Tifdwarf

md33171 – posted 23 May 2002 19:51

Is this grass hard to maintain at 3/16 mowing height? I’ve heard that you need to verticut the grass. Anyone know how to verticut grass manually?

GLJones – posted 16 June 2002 16:04

I have a TifDwarf putting green in my backyard in Orlando, Florida. Using a greens mower I manage to get my turf down to 3/16 and it remains healthy and thick. Things to remember…

Mow lower very slowly. Take at most a 16th inch a week. I mow every other day. When getting the grass down I lower the mower every 4th cutting. Once I reach 3/16, you have to mow every other day or more often to keep it smooth. Letting it grow for 4 days will allow the blades to get too tall to mow back down at one time. Never take more than 1/3 of the blade.

Also, keep the grass moist. With shuch a small amount of height, it dries out rapidly in the sun. Keep an eye on it and make sure the grass is not stressed for water. At 3/16 it is stressed already and additional stress might damage or kill it. It is very easy to lose if you are careless when it is in a weekend state (stress).

Jerry