Can I Save my Dying Lawn???

[doobs41378]

Sweet S4 in the driveway....

[turfmd101]

Poet, I did catch the BP thank you. 0-0-62 MOP is cheaper per 1,000 than K-mag or 62 SOP which would probably be a better choice but I don't believe its necessary. As for the chlorine. I feel the root tissue benefit out weighs the small amount of chlorine.

BP mostly destroys foliage and rarely causes plant death. This guy has so much activity he has no choice but to drought out the BP. Fungicides will only contain the BP spoors. If it killed them, BP would not be so easily occurring in the same areas the next year. People who treat there BP have the same issue with people who don't ( they will probably get it again next year ). The only effective way I have found to kill BP is not when its active but the next year when environmental conditions are getting lined up to pull BP out of dormancy you start making sure to force drought. Not drought damage. But drought. I believe if the BP can not come out of dormancy and feed it will start dieing off. I have practiced this method since 1995 and have never had an issue with BP reoccurring once I know a property has been getting it in the past. I still believe Florida's current conditions temp wise (soil ) is starting to effect BP negatively and will continue to.

Yes this HO will suffer a ugly transition period following my irrigation suggestions. His root system is probably toast ( mostly anchor roots with no feeder hairs and poor tissue from rot as well as nematode activity) but my suggestion still applies " water when dry ". It could be daily still. But drought has to determine irrigation know matter how frequently it occurs. IMHO my irrigation suggestion applies to one day old turf the same it does to 20 year old turf. When dry know matter the frequency.
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[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by Landscape Poet

... The environment being dry would be accurate except in the OP's statement he noted that he is running the irrigation twice a week AND 12 minutes in the morning as well. I can not be positive as I do not know the amount of water he is applying in those two applications a week but I can almost assure you with the aid of the additional 12 minutes EVERY morning the root system is next to nothing in this lawn as the lawn never has to look for water and therefore it has not roots established to fight off stresses . ...

I didn't go back and reread the OP's wording, so I'll take your word for it...
that is to say I missed that scheduling thing... If we did that with cool-season grasses we'd also expect problems...

[Smallaxe]

If we were(northern scapers) going to the irrigation schedule suggestted,,, the best transition would be made following an aeration and compost application... even seeding if needed...
That should prevent an "Ugly Transition" as mentioned... Just a Thought...

[turfmd101]

Originally Posted by Smallaxe

If we were(northern scapers) going to the irrigation schedule suggestted,,, the best transition would be made following an aeration and compost application... even seeding if needed...
That should prevent an "Ugly Transition" as mentioned... Just a Thought...

In central Fl in my experience St. Aug is at its best, looking like..."ERR" ILL KICK YOUR A##"...and you can almost hear it roar "GREEN" becoming truly beastly March through May. Temps in 80's day, mid to hi 60's at night. The goal is to hold that "ERR" as long as possible. IMO in this HO's area he will have these favored conditions longer than I. Don't miss the gravy train. Perfect for transition. Much shorter period with minimal wasted turfgrass energy. Its the time of year people who fert and the ones who don't have the same overall health.
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[mss222]

Everybody thank you for all your help, a lot of the terminology is above my head. Also I may have not been clear but to clarify:

The grass was not installed this winter, it was installed February 2012. Furthermore I water twice a week, (Wed and Sat) with my sprinkler system. This is for 12 minutes in each zone. I do NOT water everyday.

At this point it seems like I guess I have to hire a local pesticide company to see what can be done. Are you guys suggesting that I let the grass grow out for a long time before cutting it again?

[Patriot Services]

Yes. Healthy SA is at least 4". Any less and it is stressed.
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[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by mss222

... The grass was not installed this winter, it was installed February 2012. Furthermore I water twice a week, (Wed and Sat) with my sprinkler system. This is for 12 minutes in each zone. I do NOT water everyday. ...

OK, that is what I thought... very few systems will put out adequate water for 1/2 of a week in 12 minutes...

You'll want to look at the soil, to see if the root zone is dry, to make sure,,, but my guess is that you are letting your grass die from lack of water... if you have a sandy texture for your soil, there is a very good chance that if you boosted your irrigation volume, a lot of your problem would go away...

Bottom line is,,, you can't tell by looking and feeling the top of the grass to tell if you have adequate moisture in the roots...

[mss222]

Originally Posted by Smallaxe

OK, that is what I thought... very few systems will put out adequate water for 1/2 of a week in 12 minutes...

You'll want to look at the soil, to see if the root zone is dry, to make sure,,, but my guess is that you are letting your grass die from lack of water... if you have a sandy texture for your soil, there is a very good chance that if you boosted your irrigation volume, a lot of your problem would go away...

Bottom line is,,, you can't tell by looking and feeling the top of the grass to tell if you have adequate moisture in the roots...

Sorry to sound stupid but what do you mean by look at the soil and see if the root zone is dry. What actions do I take to investigate the soil.

I thought the brown patch fungus comes from too much watering and people are saying I'm overwatering?

So you are saying I should water more? More days or more per zone? How many minutes per zone?

[turfmd101]

Originally Posted by mss222

Sorry to sound stupid but what do you mean by look at the soil and see if the root zone is dry. What actions do I take to investigate the soil.

I thought the brown patch fungus comes from too much watering and people are saying I'm overwatering?

So you are saying I should water more? More days or more per zone? How many minutes per zone?

1. Force more drought (environmental conditions allowing) than usual for your nornal watering schedule. Yes, it is correct to say too much water enables BP. There are many ways to have too much water in the soil,,, many things factor this. Over watering your case? Maby. In the end over wet soil is the problem. Finding the trigger will ensure you know, "WHY".

2. If you must mow avoid active areas especially the fringe,,, the outer, highly active ring,,, has a nice golden to twist look. When the golden color fades out and your left with green grass and a white to light brown color, activity is greatly dying out. GOOD NEWS. Mowing at this point may be OK. Especially if foliage spoors are coated with a fungicide. Any areas normally dry,,, no golden glow and a good 3ft away from any glow should be OK to mow now. I'm not one for collecting clippings but when you have BP this can minimize more so spreading through mowing,,, if your nervous about mowing.

3. Don't force issues,,, meaning try not to force recovery. Your environmental conditions through April are favorsome. Helping your turfgrass take advantage of this will out perform forcing recovery. That will be more grey for you but that's the separation between getting professional aid or doing it yourself. The most important tools are learned not taught,,, because there's no way to teach them they require self teaching because its something you see not something you touch. Recovery ability will be based on all these factors.
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