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St. Augustine Grass Help!!

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hello everyone. This is my first post and I've come here for your help with my St. Augustine turf problem. I will try to provide as much info as possible, but will probably leave some things out. I live in Houston, TX.

For the past two years, the grass in my front yard has completely died off. It begins dying in a small area in the yard, not very symmetrical in shape and in a different corner of the yard each year. It goes from a healthy dark green to light green to yellow to straw in a matter of weeks. It then begins to spread horizontally across the front of the yard, nearly killing all of the grass. I installed irrigation last year thinking the grass was under watered as it is in complete sun, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Neighbors who do not have sprinkler systems and have full sun are not struggling with dead grass. I water 2 times per week for 45 minutes each zone, about 3-4 inches of water a week.

At the suggestion of a neighbor, I took a shovel and lifted living, dying, and dead grass to see if grubs were underneath. There were no signs of grubs. When tugging on yellowing grass, the grass does not come up easily. The grass on the other side of the driveway, separate from the front yard and also in full sun, looks like some of the best lawn in the neighborhood. The backyard, though somewhat shady, is thriving as well. I fertilize at times throughout the year depending on the season. I have never used pesticides.

I have looked for answers all over the net but am unable to determine the root cause. I will be sending off a soil sample shortly to have tested. I will attach a few pictures for reference.

Thanks to all who have any suggestions/recommendations. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.

Drew

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Comments (5)

bossyvossy
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Looks like overwTering or excessive moisture (like from all this rain
drewlangemeier thanked bossyvossy
drewlangemeier
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for the reply, Bossy. My irrigation automatically shuts off if we get just a little rain. The zone to the left of the driveway that is thriving receives the same amount of sun and water as the right side, which is dying. Unfortunately, this is now spreading into my neighbor's yard next door, where it initially started a year ago.
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We need to know where you live because Portland, Oregon is in zone 8b. If you live there my suggestions might be different than if you live in Texas. It is likely your lawn is late coming out because of something you did not do last fall. Did you fertilize after the grass stopped growing but before it went dormant? I realize this seems counter intuitive, but it seems to work. It could also be the angle of the sun hitting the front and back. If the lawn slopes to the south it will come out earlier than if it slopes to the north. The soil needs to warm up. Oh, and by watering it so much you are continually cooling the soil. This time of year you probably should be deep watering once or twice every month, not 3x per week. Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
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bossyvossy
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
It still looks Like fungal disease resulting from excessive moisture. BTW, you only need 1" of water per week so if you're doing more, then it's too much. I don't know if your county Ext will look at pics online, but there's a lot of qualified people there to comment on your case. Give them a call
dmt4641
7 years ago
Have you done a test for chinch bugs?
dchall_san_antonio
7 years ago
That is weird that all over the net nobody recognizes fungal disease in St Aug. The first and last pictures show it crystal clear with the lesions running up and down the brown tipped blades. I have had rousing success fighting fungal disease with ordinary corn meal applied at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Call your local feed stores to check availability. The cost should be well under $10. They might think you want corn gluten meal. You don't. The difference in price will tell you they are selling you the wrong product. CGM sells for roughly $30 per bag.

When corn meal decomposes it attracts a fungus which attracts a predatory fungus causing the predator to over populate. Once the initial host fungus is gone, the predator goes after the disease fungus.

Your alternative is to use chemicals. I can't help you with that. I've never needed them. But if you use chemicals first, then you cannot come back and try the corn meal later. The chemicals will kill off the predatory fungus from the soil.

Try the corn meal first. If, after 3 weeks you don't like the results, either apply the corn meal again or try chemicals. Corn meal was the only thing that worked for me and was good enough to convince me to go full organic with my fertilizer. If you are happy with the corn meal after 3 weeks, you might just use it every month this summer to make sure you got it all.

Corn meal is an organic fertilizer, so apply to the entire yard. Otherwise as the grass comes in over the dead areas, it would be much darker green.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

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