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What's this green stuff?

16 years ago

Before Thursday and Friday, we hadn't had any meaningful rain since the beginning of June. Needless to say, unirrigated turf had turned brown and crispy. I took these photos of the edge of the parking lot at my place of employment. This is all barely maintained turf: no irrigation, maybe one fert app per year, and occasional mowing. Most of it is KBG and fine fescue, with the odd clump of perennial rye or tall fescue, and this still-green grass at the edge.

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Shot with X250,D560Z,C350Z at 2007-07-28

Know what it is? Here's a little closer look.

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Shot with X250,D560Z,C350Z at 2007-07-28

A drought intolerant and high-maintenance species, eh?

A.J.

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Comments (5)

bestlawn
16 years ago
I'm beginning to believe the global crisis.
subywu
16 years ago
Yeah it shouldn't be so--the small patches of creeping bentgrass I recently plucked was a nice blue-green whereas most of my kbg lawn looked worse. At least it made it easier to identify for me.
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quirkyquercus
16 years ago
Bermuda!

Actually it does look like you got something creeping there in the bottom photo.
ajer16
Original Author
16 years ago
At the bottom left of the lower photo there is a crabgrass plant, but the rest of it is creeping bent. There are a number of such patches throughout this business park, and they all do remarkably well given the low maintenance levels. Like this one, the patches are all adjacent to sidewalks and parking areas. Next question: why is that? Here's a hint: this is in Michigan, and it snows here.

Quirky,

Speaking of bermudagrass, I've mentioned before that there is a strain of bermudagrass that's been growing on the campus of Michigan State Uuniversity for over 100 years. The turfgrass professors there have begun breeding activity with this stuff, since there is now a big move to push this species northward for athletic fields (see Purdue's football stadium). This might be our only hope to stop all the fields from turning into plastic.

A.J.
quirkyquercus
16 years ago
Be careful what you wish for. While they're at it maybe they can develop a strain that stays green for more than 4 months of the year in south transition.

I have some bent that got in to the neighbors yard that I guess had escaped when it was seeded and it is doing the same thing. Nobody's maintaining that either.

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