Blankets for Bermudagrass - Winterkill 2014 Update

As many of you have seen, bermudagrass winterkill has been widespread.  The question I receive many times is, "Would a blanket help prevent damage?"

Oftentimes, I cannot give a firm answer, but I wanted to share a photo of a Patriot bermudagrass surface in central Indiana.  The hashmarks were covered with a blanket at the end of February.  The areas outside of the hashes were covered in mid March.  Notice a difference?

Winterkill is almost impossible to predict, but based on my research and data collecting over the winter, most bermudagrass in central Indiana was viable in late February.  Most, if not all damage took place in early March.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer