Can loose pieces of st. Augustine be healed?

miamiaml – posted 14 June 2004 12:05

My sod is not rooting with the soil underneath. It has been four weeks since I initially laid the sod and my grass is slowly browning and thinning out. I amsure my grass will die completely if I don’t fix the problem. What do I do to get the sod to root, or is it too late?

wdrake – posted 14 June 2004 17:32

My thoughts:4 weeks is a long time w/o rooting-not good!Pull a piece or two up and look at roots If they are white rather than black there may be hope. If soil (on which you placed the sod) is compacted; that is probably keeping sod from rooting. The only “solution” I can think op is pull-up the sod, roto-till and augment the soil and put the sod back. If the soil underneath is not compacted you might try renting a roller; filling it 1/2 full with water and roll the sod to make sure there is nearly 100% contact between sod and soil

cohiba – posted 14 June 2004 18:42

I agree, the sod should have been rooted by now. What steps were taken to prep the soil?Is this a new lawn or a renovated lawn? Has the soil been tested prior to prep for the sod? I have seen where the sod is not rooting, the soil underneath was not prepared correctly or was unexceptable for the turf so the roots just stay with the soil they were grown in. Is it knitting at all? Is this widespread or localized to a few spots?

Just some insights…….Good Luck…….

jack – posted 06 July 2004 08:09

How much have you been watering? Don’t know if over-watering would be enough to keep the roots from going deeper, but just another thought that occurred to me. I’d defer to the experts, though.