Pretty much ready to set fire to my entire front lawn. I have battled this bull**** every year and nothing seems to work. Have covered the yard in peat moss and tried azoxystrobin which is freaking expensive, and this **** comes back every spring.

Have you had soil tests done?

atmtws said:

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Have you had soil tests done?

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No I have not. The only thing I know for sure is I have weak ass St Augustine on a bad foundation. Have found several spots in the yard where there is buried construction material covered up with a little bit of dirt as well. Aside from tilling up the entire yard and starting over, I don't know what to really do that's not going to cost a fortune.

Too much water perhaps? I did that.

Yeah, I have the AZ Prop liquid concentrate that I mix and spray in my tow behind. Planning to mow again tomorrow then repply and cross fingers.

Definitely look at throwing Propiconazole on too.

Edit: Didn't realize AZProp was a mix of azoxystrobin and propiconazole

I'm not an expert at all btw, but a lawn nut. I'm in Houston and my backyard (St. Augustine) got a fungus last fall (high humidity, low air flow due to 8' tall privacy fence). I applied NirtoPhos' fungus product then a few weeks later F-Stop. Seems to have worked. I also immediately began bagging my clippings when it started. Most of it seems to have originated from the areas hit hard by the high temps last summer. This spring those areas were struggling to grow, and coincidentally (or maybe not), those same spots had a ton of iron chlorosis (and some gray leaf starting). I spot treated with Southern Ag chelated iron last week and amazingly it looks 90% recovered. After my first mow, I did use a metal rake to get as much thatch out of the yard as possible in both front and back (mainly all of the dead grass from the heat last summer). That was right before I applied my 15-5-10 a month ago (along with pre-emergent). It's been a night and day difference today vs. a month ago. Then today I applied Milorganite everywhere which is organic and has a good amount of iron. The lawn nerd forums swear by it so I'm giving it a try. But get a soil test and see if your deficient in anything that may be promoting the fungal growth. And if you have a ton of thatch, get a metal rake and get it out. And continue bagging your clippings until it looks recovered. I think all my issues stemmed from the dead grass/thatch caused by the heat from last summer.

The different treatments are hard to dial in, but getting rid of that thatch like atmtws says is a good start. Open those patches up so they can get watered and alternately dry out. Gives your treatment much better chance to be successful.

I have been fighting the same battle unsuccessfully for quite a few years and the drought and hard freezes we've had has it the worst it's ever been. I'm done with battling it because with kids and dogs and being in the hill country where we have a serious water problem it's stupid to think I can win. I've tried all of the above suggestions and we aerate and compost every year. Nope, nada.

Bermuda?

That's my plan for the big bare spots. I'm worried about the tarr ruining that though as well from what I've read?

Battling the same problem, watching this thread for help. Hope there is a good person in the know who can put some light on this.

chickencoupe16 said:

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Try Azoxystrobin (Disease Ex) and Propiconazole (BioAdvanced Fungus Control) applied together. Put the granules down, then come behind with the spray. Reapply in 2 weeks.

Then bag your clippings for the next couple of mowings. Also make sure you're watering at appropriate times. Right now, I'd be surprised if you need to water more than once a week (obviously depends on your exact location) and I would do it around 9 in the morning (considering cool temps and fungus problems).

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Excellent advice. With fungicides, disease resistance is a real problem. Combat it by following the directions on application strength and reapplication interval- many require a second (or third) application within a matter of weeks. Also, rotate or mix (if compatible) fungicides with different FRAC group number and mode of action:
https://www.frac.info/docs/default-source/publications/frac-code-list/frac-code-list-2022--final.pdf?sfvrsn=b6024e9a_2
In addition to the two fungicides suggested, I have had success rotating in Mancozeb and chlorothalonil

Good luck!

Mowed it today and got rid of the clippings. Hit it hard with AZ Prop today (mix of Azoxystrobin and Propiconazole). Will hit again in 1 month if it's still having issues.

I had what I was pretty sure was TARR based on everything that I had read at Randy Lemmon's site.

Took a sample to a local garden center and they agreed - most likely from over water/fertilizer.

I backed way off on the amount of fertilizer I was using and applied compost and it took a year, but did help.

Alternate your fungicide applications and a solid preventative program is way better than a curative approach. More organic fertilizer to give the fungus something to eat on besides your grass. I would honestly skip any pre-emergent apps if you have St. Augustine. The stunting of the roots caused by pre-emergent allows the fungus to really do some damage. Make sure you are watering first thing in the morning and not at night. Open up any areas you can for air and sunlight. Oh and pray.

A big tip of my xxxxxxxxxx Stetson to crevans_40. After reading his post and my issues began when I started using a pre-emergent. Will be stopping this practice and using different classes of fungicides to get this under control.

Holy cow - clicked on this thread and realized this is probably the odd issue my lawn has been dealing with as well -

Central Texas
St Augustine
have septic (which I saw sprayers can make you more susceptible to this)

Yard was gorgeous when we moved in almost 2 years ago, but after last years drought and heavy water restrictions, I know have tons of areas where there are just large 5-6 foot wide bare patches. Grass that is "good" has streaks of that lime green color through it.

Glad to have some lists of things to try!

Another request, how to get rid of the Carolina pony foot without nuking the St Augustine? I don't need to eradicate all of it, I can go in waves to keep the carpet grass happy.

Tony Franklin - You need some broadleaf weedkiller. Look at randy lemmon tip sheets on the topic. Spray the weeds before it gets to hot and let it work for 2-3 weeks. Do not reapply a second dose, let it work.

It may turn the st augustine a little yellow, but will not kill it. I usually spray mine in late january before the grass starts growing.

Thanks. Have the Randy Lemmon calendar printed up. I sprayed some clover last year and the carpet grass turned yellow and I sort of freaked out. Looking back, you are right, it came back good and green.

Liquid Atrazine in a backpack sprayer is about as gentle on St. Augustine as you will find and is labeled for dichondra. Apply when cool (<80F) for long periods and when grass is not stressed. That's likely only at dusk this time of year. Cooler temps are forecast for next week, but so is rain.

I would recommend Weed Beater Ultra as long as your daily temp is below 85, or Weed Beater for Southern Lawns which should be easier on grass.

I listened to my FIL about how great Amaze (pre-emerg) was and started using it. I am guessing that, combined with last summer (bad spot started where the heat was) and the ice is just a perfect storm. I did knowingly water at night a bit last summer due to the heat so I guess I am paying the price for that.

The "bad spot" I referenced started about 3'x6' spot during the heat last year, and looking at it now, the grass is COMPLETELY gone, weeds have come in and it has grown to about a 20'x20' space.

Image below...the "bad spot" started in the red area, and spread to the black area.