal with record rainfall this summer. 

Golf Course Update

Unfortunately, the main topic of conversation for the last three weeks hasn't changed.  We continue to experience near record rainfall in our area and throughout the state.  Since July 14th it has rained 17 out of the last 25 days.  Seven of the rain events were over an inch, with three of them over 2".  Since July 1st we've had almost 14" of rain.  To put that in perspective, last year during this same time frame, we had .35" of rain.  Looking ahead there is an 80% chance of rain tonight, 70% chance for Thursday, before (hopefully) clearing off for the weekend.

On the bright side, our city's source of drinking water, Cheney Lake, is now 95% full.  The severe drought we have experienced for the last few years is beginning to ease.  However, the most direct impact to Wichita Country Club is the savings associated with irrigating the property.  Through July, we have used 63% less water in 2013 compared to 2012.  Based on where we are for the month of August, we may not need to irrigate until the middle of the month.  Certainly, there are numerous positives that come with the rainfall.

For all the positives, we are struggling to maintain the golf course in the wet conditions.  The biggest impact has been our inability to mow the rough.  Luckily, we were able to mow the entire golf course on Thursday of last week.  Since then it has been too wet for our equipment.  Rough is currently 6-7" tall.  We have three fairways (12, 13, and 15) that have not been mowed in over two weeks.  13 and 15 went completely under water in an earlier rain, 12 was slow to dry out; preventing us from mowing these fairways with the others.

Healthy Rough!

  Tees and greens have stayed on a (mostly) normal mowing schedule due to better drainage.  We have also been using push mowers around greens to give some relief from the tall grass.  Unfortunately, we can't push mow the whole thing!   

Outside of the lack of mowing, the course is looking great.  We are always concerned with disease during these weather patterns.  So far, our preventative applications are working.  Although the weather has put a damper on late summer golf, we are setting up for great conditions this fall.

I will continue to keep you posted through Twitter (@wccbrian) and the blog.