Waterlogged lawn

Hobowood – posted 26 January 2003 07:31

Living in mid-east Texas, in the tall pine area has presented a problem of waterlogged lawn. We can’t improve drainage much. The St. Augustine grass gives up and dies. We don’t know if it’s drowning or if it’s something else. We would like to replace the St. Augustine with something that can’t be drowned. Anybody have a suggestion?Hobowood

Lawn Guy – posted 01 March 2003 16:30

More than likely the grass isn’t the problem, if you have pine trees in your yard, then it’s the trees that are the problem. When the pine needles fall on the grass, that eats the grass alive, the best thing to do is just to have a “pine landscaped area.” By this I mean make some kind of border around the trees and leave it dirt. That’s aobut all you can do! Sorry!

George777 – posted 01 March 2003 18:30

Excess water overwhelms the pore spaces in the soil leading to water logged conditions. Poorly drained soils create anaerobic conditions that lead to root death (root rot), if they persist for an extended period. Plants vary in their response to poor drainage. Root rot eventually results in plant death through stages, starting with stunted growth and yellowing and wilting.

You will need to improve drainage should you desire turf grass.

I hope this helps.

newguy – posted 08 March 2003 08:40

I also have pine needles that cover everything in the fall. If I clean them up often during the shedding season, will that keep them from killing the lawn?

wdrake – posted 08 March 2003 15:58

Carpetgrass loves water soaked soil. It looks something like centipedegrass and is available as sod or seed. Give it a try.