Stem Coat???

18 years ago

I have just completed a thorough examination of my lawn. It is healthy and green, but overall I am seeing too much of what I am calling a STEM COAT. The stems have a sheath around them. I have seen lawns where all you see of the stem is a lighter shade of green when compared to the leaves. My leaves and stems are healthy, but the stems are covered with this sheath? Am I doing something wrong or is this just the winter dormancy.

It's Riviera overseeded with Annual Rye and is at about 2" right now. Rotary mower until I get the reel out of the shop.

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
18 years ago
Are these recent pictures? I would expect an even color of green by this time rather than the brown spots?

How many times have you mowed this year?
Have you fertilized, and if so, with what?

You might consider raising your mower deck up all the way to the highest setting. Try it for a month and see if you like it.
dchall_san_antonio
18 years ago
Wait a minute. You said you had Riviera but the picture looks like St Augustine. I was thinking St Aug when I replied. If this is bermuda then my questions are the same, but my suggestion to raise the mower is backward. You seem to know to use a reel mower to keep it down. Sorry for my confusion, but that picture really does not look like bermuda to me.

Still, has it just not greened up yet? We are further south than you in San Antonio but not by much and you may be warmer being closer to the water. I would expect a more even coloration by now.
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david_lindsey
Original Author
18 years ago
It's Riviera Bermuda. That closeup is real close(less than one sqare foot), so it is misleading. The blades are actually very small. I have been cutting twice weekly for 4 weeks now to keep the Rye canopy down. Fertilized once(26-2-13 @ 1 lb N/1000), but the Rye took off like a banshee so I have held back till it burns off. The Bermuda is green and growing slowly.

Is it just scalping at 2" with the rotary? Will the reel cure it? I really have no experience with a reel because I got it for last season but only got to use it a few times.
dchall_san_antonio
18 years ago
Scalping accounts for the tan colors. You also have brown spots like in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

You are going to have to ease into the reel mower. If you are mowing now at 2 inches, make your new two mowings at the next lower notch on your rotary. Then lower a notch and do two more. Continue until you hit bottom on your rotary and then move to the reel at the same setting. Once you get lower than 3/4 inch, you can start to decide whether you want to go lower.

If your rotary was scalping, that does not necessarily mean the reel will scalp. The clipping processes are so much different you may be okay without doing anything special with the reel. If you decide you want to even out some low spots, you can add sand or top soil at about 1/4 of the height of your grass per week. Whatever you do you do not want to smother the grass. Even bermuda will look awful for a long time if it gets smothered.