Care of St. Augustine Grass

Dan Guaricci – posted 19 June 2002 08:13

Please Help Last year I purchased a new house with St. Augustine Grass, (Type Unknown). This year patches most small, one large have appeared where the grass has died and what is left looks like dead roots. I have noticed that other houses are having the same problem in spots. Does some one know if this is bug or care oriented.Thanks in advance for any help you can give in understanding the problem

WillR – posted 19 June 2002 14:37

Could be either. Could be fungus, mole crickets, (or a child could have gotten a hold of your bottle of Round-Up (this happened to me)).

We need you to elaborate further on your problem.

southern lawns tech – posted 12 July 2002 18:23

could be brown patch.most likly chinch bugs.ask your local turf grass care co.to take a look.

jerry james – posted 27 July 2002 10:58

I have some dead areas of dead St augestine with new growth but it is yellow,I also have yellowing in in other areas. I fertilized early spring, and iron in June.I water about twice a week, and still have the same problem. Any help?

WillR – posted 27 July 2002 11:40

Jerry,

Same as above. Dig your finger down into the dirt about 3-4 inches. If the ground is moist there, back off your watering.

You very well could be watering too much.

Only when the ground dries out or the grass begins to wilt should you water it.

timsp – posted 28 July 2002 12:07

I am having a similar problem with my St. Augustine, it starts getting yellow and then dies. This is only happening in one area of my yard which is pretty heavily shaded. We have had quite a bit of rain lately so I think it is waterlogged but is there anything I can do about it? I live in middle Georgia if that makes a difference.Thanks !!!!

eddie – posted 30 July 2002 21:41

St. Augustine is prone to get diseases like brown patch, and grey leaf spot. Brown patch typically has a circular shape, in the middle of the circular shape the grass will be dead. The outer edge of this will have a yellow band. The yellow will indicate whether or not the fungus is actively damaging the lawn. A fungicide can help if the disease is active, but will not kill the fungus. A fungicide will protect the healthy grass surrounding the area from getting the fungus. Recovery of the area will take time and a light fertilizer can help with this.

Another thing to look for is Chinch bugs which like St. Augustine. Chinch bugs extract the juices out of the leaf surface, hence killing the grass. Chinch bugs always attack in direct sunlight they do not attack in shaded areas. If chinch bugs are detected as the culpret apply an insectide to eradicate them.

eddie – posted 30 July 2002 21:45

proper Watering the St. Augustine grass when dealing with fungicides is very important. Do not water grass unless absolutely necessary when going through a disease related problem. Excessive watering leads to disease. Only water during the morning hours. Also making sure the lawn mower blad is always sharp can also help deter diseases from entering the plant itself. If the leaf blades of grass are torn and ripped off the blade needs sharpening.

Lawn-mowreen – posted 01 August 2002 10:20

quote:Originally posted by timsp:I am having a similar problem with my St. Augustine, it starts getting yellow and then dies. This is only happening in one area of my yard which is pretty heavily shaded. We have had quite a bit of rain lately so I think it is waterlogged but is there anything I can do about it? I live in middle Georgia if that makes a difference.Thanks !!!!

I too am having the same problem. I thought that maybe she was thirsty. ( yes,it is a girl) It rained in Houston 3 days, yet it was still yellow. But get this only in one spot.The rest grows like a bad haircut. (very tall in some spots and not at all in others. this makes it a pain because one little strip makes my lawn look neglected and overgrown. I just buy the bags and follow the directions but…

tom cherry – posted 12 September 2004 16:13

My St. Augustine lawn has yellow streaks throughout and we have had ALOT of rain. There are no circles to indicate brown rot. Lawn ‘expert” says brown leaf is the fungus. Any ideas what to treat this condition with? And yes I know not to water but the rains keep coming! tOm

Polly – posted 20 March 2005 16:54

Hey Guys, I bought a house in New Braunfels, Tx. last year. I have St. Augustine and it NEVER GROWS, always looks like super-short turf grass and it is an “even mix” of short, green blades mixed among light brown ones. It isn’t dense either. It should be mentioned that my yard is mostly covered by pecan trees. The trees are old and very tall so the canopies are very high. There is lots of indirect, bright light with a couple of hours off direct morning and evening sunlight. It doesn’t matter what I do to it…no change. I wonder if it’s the soil. It definitely isn’t sandy-loam. It’s that black stuff that (with water)expands and contracts like crazy and builders hate to pour a slab over it. This can’t be good for the grass either.???? The roots of the grass look non-existent and appear to be growing extremely shallowly. Compaction?The runners that do look like they are trying to take off across the barren area are just flopping over the surface, not like they intend to “dig in” and stay. I have whole areas of raw dirt where nothing grows at all. Those areas have direct light,dang it. What the heck? Salt-dome? I fertilized with Corn gluten meal and ironite, twice in the last year–trying to go the organic route. I water once weekly, deeply. I’ll check the ground to be sure I’m not over-doing it.Should I dump a load of sandy loam over the whole thing? I gotta tell you… I love to mow grass, but mine won’t grow for some reason. Too much or too little water, Fungus, Mold, Mildew, bugs, disease????????? What does this sound like to you all?

jr – posted 22 March 2005 11:08

Dont place any fill soil over the root zones of those trees, or else you will solve your sunlight problem by killing them. As little as a two inch increase in grade will significantly damage a tree’s root system and can lead to death.

D Pierce – posted 04 April 2005 10:48

Do you have to thatch St Aug? I installed 5 pallets about 6 weeks ago and noticed lots of thatch already in the sod. I was picking up some pine cones this weekend and saw that the shoots were starting to come up but the thatch was so thick that in some places it was actually matted. I went over it once with a leaf rake and got quite a bit of dead grass. I have had st A. in previous homes but never with this much dead underlay. i am affraid I will lose my new lawn before I get a chance to enjoy it.

ted – posted 04 April 2005 18:35

no you don’t need to thatch st. aug. this soon- can actually be damaging to the grass.

djones – posted 02 June 2005 19:49

Clearing out the thatch is not necessary? My wife is concerned that the runners are not able to establish themselves because they are too far from the soil. She suggested clearing a lot of the thatch out by hand. What is your recommendation?

Val – posted 03 June 2005 08:28

Hey there, I’ve just moved into a house with newly planted St. Augustine grass and it was doing great for about a month. We too have a pecan tree in our yard. I’ve heard pecan trees make the soil acidic which might be your problem. Check out this website (http://www.fertilizer.com/lawn/st_augustine.htm) it suggests using lime. I’m no expert but thought I would pass it along. I’m hoping we can turn ours around before it all dies. Good luck!

quote:Originally posted by Polly:Hey Guys, I bought a house in New Braunfels, Tx. last year. I have St. Augustine and it NEVER GROWS, always looks like super-short turf grass and it is an “even mix” of short, green blades mixed among light brown ones. It isn’t dense either. It should be mentioned that my yard is mostly covered by pecan trees. The trees are old and very tall so the canopies are very high. There is lots of indirect, bright light with a couple of hours off direct morning and evening sunlight. It doesn’t matter what I do to it…no change. I wonder if it’s the soil. It definitely isn’t sandy-loam. It’s that black stuff that (with water)expands and contracts like crazy and builders hate to pour a slab over it. This can’t be good for the grass either.???? The roots of the grass look non-existent and appear to be growing extremely shallowly. Compaction?The runners that do look like they are trying to take off across the barren area are just flopping over the surface, not like they intend to “dig in” and stay. I have whole areas of raw dirt where nothing grows at all. Those areas have direct light,dang it. What the heck? Salt-dome? I fertilized with Corn gluten meal and ironite, twice in the last year–trying to go the organic route. I water once weekly, deeply. I’ll check the ground to be sure I’m not over-doing it.Should I dump a load of sandy loam over the whole thing? I gotta tell you… I love to mow grass, but mine won’t grow for some reason. Too much or too little water, Fungus, Mold, Mildew, bugs, disease????????? What does this sound like to you all?