We just moved into a new house in Michigan about 30 miles north of Detroit and had new sod installed this past weekend. I have been watering it 20 minutes per zone each morning and it has also rained but the sod does not seem to be getting any better. As you can can see from the pictures, the sod looks like it is dead or dying. The installer says it is fine. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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New Sod Installation looks like it is dying
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rob77
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I put down some bermuda that was left in our subdivision that had molded and it came back. It had sat on the pallets for several weeks (The edges that had sunlight were green and the rest was slimey and molded) and the builder said take it. There is a chance that it will come back, but then again since its not bermuda I wouldnt hold my breath.
Thank you everyone for your help and opinions. It has really been a help and gave me the insight to deal with this situation. I have now had a chance to speak with the installer and the sod farm. It looks like the sod sat out too long last week during our 3 days of 90 degree temps. And as most of you guessed that is what did it. Also, I have not paid for the sod yet.
Anyway, I spoke with the installer this morning and he has agreed to take out the existing sod and replace it with brand new fresh sod.
Anyway, I spoke with the installer this morning and he has agreed to take out the existing sod and replace it with brand new fresh sod.
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Well that is great, too bad he didnt get the first load put down in time...what a waste!
Nice to see him step up and do the right thing. It looked like it had sat somewhere to long then got rolled out on a hot day. Being an x golf super we would run into these problems with people delivering sod after it's been cut and did not get to us right away. Good luck with the re-install and post a new pic.
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Wow! What a difference...there is no way that other sod was going to "come back next year"!
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Looks Good. Good on you for making him stand behind his service.
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Much better now if you could just get rid of the goofy black plastic edging. I guess that's just a pet peeve of mine. But that's my oppinion.
That sod is not in contact with the poorly preped ground under it, it was palleted too long, Some of those rolls look like they are in necrotic state of decay wich tells me they put it down dead, and it most likely will not rebound from it's dormancy(deadness).
We grade alot of yards install alot of sod around 300 a year well untill the houseing market when to you know were in a handbasket
1st they did what appears a bad job in grading.
2nd not sure what the temp is up there but they should have been watering the sod with in the hour of laying. It should have been soaked. The sod will go into shock and look like that.
3rd After the 1st 24 hours its the builders or home owners job to water the sod. There is not a lot you can do with it this late in the year. If you replace it the sod you get would brown at this point as well.
4th I would for sure have them come back and roll your yard at the least.
was it completely green when laid? It looks like to me from the green edges it had been sitting. Either on the job or the farm.
1st they did what appears a bad job in grading.
2nd not sure what the temp is up there but they should have been watering the sod with in the hour of laying. It should have been soaked. The sod will go into shock and look like that.
3rd After the 1st 24 hours its the builders or home owners job to water the sod. There is not a lot you can do with it this late in the year. If you replace it the sod you get would brown at this point as well.
4th I would for sure have them come back and roll your yard at the least.
was it completely green when laid? It looks like to me from the green edges it had been sitting. Either on the job or the farm.
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I deal with tons of sod my man and that is some awful looking stuff. Question did it look likr that when he put it down and how soon after did it change . Dormant sod browns out but not that bad. i wouldnt pay him a dime til you get some answers and if he still says its dormant i would get it in writng hes guaranteeing a greenup in the spring or you get your money back or he replaces the sod. It looks to me like he had the sod awhile on the pallets.:nono
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No matter how much water you put down that sod will not come back! Just by looking at the pictures and not knowing the temperature the day it was put in I would say that the sod got too hot. What I mean by that is when the sod is still rolled up, the temperature rises in the center of the roll so much that it kills the turf. This would explain why there is still some green along the edges. This sod was dead before it was even unrolled and put down! I hope this helps.
FYI I have a Bachelors Degree in Turf Management and I have been in the green industry for 16 years.
Good Luck!
FYI I have a Bachelors Degree in Turf Management and I have been in the green industry for 16 years.
Good Luck!
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YA it looks like to me it was a very poor install, to be honest with you. I've done a bunch of sod installs never kentucky blue grass though, just mostly bermuda and fescue. but things you need to look at and consider is like you were saying: make sure it's getting plenty of water( you should water for 20 min. a day for the 1st 30 days and then anything after that you should only water for 20-30 mins 3x a week, depending how hot it is mabey 4x too much water is a bad thing
) also make sure that there isn't trash and chemicals in the ground, for example beer cans, big pieces of metal/wood, paint that someone could have dumped in the yard, gasoline, i see this problem a lot down here in georgia. Also make sure that the ground is not packed to hard. It needs a good layer of nice LOOSE DIRT for the grass to lay on if the ground is too hard then the soil can't get enough oxygen and nutrients it needs. Also i guess you could talk to your local landscapers and see if they suggest any kinds of fertilizers, it's worth a shot. good luck to ya man, let me know how things turn out for ya.
"Work Smarter, Not Harder"
) also make sure that there isn't trash and chemicals in the ground, for example beer cans, big pieces of metal/wood, paint that someone could have dumped in the yard, gasoline, i see this problem a lot down here in georgia. Also make sure that the ground is not packed to hard. It needs a good layer of nice LOOSE DIRT for the grass to lay on if the ground is too hard then the soil can't get enough oxygen and nutrients it needs. Also i guess you could talk to your local landscapers and see if they suggest any kinds of fertilizers, it's worth a shot. good luck to ya man, let me know how things turn out for ya."Work Smarter, Not Harder"
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