White floribunda rose by the fountain in full bloom.
It has been a tale of two extremes during the last month for the Grounds Department. In the middle of May the monsoons arrived and by the end of May we had accumulated around 7 inches of rain. Our normal procedure during heavy rains is to cease mowing operations and wait for a couple of days for the turf to dry out. Unfortunately, the wet weather did not cease after the wait period and we were forced to be more aggressive with mowing. The last half of May was so wet that we were unable to mow some areas with the riding mowers and had to walk and/or weed whip many rough areas around the course. Then the rain stopped. Currently, we are in a dry period and have switched our mowers for hoses. It was amazing how quickly the course changed from wet to dry. The irrigation system is now running and the cool season grasses are starting to show signs of stress, especially poa annua.
Poa annua (annual bluegrass) is a winter annual grass that typically germinates in the fall, goes to seed in the spring, and dies out in the heat of the summer. The seeds produced during the spring germinate again during the cooler temperatures of the following fall. It is a very prolific seed producer and can produce seedheads at very low mowing heights making golf courses an ideal place for poa to thrive. It has three main drawbacks. The first is its seed head production. When produced in the spring on putting green surfaces it decreases the smoothness and speed of the greens. The second is its inability to tolerate hot temperatures. Hot temperatures will severely stress the plant and eventually it will die off. The third is it is highly susceptible to many summer diseases, especially anthracnose.
The main reasons why poa annua is so prevalent at WHCC is because this is an older golf course with an abundant amount of shade. We do strive to suppress and limit its growth in the spring with PGRs and overseed with better turfgrass species; however it is almost impossible to fully eradicate. We keep as much of it green and alive, as possible, in the fairways, tees and greens during the summer by keeping adequate moisture in the soil, and syringing (keeping the soil temperatures down), but some of it will die and cause dead patches to occur. The great (or bad) thing about poa annua is that when the days get shorter and the temperatures cool off, the seed that was put down in the spring, will germinate and fill back in the bare areas.
Difference between solid stand of bentgrass vs bentgrass mixed with poa annua. Bentgrass is the darker green color on the bottom left corner.
Poa annua stressing in the rough
Annual bluegrass showing signs of heat stress on #15 fairway
The current hot and humid weather has created a great environment for cool season grass summer diseases to take hold. Anthroacnose, brown patch, pythium blight, and summer patch are all examples of some of the summer weather diseases that we are fighting against. The agronomy team has kept up with the spray applications and hopefully most of the diseases will not occur.
Spraying fairways
Also, we have begun to spray the course for broad-leaf weeds. The heavy rains, and now hot temperatures, have put this procedure on hold but will begin again when temperatures moderate.
Spraying broad-leaf weeds in the rough
The far practice tee has been aerated and the lower tee is currently in use. It should be healed and ready again in about three weeks.
Far practice tee after aeration
The gravel cart paths located on #4, #8, #11, and #18 have developed many pot holes. The crew has filled in many of these holes with crushed limestone.
#4 cart path after filling in holes
We have had a couple summer wind storms blow through leaving a lot of debris and large broken limbs to clean up.
broken limb in ash tree by #11 tee
Large limb hung up in the shagbark hickory tree by #17 tee.
On the horticulture side, all the summer annuals are planted. We have some new flowers including, bromeliads, cleome, gardenias, bamboo palms, and Mexican petunias. The new beds that were planted in the spring are filling in and starting to bloom. Now the maintenance of fertilizing, watering, and pruning take center stage and these plants should double in size by the 4th of July.
The bed by #13 tee with plants getting bigger
Late freeze damage on the taxus bushes by #5 tee. The early May frost caused this damage.
Perennials behind #11 green getting ready to bloom
Mexican petunias in front, elephant ears, and crotons in the back
Gardenia flower by the entrance.Very fragrant.
Bromeliads
The Delhi area has the nickname of "Floral Paradise of Ohio," and for good reason. At one time there were approximately 60 operating greenhouses in Delhi, now there are around 6. Here at WHCC we are trying to keep this nickname alive by purchasing our annuals from western hills distributors and taking pride in our horticulture program to help keep the West Side the "floral side" of Cincinnati. I came across this video made in 2000 about the history of greenhouses in western hills. It is interesting to learn about this area’s rich history with horticulture.
