St. Ausgustine in summer

Tymn – posted 28 August 2002 14:54

I recently purchased a home in Austin, TX with a St. Aug. lawn. The back yard is mostly shaded, the front is half shade half intense sunlight. We had torrential rains in July, and some time after I noticed that the back yard, in the shaded areas, the grass has become thinner and has developed a layer of dead thatch between the areas of good grass. From the side, the lawn looks great. From overhead, you can see just how much thatch is there. The sunny portion has developed a large area of dead, thatchy grass, particularly in a high-traffic area.

The front does well enough in the shaded areas, but there is similar thatching and some dead spots, one of which is about 4 inches across.

I have checked for chinch bugs in all locations and can’t seem to find any, so my thoughts turn to some kind of fungus, but I just have no experience with figuring these things out.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

wdrake – posted 28 August 2002 15:36

Take your pick of potential problems:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MENU_LHDIS

Tymn – posted 28 August 2002 19:23

wdrake:

Thanks for the laundry list! I have seen this list before, and it’s rather bewildering. Are there two or three problems that top the list? It would seem to make sense to shoot for the most common rather than the more rare.

Thanks.

wdrake – posted 29 August 2002 05:48

Use the investigative techniques in http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LH064to pinpoint a best guess and try the recommended treatment.