Wintergreen Couch is a popular variety of turf, loved for its fine, soft-to-touch leaf and bright green colour. Wintergreen Couch is a fairly tolerable lawn variety that responds well to irrigation, most diseases, high traffic areas and sporting grounds.
Whilst Wintergreen Couch suits the warm climate of South-East Queensland, it’s not uncommon for a severe frost event to sweep the state throughout the months of winter. To some degree, Wintergreen Couch is tolerable to frost. However, if extreme weather conditions do occur, it’s never forgiving on any turf variety.
In the event that something like this may occur, we have written a few helpful tips to reduce the damage of frost on your Wintergreen Couch turf.
What is frost?
Frost is caused when soft white ice crystals are formed from the ground due to the air reaching temperatures below freezing point. Fortunately, Wintergreen grass is fairly tolerable throughout the winter months maintaining its bright colour for longer. However, when frost strikes, the damage is quite clear with the appearance of yellow and brown patches throughout your lawn.
How does frost damage Wintergreen Grass?
Frost creates a blanket of dew over Wintergreen grass and causes the process of photosynthesis to slow down. This prevents the turf from generating enough food, thus damaging the cells and dehydrating your lawn.
Preventing damage to Wintergreen Couch turf
Fortunately, there are a few preventative tips and tricks you can do to help aid the recovery and severity of frost damage to your Wintergreen Couch. These include:
Before Frost
- Deep Soaking: If you know there is a cold snap approaching, we highly recommend that you give your Wintergreen Couch a deep watering beforehand to ensure a strong root system.
- Fertilise: Try improving the overall health of your turf by sprinkling it with an iron-rich fertiliser in the months leading up to winter.
During Frost
- Keep off the Grass: Walking on frost-covered grass is very unhealthy for your Wintergreen Couch as it can break the blades of the leaves and damage your turf.
- Turn on the Sprinkler: Preventing the frost from glazing over your lawn is extremely important, as your Wintergreen Couch needs to breathe to stay alive. If the sun isn’t out shining and warming up the ground, try turning on the sprinkler for 30 seconds to melt the frost away.
After Frost
- Delay fertilising: Wait until about 30 days after a frost event occurs before you fertilise your lawn again, as you don’t want to damage your lawn with the nitrogen properties of the fertiliser.
- Rake the leaves: If your lawn is under a row of trees, we highly recommend raking away any fallen leaves so it is not covered by the sun.
Finding the right turf variety to suit your lifestyle and climate needs can be difficult. Contact the friendly team at Turfman today to learn more about our wide range of turf varieties we stock. Turfman is your trusted local turf suppliers servicing all regions from the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gold Coast. Connect with us today on Facebook.