A Little History about the Ultradwarfs
The ultradwarfs have the advantage of delivering creeping bent grass quality greens, and also surviving the hot summers found in subtropical environments. A little historical background may be beneficial in deciding if these cultivars are adaptable for your conditions.
Tifdwarf is the benchmark for all vegetative couch grass used on putting greens. Dr Glenn Burton at the University of Georgia, Tifton, selected Tifdwarf in 1960 from an off-type in Tifgreen (328). The photograph is a 328 couch grass green. Since 1960, Tifdwarf has been widely used on greens throughout the south-eastern and south-western parts of the United States. However, overtime off-types became prevalent in many Tifdwarf greens and nurseries, to the point where some questioned what was genuine. Many of the ultradwarfs that are available were selected from off-types from Tifdwarf greens.
During the late 1980's and early 1990's it became evident that the green speeds desired required mowing heights of 0.125 inch. Thus, in the mid-1990's the term "ultradwarf" was coined to describe couch grass cultivars that could tolerate mowing heights of 0.125 inch or lower. The common ultradwarf cultivars include Tifgreen, Champion, Mini-Verde, FloraDwarf and Classic Dwarf to name a few. Although the ultradwarfs tend to be grouped together, they do vary in characteristics. However, from a management standpoint, the ultradwarfs are handled as one.
Many of these ultradwarfs have high shoot density that forms the fine dense quality turf desired by the golfing public. From a management perspective, the ultradwarfs are more like managing bent grass than couch grass. Thatch and diseases are severe problems that need to be dealt with.