I’ve gotten a number of calls on winter damage on lawns and other high mowed turf areas. Thankfully this is fairly rare in most winters throughout Indiana. Winterkill can be fairly complex resulting from desiccation with drying winds, freezing of the plant crown with quickly dropping temperatures after spring green up, and/or from direct cell death primarily in wet areas with below zero temperatures. Winterkill is more common on young turf with annual bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and tall fescue being the most susceptible of our turf species. The most common form of winterkill on high-mowed turf occurs on very late fall-seeded tall fescue or perennial ryegrass that germinates but does not establish and harden-off prior to winter (Fig. 1 and 2). A phenomenon that we also see on newly seeded or thin turf is as the soil heaves with frost, plants also heave out of the soil and become very exposed to winter’s cold and wind. (Fig. 3 and 4). The recommendation for both of these conditions would be reseeding or sodding to repair damage.
 |
 |
 |
 |