I've had this happen.......and it was my own fault. I just trimmed a little too low. Bermuda scalps easily, sometimes within a fraction of an inch from the height of the mower blades. So the mowed part stays green, but the trimmed parts turn brown. I still battle with it, especially when it's really hot and dry.

 

Hopefully this ends soon, as we are getting some good rain today and overnight. It looks really bad, but no one has said anything to me about it yet.

 

yep from trimming to low

hopefully the grass comes back and not just a bunch of weeds

 

trimming a little to low and heat building up in the concrete or asphalt on driveways or sidewalks will hasten the process of it turning brown

 

Its called "EDGING"

using a string trimmer to EDGE is a bad practice and will only kill off grass and invite weeds

Bad cultural practice, you probably did it right before temp's got into the 90's, brown grass can get extremely hot compared to green grass and it just wipes it out

one hot afternoon just use your hand and touch green grass and then touch dormant or dead spots, huge difference

 

Its called "EDGING"

using a string trimmer to EDGE is a bad practice and will only kill off grass and invite weeds

Bad cultural practice, you probably did it right before temp's got into the 90's, brown grass can get extremely hot compared to green grass and it just wipes it out

one hot afternoon just use your hand and touch green grass and then touch dormant or dead spots, huge difference

I respectfully disagree. I have never used anything but a string trimmer to keep a constant edge on a sidewalk or driveway and have never had problems like the ones you describe.

The only time I use a power edger is if its to overgrown and a string trimmer wont cut through it.

How do you keep an edge?

 

Yeah, Ive always used the trimmer for this purpose every year, and nothing like this has ever happened before? And its not all in areas where a regular edger would even work, like the growth around retaining walls, around landscape beds, etc. so you have to use a trimmer in these areas anyway!

 

sounds like scalping... like the man said... EDGER

 

Mike, we have had the same problem on properties north of the river too. My thought was cutting to low with the trimmers. Does look like round up was put down though.

 

When I trim (I'm not talking about edging, I'm talking about TRIMMING), I always round the corners to make it easier when I'm mowing. Sometimes I'll notice the grass is a little brown in those areas......and it will be in the exact spots where I trimmed and rounded the corners the previous week. So there's no doubt in my mind that it is caused by trimming a little too low.

I don't know if all grasses do this, but my lawns are almost all Bermuda. If you cut Bermuda even a slight bit lower than it has been being cut, you can brown it out. It's very hard to keep the trimmer PERFECTLY level, and that's why this happens, in my opinion.

Mike, what type of grass are you cutting where you are?

 

this makes me glad I have nothing but St. Augustine

 

Are you triming to low?

 

When I trim (I'm not talking about edging, I'm talking about TRIMMING), I always round the corners to make it easier when I'm mowing. Sometimes I'll notice the grass is a little brown in those areas......and it will be in the exact spots where I trimmed and rounded the corners the previous week. So there's no doubt in my mind that it is caused by trimming a little too low.

I don't know if all grasses do this, but my lawns are almost all Bermuda. If you cut Bermuda even a slight bit lower than it has been being cut, you can brown it out. It's very hard to keep the trimmer PERFECTLY level, and that's why this happens, in my opinion.

Mike, what type of grass are you cutting where you are?

i'm glad i'm not the only one rounding the corners. i do it because the mower just doesn't seem to get that last little edge. and i'm talking about trimming as well. i use a stick edger for actual edging.

i'm running into the brown spots where i trim as well. it's been hot and dry around here so i'm thinking thats part of it. it could be from trimming a little to short. not scalping but maybe a little shorter than the mower cuts. not enought to notice after servicing a property though.

i always trim before mowing. i think it leaves a cleaner look.

 

sounds like you need rain

 

I have tips brown all the time. It's cause trimmers rip grass more than cut, making it more prone to burnt brown tips and overall poorer health. The heat is tougher on grass that has not been cut sharply. I get as much as I can with the mower.

 

I have tips brown all the time. It's cause trimmers rip grass more than cut, making it more prone to burnt brown tips and overall poorer health. The heat is tougher on grass that has not been cut sharply. I get as much as I can with the mower.

I'm sure this factors into the equation as well, Binky. Ripping the grass blade with trimmer line will not be as clean of a cut as a sharp mower blade.