Glen Eagle Maintenance (2/18/26)

 Warmer weather (along with some fertilizer) has brought back color to the course. Growth is starting to come back but will be limited by the still cool soil temps. A quarter of an inch of rain helped kick in some of the fertilizer earlier this week but we are still looking for a significant (inches) rain to help stabilize lake levels.

Here is a very brief explanation of the fertilizer we are using to help the course green up during this “warm” stretch of weather we are currently having.

There are three primary nitrogen fertilizer forms that we use on the course. Nitrates, Ammonium, and Urea. There are others like organic nitrogen but for most purposes the major sources are the first three.

This time of year we don’t use much Ammonium nitrogen because it has a higher probability of burn and it has to be converted into a source the plant can use by soil microbes that are not as active during colder months. Urea also has to be converted but has a much lower burn potential and is usually coated into a slow release product that makes it a suitable source most of the year.

To promote recovery from the cold weather Nitrate sources are the best for this time of year. We are currently using Potassium Nitrate in a liquid form and backing that up for longer release with a slow release urea granular.

Nitrates are good this time of year because they don’t have to be converted by microbes. They are plant available and can be taken up right away once they are applied.

The frost that we had a couple weeks ago did a number on many of our plants but none take it as hard as the Copperleaf. Copperleaf generally does very well here in Naples, especially closer to the coast because we don’t normally get very cold. However, in the rare year where we do, it takes it hard will end up looking like dead sticks once it looses its leaves. It is not dead and will come back but that process will take a while. The best thing we can do for it is to trim it back and be patient.

Here are a couple pictures of how Copperleaf has thinned out on the course and what it looks like once we have trimmed it back to promote density as it recovers from the cold.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the course, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf!