Fescue Turning Yellow Again

10 years ago

Hi,

We need help ...

Background: Our property was new construction last year and the back yard was sodded with fescue October '12. The soil is Georgia Clay which isn't the best. The folks that laid the sod did till the the weeds and do a little prep. The yard does not have the greatest drainage and it does stay moist since we are at the bottom of a hill and it has been an unusually wet year in Georgia.

Situation: We didn't have any issues with the lawn until about April '13 when we started noticing some of the grass blades turning yellow. We were told by our lawn care company that it was brown patch. They sprayed with fungicide repeatedly throughout the summer. Some parts of the lawn did die, but over all the lawn survived. The company claimed the problem would go away in the cool weather. Well, we just had the coldest Thanksgiving in a hundred years and there is still a problem. The picture that I posted is from today.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? Is this brown patch? Is it something else? Two different lawn care companies have sprayed fungicides back there and I spread Scott's fungicide which did nothing and sprayed Spectricide which seemed to stop it for awhile.

Thanks!

Comments (5)

krnuttle
10 years ago
I am not an expert but with the cold weather the grass has probably gone dormant and will not green up until late February and March.
Roger505
10 years ago
Fescue does go dormant but dosent turn yellow when it does.

From that picture it looks like you need a new mower blade for sure!
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Roger505
10 years ago
Fescue does go dormant but dosent turn yellow when it does.

From that picture it looks like you need a new mower blade for sure!
User
10 years ago
Stephen,
Your grass looks like it is being ripped bad when you mow it. Are you mowing it? Is the lawn company mowing it?
Yellow isn't brown patch. Brown patch is brown, and it usually starts in a circular pattern or patch in your lawn and spreads out.
Where are you in GA that you grow fescue? You must be high in elevation to be able to grow that.
Does the water just sit on the grass after it stops raining? You mentioned a drainage problem.
Get the soil tested, then you will know what the lawn needs as far as chemicals next season.
Get your lawn mower blades sharpened real good too.
Never mow it any lower than 3 inches in the hottest months.
After you get the results of a soil test, come back and ask the pros on this forum what they reccomend for next season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Univ of GA Soil Testing info
stephenkocis
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you so much. I plan to get the soil tested. It's a new mower and I didn't consider a dull blade, but it wouldn't hurt to sharpen it. Fescue is supposed to thrive this time of year in GA (from my understanding), so it's not dormant.

We are about an hour north of Atlanta.

No, the water doesn't sit on the grass, it just has been unusually wet this year. We are the bottom of a hill too, so that doesn't help with drainage. But there isn't any standing water.