highly stressed areas in

8 years ago

I've had this issue since we owned the home, every year in mid summer, much of my lawn that receives a lot of Sun gets severely stressed. I don't have issues with grubs, I have not watered regularly, but neither have neighbors, and their lawn does not have this issue. I also have fertilizer applications done.

I'm starting to hypothesize that the previous owner may have used a shade type seed throughout the lawn in the shady areas, the grass looks much better. I will try and post photos.

I am thinking about overseeding in mid August, in hopes to crowd out this bad grass. However, I have 3 kids that play in the yard, so unsure if I can successly get new grass to grow with kids running around.

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Comments (10)

Tom
8 years ago
What state do you live in ?
ranger481vs
Original Author
8 years ago
southern Wisconsin
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Tom
8 years ago
It may be 'Poa Trivialis'- one of the worst grasses in hot conditions. When seeding an area thats getting some traffic, its best to use a mix of perennial rye and bluegrass. The Rye establishes very quickly, and becomes traffic tolerant after only 3 weeks. The Bluegrass is slow to establish, but needs to be part of the mix, because of its cold tolerance.
ranger481vs
Original Author
8 years ago
ok, I worry if I just overseed, it will take awhile, maybe 2-3 yrs to crowd out this grass.

Would it make sense to dethatch the yard, which will hopefully remove a lot of this stressed grass? Some of the really brown stuff is very dry and pulls up pretty easily. below is a pic of a clump that I pulled out if that helps at all for identification. amazing that this stuff can come back every year after looking like this!
Tom
8 years ago
It looks like Poa Trivialis. Its hard to get rid of because it has rhizomes just below the surface , which stay alive and re-new the plant when cooler conditions return. Yes, dethatching clears out dead material, and makes it easier for the other grasses to fill in those spots. Next spring when the Poa is lush and green, spray it with 'Tenacity' . I think it takes 3 applications - a couple of weeks apart, but not totally sure. I have never used it, but others on this board have.
User
8 years ago
Yep, Tenacity is great on that stuff. It can take up to 3 applications, although I generally have great luck with just one. Worst-case, it'll weaken the P. triv (or P. annua, it works well on that too) just before summer hits, which tends to kill off some of it.

Best case, it flat out kills the stuff!
Tom
8 years ago
I just looked at Poa Trivialis on Google, and it doesn't have rhizomes.......just above ground runners........but never the less, its a pain either way! :-) Some people also use a product called - 'Velocity'
Tom
8 years ago
.......Ooops , looks like Velocity is no longer in production.
ranger481vs
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks. I will do the Tenacity next spring then. Based on images, I think it's poa annual. It has the seed heads, and color of the grass blends in decently with my other grasses. The trivialis appears to be a much brighter green, that I've never seen in my lawn. Anyhow, thanks so much for the help!
ranger481vs
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Dredging my post back up.

I’d like to formulate a good plan for dealing with these stressed areas in my lawn. If you look at the previous replies/photos, you can see it might be Poa A or T that I’m dealing with. Last year, lawn looked pretty good and full in spring, then I ended up with a ton of large dead/dormant areas that never recovered. Lawn is just starting to wake up this spring in southern Wisconsin. What I’m thinking is to lay down Tenacity as a Pre-M, then overseed the affected areas, then follow later with another round of Tenacity. I will be seeding with a 50% KBG mixture and the rest a combo of ryegrass and red fescue. Since KBG takes a long time to germinate, I’m not sure when I should be putting down the 2ndround of Tenacity??

Now, please advise if my plan doesn’t seem like the best route to go. I'm open to suggestions!