re: Issues with St Augustine

I’m zooming in on your photos and I’m seeing some yelling. Do me a favor and look for yellow blades with dark green veins. That is a chlorotic leaf blade which is dead give-a-way that you gave take all.

Look up Randy Lemmon. He's an Aggie but that's OK. My lawn looks great once I got on the regimen.

Randy Lemmon

Read his tip sheet on the lawn fertilization schedule.

Fungicide is your friend.

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Well damn

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Uh'oh...that's not good lol... I assume you say that because of the root rot?

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Call Trugreen and tell them you need a Heritage application immediately.

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They're coming out tomorrow, but I don't have a lot of confidence or faith in them. I already know what he's going to tell me, he's going to say they're going to come in and thatch it, do an aeration, and put down topsoil and charge me an arm and a leg to do it .

I actually ordered the Scott's DiseaseEx, based on your recommendation. I'll be putting that down tomorrow than Peat Moss on Sunday..

Just curious, is there anything I did to cause this?

What could I do to prevent it? A Fungicide and peat moss regiment routinely?

Do you think I should get a soil sample done?

Probably not. For the grass to show signs of disease you need 3 things. The pathogen, the correct host, and the right environment. You had the pathogen, St Aug is the correct host, and the environment is rainy and warm.

You couldn't have prevented it. Fungicide on St Aug is always a wise choice. Peat moss every other year. I've seen an article that said it will last for 3 years but there is no exact science on that yet. You can always wait until you see signs of it to take action.

You should get a soil sample done because you will now want your lawn to be slightly acidic.

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ronk

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I can't thank you enough for all your guidance, tips, and advice that you've given me in this thread. I don't know where I would have gotten all this information.... again, the check is in the mail!

Ronk

I heard back from the LSU Extension agent and she said the same thing as you, root rot.

TruGreen came out and gave me an evaluation. This is what he emailed:

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"The current condition of the lawn in large part is brought on by the accumulation of thatch, (grass clippings and etc.), and the amount of moisture that we have been having in the early months of the year. When a thatch layer builds up, the root system of the grass moves from the soil to the thatch for nutrients and moisture. This is evident with how loose the turf has become. When the roots move into the thatch it makes the grass more susceptible for insects, fungus and weather conditions. In your case, like many others in your subdivision, this leads to erratic and slow green-up. Over the next few weeks with normal weather the lawn will green completely up and look fine as in the picture that you sent. If corrective action is not taken then you should expect to see the same thing next spring and etc. with it becoming gradually worse and eventually needing to be re-sodded.

I have a solution which will remove the thatch and cut the rhizomes and stolon’s which will stimulate new growth and a faster recovery without the expense of re-sodding the lawn. During this process we would perform a core aeration and top dress the lawn with mason sand. This will help to smooth out the lawn and provide improved flow of moisture through the soil profile. I also recommend an application of an Organic biochar. This along with watering will result in a healthier thicker lawn over the course of a few weeks."

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I actually followed your recommendations of a fungicide and peat moss over the weekend. I have my doubts about TruGreen's diagnosis and their solution ($$$)

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Regardless of that.....they did not address the fact that your lawn has an active fungus.

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After he did his evaluation he told me it was not a fungus and it was NOT root rot when I asked

Honestly,.I think he is just trying to sell me on a $500+ job

He told me it was "normal" for St. Augestine to look like this coming out of winter...and that the "dead spots" were due to thatch because I don't bag my clippings...I just have my doubts about that