jimmygiii I used to try to time my watering with the wilting of the blades. I was using a rotary impact type sprinkler like all the magazines told me I was supposed to use. Unfortunately those things leave a lot of lawn unwatered. I spend one day watering and the rest of the week trying to catch up with the wilty spots that didn't get watered. Last year I went back to the oscillating type sprinkler. I've had every sprinkler at least twice and the oscillator at least four times. Now I have two of them and love them for my yard. I don't get enough wind down under the tree canopy to blow the water around so it works great for me. But as to wilting, I don't wait that long anymore. Everyone should adjust their watering by something and I prefer to anticipate the wilting and water a little early. When I waited for the grass to wilt, it never developed the density I was looking for. Now it does. 2.75" is a little short for the best appearance and least overall maintenance in my opinion. I mow at my rotary's highest setting and I'm seeing a lot more lawns mowed up high. If the grass is not dense, mowing high allows it to fall over so there is that to consider. If your density is good then mowing higher allows deeper root development, longer water retention in the soil (less evaporation), and less chance of weeds. I get my quiet serenity, such as it is, from an electric mower. I can't quite have a comfortable conversation with it running, but I can at least know if someone wants to talk without shouting.

Well! Sorry to break it to you but it's been dead since about 2 weeks into that 5-week watering plan last year. it should have been watered about 5-10 times total since October and then only because it was new sod. Then from late November to now it should have been watered a total of 3 times. So, yes, it has been over watered. You may as well pick it all up and create a compost pile. There is a very strong chance that you have the disease which killed the grass instilled in your soil underneath. Once you get all the old sod out, I would scatter some compost over it at a rate of 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet. At the same time I would apply ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Together the compost and corn meal should take care of the disease organisms in about 3 weeks. After that you should be free to put down fresh sod. Corn meal attracts a beneficial fungus which is predatory on the disease fungi. It takes 3 weeks to work but it works pretty well for me. I've used it every year since I found out about it in 2002. Before that I had dead spots year after year. Next time you put down sod, water it 3x per day but very lightly each time. Do that for 2 weeks or until the roots knit into the underlying soil. Once that starts to happen back off on the frequency and go up on the duration. Measure your sprinkler output by putting empty cat food or tuna cans around the yard. Time how long it takes to apply a full inch. That is your goal for ALL future watering. But you have to promise you will never water mature turf on a daily basis. You cannot go cold turkey straight to once per week, but get there gradually. At the most in SE FL you should be watering once per week during the hottest part of summer. When it cools into the 80s you should start backing off on the frequency to every 2 weeks. In the winter it should be once per month. I live in drought stricken Texas and this watering plan works. I've done some experiments with a house in George West, TX on the edge of the desert. I have parts of my lawn in the deep shade which have not been watered by me since October of 2011. 2012 was a very dry year and 2013 was not much better. I'm doing other things with the lawn as part of the experiment, but the point is, you don't need nearly as much water as you're giving it.

I had a reputable lawn care co give me a fungal diagnosis and said I had chinch bugs at one point but that they were not found at the time he inspected. I looked for myself and maybe saw one chinch bug after checking several places...certainly nothing like what was shown in the video you posted. In the beginning what I had looked like every picture of grey leaf spot or dollar spot that I've ever seen. Maybe chinch bugs came in and hit it at some point or maybe the products I used damaged the grass. If it's the latter that's a little disheartening. My comment about runoff was an assumption due to the slight slope and the fact that the grass at the bottom of the slope was the first to show signs of being shallow rooted including one small area that's just slightly lower than the rest. EDIT - yes there is still some green grass in the median. There's even a sprig or two popping up from the middle of the brown. EDIT 2 - Just doing my due diligence I'm reading many reports that corn meal doesn't do anything for fungus and that it's a myth??? That being said I've read just as many that say it works. This post was edited by jamesr14 on Mon, Sep 15, 14 at 18:42

Being fairly close like roselee, I'm curious about that as well. First I've heard of that. My guess would be because the typical homeowner isn't going to put in the time to research the different types of St.A. and just pick up whatever is cheaper. Nor will they spend the time to properly prepare, let alone maintain the more important soil. Cover all the bases by allowing none perhaps? We have a mix of floratam and raleigh in the front and I have a hard time telling the difference. It's mostly shaded by trees but both seem to do equally well in regards to drought until about day 8 or so of no water. Then I can really start to tell the difference. I dug everything out as deep as I cared to muster, screened it, added pure compost to the height I wanted then laid the sod. In early spring I add compost, sulfur, iron, alaska fish fertilizer, molasses, epsom salt, and some other goodies. My neighbors often jokingly tell me they are going to catch me watering on my off days because it's usually pretty lush and green in these rough months while theirs are brown. I chuckle because normally I only water every two weeks (thank you soil). A&M is coming out with another St.A in 2015 that's supposed to be even more drought resistant than floratam called DALSA 0605 so I'm waiting to re-do a section of the back until it becomes available to give it a whirl. I just took this picture. I didn't water this week (Tuesday) so it's been 9 days since it's had a drink. Can you spot the patch of raleigh? :D It used to be a lot bigger but the floratam is winning so I just leave it alone.