Something craaazy going on here...

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hey all! Got two things funky going on. One more funky than the other, but here goes:

1. The main issue is that I'm seeing some crazy patterns of dead grass. Anyone know what's happening here? Grubs, maybe?

2. I did some overseeding recently. Used a mix of see from Ace. That's probably the first mistake. Anyways...after doing so, I got all these wacky grasses coming up. They seem to be weed grasses -- short roots, thick base, and growing at light speed. Any thoughts on what these are?? And if they're a weed grass, any suggestions for getting rid of them?

Thanks so much in advance!

Featured Answer

dchall_san_antonio

9 years ago

Agree, not nutsedge. That's sort of good news.

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 daytime air 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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Comments (9)

dchall_san_antonio
9 years ago
The top pictures are from a disease. If you want to check for grubs, dig up one of those areas looking for them. The lawn can tolerate about a dozen grubs per square foot, but more than that should be treated.

The weed looks like nutsedge. If that's what it is, grass killer won't touch it. You need a sedge killer like Sedgehammer or a couple others.

Where do you live?

Have you gotten much rain this summer? If not then what is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water?
mishmosh
9 years ago
Necrotic ring spot and annual ryegrass, would be my two guesses.
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mrbigelow
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
@dchall_san_antonio -- Thanks for the feedback! I'll dig up under one of those spots and see if I find grubs.

Here are two more close-up shots of the "grasses" in question. I looked into nutsedge and have read that nutsedge has a triangular base. These are rounded, so I'm guessing it's not nutsedge. Any other thoughts??

I live in Northwest Indiana. We've had a fair amount of rain. And I water twice a week, for about 45 minutes per zone on our irrigation system.
mrbigelow
Original Author
9 years ago
@mishmosh -- Thanks for the suggestions! Looking into those!
mrbigelow
Original Author
9 years ago
Great information. Thank you!
Jon
9 years ago
I'm no expert but the weed looks like quackgrass to me. Only way I know to get rid of it is RoundUp, I don't think there's any selective weed killer for it.
Donald Cooper
9 years ago
The dead patterns look like "fairy rings", although they aren't usually this contorted. If so, it's a fungus, fostered by wet conditions. The "ring" will usually expand in size, though slowly, and "peter out". The affected grass will eventually recover, quickly if it's (expansive) KBG. Google fairy rings to get more info so you can diagnose more confidently.

The pictured grass doesn't much look like quackgrass (a quite terrible pest), QG would have distinct white stolons among the roots, and are not shown here. Also, the color would tend to be darker and bluish. I suspect it's annual rye or timothy, both of which will be "clumpy", easily plucked out, and not enduring.
mrbigelow thanked Donald Cooper
mrbigelow
Original Author
9 years ago
Based on everyone's comments, as well as some follow-up research on the suggestions, I think I agree that the grass in questions seems to be annual rye.

As for the other, necrotic ring spot seems to be the closest match I can find.