# Low Cut Cool Season Grass - Winter Expectations



## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

A little bit of an odd question as I see a lot of people have questions on reducing their hoc prior to winter. I am in the opposite boat of that, I probably should have raised my height some. My question is, for anyone that has had their cool season grasses very short (.25"), what was the recovery like coming out of winter. My grass is pretty thick and adjusted well to the low height, but what can I expect in the spring?

I am thinking it should be fine and I will just follow the same routine I did this last spring, but just curious if anyone has experience with that. Or, if anyone knows if golf courses do anything to winterize...I get that it's probably too late do anything but just curious what to expect. Thank you!


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## mowww (Jan 16, 2018)

Most courses do what they can to protect the crowns during winter in anything 0.3" or lower up here. Some topdress, some cover, some use TransFilm, almost all apply snow mold protection, and some do all of these things and then some.

With closely mowed turf the biggest factors to watch out for are desiccation (if left exposed to cold and wind w/o snow cover), snow mold, and ice buildup causing gas buildup and death or sunscald.

With shorter cut turf your lawn will likely go be more variable in soil temp in fall and spring meaning slightly earlier dormancy than if you had longer turf and slightly earlier greenup too (varieties held constant). All-in-all sending it into winter as healthy as possible with moderate soil moisture are the biggest factors. Beyond that, it is easy to start spending lots of money with fungicides, topdressing, and desiccation inhibitors but check plots are always fun if you have some product on hand.


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

Wow, good stuff @mowww...thank you for the thorough response. I am reading up on transfilm as it looks like something I could still do prior to heavy snow falls. Thanks again!


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## Kmartel (Feb 12, 2019)

I like to end the season with a very late fungicide for snow mold ( early December) and a transfilm application. I find my short cut grass handles winter better then the rest of my lawn (1.5").


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Kmartel said:


> I like to end the season with a very late fungicide for snow mold ( early December) and a transfilm application. I find my short cut grass handles winter better then the rest of my lawn (1.5").


What do people on here think about using an antitranspirant in late Fall going into Winter...? Pros, cons?

I'm afraid to use one now, because I feel it'll screw with ET, which is already slow. But I'd consider it later in December after growth stops, if there might be benefits and no downsides.


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@Green, I do not have experience with it but am going to give Transfilm a shot.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

I had really bad snow mold in the spring of 2019. I am not sure what I did not did not do in the fall of 2018 to cause this but it was not a pretty sight in 2019. I did show that in a video or 3 in the spring of 2019. I plan to apply a fungicide here next week if the current snow cover melts to hopefully prevent this from being as bad in the spring of 2020.

I butchered my lawn down to .3 about a month ago and this was a bad choice. I wanted to see how the lawn would react but it has not recovered since and is now only about a half inch or 5/8. I would have preferred to leave the lawn at about .75 to 1" going into dormancy. I am hoping for the best.

Not much you really can do other than blankets (no that feasible) and a fungicide.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@MNLawnGuy1980 A bit off topic. For how long do you have your lawn at 0.25. KBG is really not made to hold well (for long) at this HOC.


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## JERSEY (Sep 9, 2018)

wardconnor said:


> I had really bad snow mold in the spring of 2019. I am not sure what I did not did not do in the fall of 2018 to cause this but it was not a pretty sight in 2019. I did show that in a video or 3 in the spring of 2019. I plan to apply a fungicide here next week if the current snow cover melts to hopefully prevent this from being as bad in the spring of 2020.
> 
> I butchered my lawn down to .3 about a month ago and this was a bad choice. I wanted to see how the lawn would react but it has not recovered since and is now only about a half inch or 5/8. I would have preferred to leave the lawn at about .75 to 1" going into dormancy. I am hoping for the best.
> 
> Not much you really can do other than blankets (no that feasible) and a fungicide.


LOVE your vids Connor. You will get it back next year........you are the Rebel...no Fear.


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@Babameca, it's been there since early September. I do have some PRG sprinkled in over some smaller problems areas from the past but the majority is KBG. It is extremely thick, people walking by ask all the time if it is bent grass or Bermuda.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

mowww said:


> Most courses do what they can to protect the crowns during winter in anything 0.3" or lower up here. Some topdress, some cover, some use TransFilm, almost all apply snow mold protection, and some do all of these things and then some.
> 
> With closely mowed turf the biggest factors to watch out for are desiccation (if left exposed to cold and wind w/o snow cover), snow mold, and ice buildup causing gas buildup and death or sunscald.
> 
> With shorter cut turf your lawn will likely go be more variable in soil temp in fall and spring meaning slightly earlier dormancy than if you had longer turf and slightly earlier greenup too (varieties held constant). All-in-all sending it into winter as healthy as possible with moderate soil moisture are the biggest factors. Beyond that, it is easy to start spending lots of money with fungicides, topdressing, and desiccation inhibitors but check plots are always fun if you have some product on hand.


I'm thinking about trying TransFilm. Do you recommend a specific brand? What would be application rate for a lawn? Is it a one application, or multiple apps through out the winter?

Thanks


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@mowww described the problem really good. You want the crowns to loose some moisture before a hard freeze, but not to dry too much during winter. If snow mold is a problem, then treat for it.

Here is a recent article from Golf Dom via Bill Kreuser Prevent desiccation on bentgrass.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

Ok thanks......we haven't been getting a lot of snow last few years so snow mold not much of an issue. This is my first year with low grass so desiccation could be an issue. I'll have to look into transfilm


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@mowww, I was able to get some Transfilm down and this is what I woke up to this morning. I am assuming what it does is essentially create a barrier, almost like a seal coat over the grass. Kind of interesting look this morning.


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## mowww (Jan 16, 2018)

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> @mowww, I was able to get some Transfilm down and this is what I woke up to this morning. I am assuming what it does is essentially create a barrier, almost like a seal coat over the grass. Kind of interesting look this morning.


Nice, even application!


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## Biggylawns (Jul 8, 2019)

@MNLawnGuy1980 is that dew/a freeze? Did it go back to looking normal as the day went on or did it stay like that all day?


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@@Biggylawns, it was frost and it dissipated at about 11:00 this morning.


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