CUTTING BACK

example of a whorled growth pattern

this is an azalea we have pruned, it should leaf out in a matter of no time.

Once again the azaleas produced many bright and brilliant colors giving the golf course a great back drop. The flowering has ended and now the pruning has begun. Although it's not a pretty transition, it's a practice that needs to be performed in order to have a thriving bloom the following spring. The azaleas on a few holes have become too tall and dense due to their vigorous growing habit. They are being thinned and pruned to about two feet tall.

The azalea plant has what is called a whorled growth. This means that each year new growth can be determined by a stem with several other newer stems branching off it. Pruning azaleas is simple. To keep bushes compact, tip-pinch frequently, starting after flowering ends and continuing until mid-June. All pruning will be complete on the golf course by June, weather permitting.

Lace bugs can cause a major problem on azaleas. Native to Japan, the female will lay eggs on the underside of leaves along the mid rib. The azalea acts as a host supplying nutrients for the insect, and in return is very injurious to the plant.

To control lace bugs from infecting and feeding on the azaleas, a granular insecticide is spread. On the grounds crew we find Merit, a systemic insecticide, works exceptionally well on all azalea plants we maintain. Systemic is defined as; absorbed and circulated by a plant or other organism so as to be lethal to pests that feed on it. A systemic insecticide will give longer residuals controlling the insects for a longer period of time throughout the year. The azalea will absorb the granular Merit within itself to defend against lace bugs that try to feed on the plant tissue. The active ingredient in Merit is Imidacloprid at 0.5%. As of today, all of the azaleas at Squire Creek have had the annual application of Merit. They are now prepared and ready to defend against an attack from lace bugs.

All the necessary procedures have been taken to insure a healthy bloom. So just sit back and wait to see what the azaleas have in store for next spring.

Annuals

Front of clubhouse, the shorter plants are foxglove and others are larkspur


clubhouse entrance, top plants are poppies and petunias, bottom plants are petunias

tennis courts, yellow is coreopsis, poppies are red and purple, to the left of the coreopsis is the dianthus ( deep pink in color)

The annuals beds around the grounds are absolutely beautiful at this time and we can expect them to be in full bloom over the next couple of weeks. Everything you see now was planted late last fall. A general rule of thumb is you plant a season ahead. For example, we planted pansies last fall for winter and early spring color. We have now pulled the pansies and planted petunias for late spring and summer color.

Annual beds consist of:

• Coreopsis-member of the sunflower, yields a profusion of yellow flowers over a long bloom season, likes full sun


• Poppy- they provide bright spring color, like well drained soil and full sunlight, can be used as cut flowers (when used as cut flowers sear the cut end of the stem in a flame before placing in water)
  
• Foxglove- erect plants that are about 2-3 feet tall, form low foliage clumps topped by spikes of tubular flowers shaped like fingertips of a glove; color include purple, yellow, white, and pastels, blooms attract hummingbirds, they prefer a light shade


• Dianthus- form an attractive evergreen mat or tuft of grass-like green, gray-green, blue-green, or blue-gray leaves. Single, semi-double, or double flowers in white and shades of pink, rose, red, yellow, and orange; many have a rich, spicy fragrance. Main bloom period for most is spring into early summer


• Petunia- These flowers have lost some popularity in the south because they have performed poorly in the hot, humid weather. In the past few years they have made a comeback mainly because of several new heat tolerant types, such as the trailing wave series, the new hybrids are low-growing, bushy to spreading plants with thick, broad leaves that are slightly sticky to touch. Flowers vary from funnel-shaped single blooms to very double, heavily ruffled one reminiscent of carnations. The color range is phenomenal.


• Larkspur-this plant grows 1-5 feet tall, flowers are up to 1.5 inches wide, borne on vertical spikes above deeply cut, almost fern-like leaves; blossom colors include blue, lilac, purple, pink, rose, salmon, and white. seed in the fall and plant in full sunlight

Topdressing

topdressing application


Everybody wants to know, what is with all the sand on the greens? The answer to that question is, topdressing sand. Topdressing sand is a prepared sand mix added to the surface of a turfgrass and worked in by brooming, matting, raking, and/or irrigation to smooth the surface. This also firms the turf by working soil in among stolons and thatch forming materials, and enhances thatch decomposition.

We topdress greens for several reasons:

• smooth the playing surface


• control thatch development


• promote recovery from injury and disease


• protect the crown of the plant from desiccation
  

The days proceeding a topdressing you will see us brushing and rolling the greens to help the sand penetrate the turfgrass canopy. Please do not be confused, topdressing is a cultural practice that is vital to the health of our turfgrass .

The Colors of Squire Creek

Flowering Dogwood

Eastern Redbuds

Mayapples

Flame Buckeye

Fisher Pink

After the long hard winter a sign of spring has finally arrived. The temperatures have been great and the flowering plants are showing off their true beauty. Here are a few of the plants you will see around the course this time of year:

1. Flowering Dogwood- (Cornus Flordia) This has been called the most beautiful native tree in North America. The flowers are white and the cover the whole tree. Most dogwoods take full sun, but will tolerate light shade. They make excellent lawn, patio, or understory trees. They like moist, acidic, well drained soil with lots of organic matter. The pruning of this tree is seldomly necessary except when their is a need to remove weak or crossed branches.


2. Redbud- (Cersis) This deciduous tree or shrub is one of the most charming native trees we have in our area. The redbud is valuable for bridging the color gap between early flowering fruit trees (peach, plum) and the late flowering dogwoods and cherries. The flowers are small and rosy pink or lavender in color. Redbuds are effective as a specimen or understory tree.


3. Mayapple-(Podophyllum) New growth pushing up through leaf litter is one of the earliest signs of spring in the wooded areas. Mature leaves of mayapples are 1 foot wide, divided into 5-9 lobes, and are shiny dark green in color. The plant then produces a white flower under the leaf. Mayapples spread very quickly and produces a great contrast to the woodland bottoms around the course.


4. Flame Buckeye- (a. pavia) Native to the eastern U.S. this bulky shrub grows 3 -20ft tall and just as wide, with an irregular rounded crown. This plant bears narrow, erect 10 inch clusters of bright red flowers. Buckeyes do extremely well in warm, humid climates.


5. Azaleas- These are arguably the Souths favorites shrubs. Azaleas need acidic, well drained, organically enriched soil that should neither get too dry nor too soggy. An azalea loves the ph to be between a 5-6, this is the main reason they do so well in our area. When you plant an azalea you always need to plant the root ball slightly above the soil level. These plants have an extremely shallow root system. It is very important when watered to wet the roots and the foliage. In the spring after the bloom fade, you can feel free to prune, mulch and fertilize them. Some of the different azaleas we have are: Fisher Pink, Formosa, George Lindsey Taber, Mrs. G.G. Gerbing, and Sunglow

Gypsum Application to Greens

50lb bag of Gypsum

Pellets on 18 green

Application of 18 Green

Last Monday we applied Gypsum to the Greens. Gypsum in a mineral or rock composed of Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate that can be pulverized into micro capsulated pellets and bagged for easy to use applications. This was applied to help flush unwanted sodium build up in our sand base greens. The calcium in gypsum replaces the sodium from the soil exchange sites, which can then be leached with water. This build up occurs when we have to resort to using the water from our water treatment pond. This is considered effluent water and is very high in sodium. In addition to applying gypsum to our greens, we also apply it to all the areas at the clubhouse that are irrigated with city water. The city water is high in bicarbonates and sodium. This destroys the structure of the soil and makes growing high quality turf a difficult task.

Weed Control with Preemergence Herbicides

Example of a weed not treated with a root inhibitor preemerge

This is a weed that was treated with a root inhibitor preemerge,

Look closely and you can see the clubbed roots,

This particular preemerge was barricade(prodiamine)

Another example of clubbed roots

At Squire Creek we apply two application of Preemergence herbicides a year. Preemergence herbicides are applied to the turfgrass site prior to weed-seed germination and form a barrier at, or right below, the soil surface. Most preemergence herbicides prevent cell division during the weed seed germination as the emerging seedling comes into contact with the herbicide. Weeds that already have emerged at the time of application are not controlled consistently by preemergence herbicides because their primary growing points escape treatment. With this in mind you all can see how important the timing of the application has to be.


Preemerge herbicides are broken into 3 categories:

1. Root Inhibitor-These herbicides inhibit the steps in plant cell division responsible for chromosome separation and cell wall formation. Roots are relatively few in number and club shaped. They bind to soil colloids and are unlikely to leach. These root inhibitors do not translocate. (ex. prodiamine, oryzaline,pendimethalin)
   
2. Shoot Inhibitor- These herbicides can be applied to seedling grasses, some broadleaves and suppression of some perennials from tubers and rhizomes. This group is a very volatile and can be used in preplant situations. (ex. oxadiazon)


3. Shoot and Root Inhibitors-These herbicides effect the shoots and the roots. (ex. dithiopy)

Tee Boxes

The question everybody wants an answer to is, what are the red lines for on the tee boxes? The answer is, those are going to be the new tee boxes. We chose to do this for several reasons:

1. Straighten the tees and align them with the fairway properly
   
2. To have consistent sizes through out the course ( we have marked all the tees 21 feet wide, except for the par 3's and we left them as large as they were)
   
3. Simply to reduce maintenance cost (mowing, top-dressing, aerifying, and pesticide usage)
   

I think these few modifications will improve our tee boxes aesthetically and save at the same time.