Memorial Day and poa annua- Our Grass

Its here, Memorial Day Weekend, and welcome home to all of you who went south and were wise enough to stay and avoid the cold! Summer has arrived here on Cape Ann, at least for a couple of days. A month has passed since the last blog post and things are really starting to brighten up. Cheryl and the team
from Plant Creations were here last weekend installing our annuals and we have mulched the beds around the clubhouse; the tulips were nice while they lasted. We have also been busy getting out or preventative applications for seedheads, weeds, insects and growth regulation course wide.  The trees are almost all leafed out and the bentgrass has finally started to green up as temperatures are rising out here in the middle of the ocean. Our college crew has been trickling in the last week and a half and a solid crew of Rockport High School students has been working on weekends.  We won't have the Vikings in full force for a few more weeks until they are done with school; please be patient as most of them are greenheads that will need some training.  This last week we did our initial mowing for the native areas along with a weed and growth regulator application. We will continue to mow these every 2-3 weeks throughout the season. Did I mention that the rough is growing like crazy and dreaded pollen is in full effect? 

If your eyes are watering, your throat is scratchy or you have a headache like me you might have allergies and the golf course is a great place to torture yourself with all things related to these seasonal nuisances. Thank God for Zyrtec; I always know mine are about to kick in as soon as I see the poa annua seedheads. Yes, believe it or not, I am allergic to grass like many of you, poa annua. 

Poa annua, or annual bluegrass, is one of the main grasses here at Bass Rocks; we have it on every playing surface, it is our primary putting surface as well. It is very well adapted to coastal climates with cool, moist environments and moderate winter weather.  It makes a great putting surface with a dense, upright growth habit. Poa annua is the main plant type at other famous courses like Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Oakmont C.C. Johnny Miller always loved to talk about how poa greens get bumpy in the afternoon. Poa annua is a great plant but it does have a few challenges, one of which is their seedhead which becomes very prominent this time of year. They push up very quickly during the afternoon even after a morning mowing and make greens putting surfaces bumpy. Treating green surfaces to prevent them from forming is a hit or miss battle, over time we have settled into a multiple application protocol with great success. You will see the seeds formed densely on fairways and roughs the next few weeks which will make your efforts of getting out of the rough just a little bit tougher. We will be cutting rough and blowing the clippings more than normal to keep up with their huge push. Greens mowers will be using the ultra groomer attachments to try and harvest any seeds that do push through our control applications. 

The next challenge with poa annua is that its a favorite delicacy of the annual bluegrass weevil. Weevil larvae are munching hard the next few weeks as they complete their life cycle just as we get close to Father's Day and just as the plant is about to complete its life cycle. We work hard all spring scouting for the overwintering adults as they march out to lay eggs in an effort to keep their brood going. Last but certainly not least is the biggest challenge of all. Poa annua is an annual plant meaning it only lives for one year. It produces the seedhead as its last gasp before it plans to go off to greener pastures. It is supposed to die and here we are trying to keep it alive just as we are getting into the hottest time of the year. After poa finishes its seeding it will start to yellow and start to wither. We will be all hands on deck from that point through the fall trying to keep it alive. Small but exacting fertilizer combinations with micronutrients and organic plant and seaweed based products will be applied to manage the plant and keep it chugging through the summer. Precise moisture monitoring and watering methods will be utilized to promote root and shoot health while managing the surfaces for speed, trueness and color. Add in a little bit of, "keep it healthy but not too healthy" to the mix with regular mowing, rolling and topdressing and you have a successful year at the club. 

The maintenance team will be working hard to give you just exactly that all season long. Let's kick off the summer this weekend with our families, a cookout or two, take in a round of golf or a game of tennis and enjoy the views of the ice cold 52° Atlantic Ocean.