Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
lawnnewb212

Dunno what I'm doing and it shows

LawnNewb212
10 years ago

I purchased my first home in Dec of last year. The lawn is composed mostly of tall fescue except where the builder laid sod last summer. The house was completed in June of 2012.

This spring I used some of Scott's weed and seed. I learned later that I applied waaay too much product. It looked great for a month or so until brown spots started to appear when I mowed. Today, there are large brown spots in my yard and I'm unsure if I caused it by lack of watering (haven't watered at all) or it's because I laid the fertilizer on too heavy. In any event, is it possible to restore a healthy color to my lawn at this point in the season? If so, how? :)

TIA

Comments (12)

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    Where do you live, When did you apply the Weed and Feed and how much did you apply? Check the turf blades at the boarders of the brown green areas for lesions. Also check for insect activity. See if the brown ares will easily pull up.

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I live near St. Louis, Missouri. The first application of the Weed and Feed was probably 6-8 weeks ago. This area of the lawn looked great and grew quickly.

    I did another application 3-4 weeks ago, however the 2nd application was only spot treating a couple of areas in this picture where I didn't get good coverage.

    On the entire yard, I used twice what the bag recommends between the two applications. I mistakenly used the same spreader setting my father used. However, he later told me he had the spreader open further to drain it when he cleaned it.

    Thanks for the reply.

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    This is a closer picture of the edge of the brown portion closer to the street on the left side of the previous picture.

    I mowed my lawn yesterday. Other than the grass clippings, the grass did not pull up easy.

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Another pic.

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The area next to the street was sod. The close up pictures are of sod as well.

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    It could be heat stress/dormancy in what people call "dry//hydrophobic" spots in the lawn, especially since you have not been watering in this heat (unless mother nature has been helping). If it was 6-8 weeks ago that you over applied and the lawn survived, I'd say that is not the culprit. The fact that the areas correspond with the areas you spot treated would lead me to believe that you may have over applied the herbicide and that the combination of lack of watering and heat has killed the turf. I'm not familiar with weed and feed applications and rates (and most folks here do not recommend its use--tiemco can expound-lol)--but I suspect 2 applications within 6 weeks is probably well beyond the recommended rate. I suggest you start a regular watering program and see if the grass recovers--if not, you'll need to overseed this fall.

    This post was edited by grass1950 on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 10:13

  • tiemco
    10 years ago

    It could be ascochyta blight, which should self resolve as that fungus usually doesn't kill the whole plant. Ascochyta mainly affects KBG, but can also do damage to TTTF. From the pics you posted i would say your lawn is more KBG than TTTF. Do a search to learn more about ascochyta.

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the ideas. Just to be clear, these areas weren't necessarily treated twice. I meant to explain that the 2nd application did not cover all of these areas. The 2nd application was merely to fill in spots were I didn't get complete coverage.

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    Tiemco, you are the first person to acknowledge that disease. I had a few areas of "strawing out" this past Spring and couldn't match the symptoms with any of the diseases listed on the eastern turf sites (Buckeye turf, Penn State, Rutgers, etc.) The only thing I found was on western turf sites like Colorodo U and was for the common name "leaf blight" (ascochyta). I've posted inquires on other sites (one of which is banned to mention here) asking if anyone had info on "leaf blight" or if it is known under a different name on the eastern turf sites--never got any responses. It appears there is no fungicide cure and the western sites suggest that proper mowing, watering and fertilization my prevent it.
    Is that all there is? Any further info on this would be appreciated.

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    Lawnnewb,
    Then I'd say it's either dormancy due to water/heat stress or disease very possibly leaf blight (from the pictures) as tiemco suggests. Check to see if the blades are "strawing out" from the tips down. Although I don't see lesions in the pics, you should look closely for them. If you do find lesions try to match them to images of different turf diseases. Another possibility that has that effect on turf is billbug infestation. google "billbugs".

  • LawnNewb212
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Leaf blight seems to make quite a bit of sense. I over-fertilized in the spring and the color changed pretty rapidly.

    The mention of bill bugs reminded me of a problem with pill bugs (with a P) this spring. The infestation was pretty bad in my garage but seems to have improved since it got hotter and dryer.

  • tiemco
    10 years ago

    Ascochyta isn't just a western disease, although I believe the weather conditions that precipitate it are more common west of the Mississippi. The OP stated it started after he mowed, and after a period of no watering. Ascochyta general strikes when the weather becomes hot and dry, and is often initiated by injury to the lawn, in this case, mowing. On a personal note, the driving range I frequent had many brown streaks right in front of the tee area that corresponded with topped shots, or worm burners. They disappeared in a week. I believe they were caused by ascochyta due to the weather we have had, the lack of watering they do on the range, and the correspondence with the injury caused by poorly hit golf balls.