mine is the worst it has ever been after the arctic blast.

whats yalls plan going into spring?

I have done Randy Lemmon forever but not this year. I keep getting the bugs and I swear its because of his plan. Even if its not I am not spending the time/money on his plan this year because I have had terrible luck every late summer.

Going to scalp it once it ever gets dry enough to do so. I still have a lot of soggy spots.

A couple weeks later I'll hit it with fertilizer and see what happens.

As brown as I have ever seen it. I hope it comes back.

Brown...

Current plan is to scalp (mower down 1 maybe 2 notches) then manually rake (don't have a bagger) here in a couple weeks. Then I'll fertilize as per normal.

I really think what we're seeing is 100% dormant St. Augustine, vs the partially 1/2 dormant stuff we see during a mild winter. Start finding out in a few weeks when soil temps reach the low 70s.

With growth only from stolons and no rhizomes, there's gonna be a lot of dead St. Augustine.

Brown, deadon top, but looking yesterday there is green shoots coming up.

Saw some green shoots coming through but looks pretty bad. What's "scalping"? Have some sort of winter rye/weed popping up in spots that I'm hitting with orange oil.

my hard is about 75% weeds right now? whats the best way to smoke the weeds (pun intended) but bring back the st. augustine? going to be renting this house out later in the year and would like a semi presentable yard.

Dried out and more straw like than ever, on the flip side I don't think grubs will be a problem

If mine does not come back, I will be sick. I got the worst sunburn on my balding head putting that stuff out.

I hate St. Augustine. Really don't care at this point. If it dies, I'm going with something else.

highvelocity said:

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my hard is about 75% weeds right now? whats the best way to smoke the weeds (pun intended) but bring back the st. augustine? going to be renting this house out later in the year and would like a semi presentable yard.

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Do not do any weed treatments right now. Definitely no pre-emergents and never, never never weed and feed. St Augustine roots are vulnerable and you should not be putting any additional chemicals on the yard. Give it some time.

Mine looks dead dead and mostly weeds and clover to boot. Really thinking about just planting something else. Suggestions? I am in CStat.

saysomethin said:

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Saw some green shoots coming through but looks pretty bad. What's "scalping"? Have some sort of winter rye/weed popping up in spots that I'm hitting with orange oil.

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Scalping is something you normally don't do to St. Augustine. Normally mow high, but in some instances it's better to lower the mower a notch or two and mow it a little shorter. Bag or rake to remove all of the excess material. It'll prevent excess moisture/ decay and fungal growth.

In Corpus Christi- my yard is already about 50% recovered and it was bad. I started Randy Lemmon last year, so it was really coming in before the freeze. I honestly think it will be back to normal in a month or so.

Mine also looks browner than I ever remember it, but I'm optimistic that it's just "more dormant" than usual like Kenneth commented above.

I never do anything to it except water it when needed and mow with the highest deck setting, and it's normally quite stout.

I'd like to aerate it though. It's never been done, and the high traffic areas are pretty packed down. Does it matter if I do that soon, or should that be done in fall (as I once read somewhere)?

what should i start with then i guess is my main question

It is like hay.

Gave mine the Randy Lemmon haircut ( he said not to scalp this year) and to bag it. Filled up 7 paper bags of thatch.

Put down the 15-5-10 and hit it with the sprinkler.

It will be fine.

This guy is good if you are on facebook. He's based in Tyler.

https://www.facebook.com/ggrantgardens

Quote:

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St. Augustine and Centipede lawns: There will possibly be dead areas and freeze damage. Mow as normal but avoid pre-emergent herbicides which can damage injured grass. Do not fertilize until nights are warmer in mid-April and do not water until June, July, and August, once per week, one inch per application. Watering in the spring contributes to gray leaf spot and brown patch. Most folks water too often and cause their own problems. Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass are more cold hardy and should be just fine.

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I'm wondering if this advice extends to Bermuda as well.

Ive been following Randy lemon for years and my grass looks really good year after year. Those sod webworms were just brutal to everyone last year.
He says move forward as usual..... particular attention to removing thatch. My grass is already showing good green growth. I'm going to rake out thatch and light haircut. Then fertilize and preemerge

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2021-02-21-randys-9-rules-for-horticultural-freeze-recovery/

aggiedent said:

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I hate St. Augustine. Really don't care at this point. If it dies, I'm going with something else.

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This is where I'm at too.

Recommendations welcome. My back yard has shade on two sides but full sun in the middle. I realize that makes things more complicated.

gigemJTH12 said:

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mine is the worst it has ever been after the arctic blast.

whats yalls plan going into spring?

I have done Randy Lemmon forever but not this year. I keep getting the bugs and I swear its because of his plan. Even if its not I am not spending the time/money on his plan this year because I have had terrible luck every late summer.

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His plan is pretty good but I find it best to stray a little for what I have seen work and not work so good over the years. He hates Scotts Weed and Feed and I have found it to work great in early spring (sorry malenurse) - living in Houston I would usually have put that down in mid-February assuming we had no freezes in the forecast. The science behind it burning roots makes sense so I try to keep it away from trees and shrubs but it works well.

For cinch bugs, you have to keep a very close eye on them and spray as soon as you see the first signs. You may already know this but many don't and make the mistake of only one application. You have to hit it again 2 weeks later and then again in another 2 weeks to stop the egg-laying cycle. I had some success in my earlier years only spraying once and that solving the cinch bug problem but after them coming back and damaging the yard a month after spraying I will always follow the 3 sprays rule.

Houston 2/26. Cut grass low and bagged clippings. Sprayed with Medina + and put down Nitro-Phos Sweet Green and Azomite minerals.

Looking greener. Hoping for a big kick after the rain today. Did not water it in since rain was coming.

I'm a little hesitant to scalp mine this year

Pretty brown on top. Mowed yesterday with the level dropped down a couple notches. Bagged it all which was a pain, but good patches of green grass below. Fertilized today. All will be good in 2-3 weeks. The plants and citrus trees....well, those aren't looking so great.

HDeathstar said:

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Houston 2/26. Cut grass low and bagged clippings. Sprayed with Medina + and put down Nitro-Phos Sweet Green and Azomite minerals.

Looking greener. Hoping for a big kick after the rain today. Did not water it in since rain was coming.

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I use sweet green in the summer when the heat is stressing and it's awesome
This time of year I use nitro phos weed n feed. Like other poster said...following Randy has been good but a couple wrinkles added make a huge difference. Doing weed n feed has been one of them.

I put pre-emerge herbicide on my yard yesterday. Got a nice shower off & on all day to activate the herbicide. In about 2 weeks I will put a 3-1-2 fertilizer. It will be beautiful when it warms up in April.

Started using sweet green last summer and used it for fall application as well. I had bright green in my grass until the freeze.

trip98 said:

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HDeathstar said:

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Houston 2/26. Cut grass low and bagged clippings. Sprayed with Medina + and put down Nitro-Phos Sweet Green and Azomite minerals.

Looking greener. Hoping for a big kick after the rain today. Did not water it in since rain was coming.

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I use sweet green in the summer when the heat is stressing and it's awesome
This time of year I use nitro phos weed n feed. Like other poster said...following Randy has been good but a couple wrinkles added make a huge difference. Doing weed n feed has been one of them.

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can you link me to the Sweet green you buy?

It was all brown and dried out, but since the wind kicked up Sunday, it is buried as deep in live oak leaves as it was in snow. So it's going to rot or die unless I can get someone to rake it.

trip98 said:

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Ive been following Randy lemon for years and my grass looks really good year after year. Those sod webworms were just brutal to everyone last year the last 5 years.
He says move forward as usual..... particular attention to removing thatch. My grass is already showing good green growth. I'm going to rake out thatch and light haircut. Then fertilize and preemerge

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2021-02-21-randys-9-rules-for-horticultural-freeze-recovery/

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FIFY!

trip98 said:

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Ive been following Randy lemon for years and my grass looks really good year after year. Those sod webworms were just brutal to everyone last year.
He says move forward as usual..... particular attention to removing thatch. My grass is already showing good green growth. I'm going to rake out thatch and light haircut. Then fertilize and preemerge

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2021-02-21-randys-9-rules-for-horticultural-freeze-recovery/

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my thing is, I do Lemmon and I was the only one on my entire street that got them.

I also got my buddy to do Lemmon, and same thing happened to him. Only person on the street.

Sitting here watching the neighbor's dog take a **** in my front yard (bassturd is staring at me while doing it), so one spot will probably be OK.

Thinking about putting bermuda in my backyard if the SA stays dead. I kind of hope it does