Can someone please help me assess what is going wrong with my grass? I have been following Randy Lemmon's fertilization schedule for the last ~9 months, but have just noticed the root structure in my front lawn is struggling and patches are starting to develop. I applied some "green" insecticide 1.5 weeks ago with a top soil dressing with no real results to date.

Or does anyone have a local company, other than TruGreen, that could give me a good assessment and plan of action? or product recommendations?




spreading to other parts of my yard:



[This message has been edited by dmorley03 (edited 7/16/2014 9:32p).]

Have you checked for chinch bugs?

That's some low cut grass you got there

not yet, but just did some research on chinch bugs and will check first thing in the morning. Also going to address the height of the lawn with my yard guys. thx.

Healthy St Aug likes to be mowed low

mowed low? only if the mowing schedule is less often. Dr. Duble and Aggie Horticulture recommend the following
"Mowing heights may range from 1 to 3 inches depending on the frequency of mowing and the degree of shade present. At mowing heights below two inches, St. Augustine grass should be mowed every five days during late spring and summer. At a 2 1/2 inch mowing height, a 7-10 mowing schedule is adequate. Above 2 1/2 inches, St. Augustine grass should be mowed at 10 to 14 day intervals. In moderate to dense shade, St. Augustine grass should be mowed at about 3 inches at 10 day intervals."

OP, how much and how often do you water?

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Healthy St Aug likes to be mowed low

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Uh...no - especially in the heat of summer. It is much more water efficient at the 2 1/2 inch height. That is also the key to beating bermudagrass and other weeds.
Without being there to look close, I might suspect grubs at work.

[This message has been edited by B-1 83 (edited 7/17/2014 9:00a).]

That looks exactly like the St. Aug lawn across the street from me where I know the people water way too much and have their yard crew cut it way too short.

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mowed low? only if the mowing schedule is less often. Dr. Duble and Aggie Horticulture recommend the following
"Mowing heights may range from 1 to 3 inches depending on the frequency of mowing and the degree of shade present. At mowing heights below two inches, St. Augustine grass should be mowed every five days during late spring and summer. At a 2 1/2 inch mowing height, a 7-10 mowing schedule is adequate. Above 2 1/2 inches, St. Augustine grass should be mowed at 10 to 14 day intervals. In moderate to dense shade, St. Augustine grass should be mowed at about 3 inches at 10 day intervals."

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1" is pretty low.

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The lower the mowing height, the more frequently you will need to mow. Frequent mowing at a lower height produces higher quality turf grass.

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Gene R. Taylor II, Assistant Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist
Jason Gray, Extension Assistant—Turfgrass Management The Texas A&M University System

1" will damage St. Augustine by cutting runners and provide insufficient shade.

The standard rec is 2 1/2 to 3 inches in sun.

http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintaining%20St.%20Augustine%20Grass%20Lawns.pdf

St. A wants to be kept taller than other grasses like Bermuda or Zoysia.

yep, mow it higher

swiffert: I only water 3 times per week. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 7:00am, with 20 minutes per stage. so, I really don't think I am over-watering.

I got down in the grass this morning and noticed a few bugs (presumably Chinch bugs), but nothing as infested as a saw on-line when doing some research about the same. Root structure was very weak and lots of dead blades of grass.

I picked up another insecticide this morning and am going to apply once all of the rain stops in Houston and will probably follow it up with a small amount of micro-life organic fertilizer to try and develop some stronger root structure.

I am also going to ask my yard guys to increase the height of their mowers by one setting. It's really not that low (pictures are a little deceiving), but adding another 1/4 inch or so can't hurt as I try to get the lawn to recover.

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swiffert: I only water 3 times per week.

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Only?

Water 2 times a week for 30-40 minutes instead.

Prepare yourself for 5-10 years from now when St. Augustine will be banned, even in Houston.

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swiffert: I only water 3 times per week. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 7:00am, with 20 minutes per stage. so, I really don't think I am over-watering.

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Wonder what my lawn would look like if I did that in Austin.

I can't really get a good look from the pics, but might be take-all root rot. It's too late for new grub damage in mid July. Perhaps some Chinch bugs at work there.

Change the watering schedule to more infrequent but deeper watering, early in the morning so that it's not staying wet all the time. Raising the mowing height will help. If it is TARR I'm not sure if a fungicide would help or not.

[This message has been edited by jel_2002 (edited 7/17/2014 3:03p).]

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I am also going to ask my yard guys to increase the height of their mowers by one setting

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Have them take it all the way up to the highest setting. Seriously.

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Prepare yourself for 5-10 years from now when St. Augustine will be banned, even in Houston.

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From your lips to God's ears. My HOA requires the stuff. So much stupid.

you are over watering most likely. you need ~1" of water a week...preferably all at once. you might need more water if it is blazing hot 100+ degrees.

let us know if you dont know about the tuna can test to know how much you are watering.

You want to train your grass to grow deep to get water and that will create a better root structure. right now your grass doesnt even have to go deep cause you water so often, all the roots are close to the surface.

raise the mower as high as possible for St. Aug

Your main problem is listening to Randy Lemmon. Hell he dont even do his own yard. If you want the answer to your lawn problem go to Neil Sperry's site and you will find your answer. He has photos of the various problems, causes and solutions.

Could be TAP, could be Gray Leaf Spot.

Either way, be SURE you know what it is BEFORE you apply a fungicide. Fungicide isn't universal and it also happens to be phytotoxic. Also, cultural practices, soil test, blah, blah, etc...

You can try putting peat moss on those areas and water it in multiple times a see how it reacts to that before you apply any fungicides.

Does it feel "spongy" when you walk on the brown spots or outside the brown spots?

I had spots similar to those and didn't see any grubs and chinch bugs are pretty small to spot. The roots of my grass and runners were pretty non existent and pulled out of the ground pretty easy.

I figure it was the All Root Rot. So I got bags of peat moss and spread over the patches. Probably 4 bags over a few weeks. The grass is finally back to green and full again. Took a couple months. I also went a head and spread some pesticide in case the bugs were killing it too.

I too think you are mowing too low and watering too much.

[This message has been edited by KDubAg (edited 7/19/2014 10:43a).]

Chinch bugs usually start/spread near the sidewalk/driveway. And you can see them if you look closely where brown meets green (look like crawling fleas sorta). The brown is totally dead, dry grass...like straw. Doesn't look like that's it from your photos IMO.