A small site where one man shares his love for and knowledge of saint augustine grass lawns. Apr 20, 2017 because january 2017 found extremely low temperatures plunging deeply into texas, st. In addition to being lower maintenance, palisades is known for being more drought and shade tolerant than many other turf. If youre looking for a dense turf that thrives in a warm, coastal climate, you cant do better than st. Knowing that central texas is warm several months of the year, we want to select a durable, warm weather grass that doesnt require a lot of watering. Augustine grass in 1991 but has also been found in bermuda. Augustine lawns, and l11, white grubs in texas turfgrass, available from the texas agricultural extension service. Covering many different lawn care topics relating to most aspects. To control the dreaded brown patch fungal disease symmetrical brown circles in the grass you must prevent it from coming up with a systemic lawn fungicide with bayleton, prostar, banner or compass. But if youve got a saint augustine lawn and the temperature has now dropped below 85 degrees and its in that range of 70 to 85 degrees and its cool and. The combined loss of water from plants and soil was measured in a classic turf study in central texastable 1. Raleigh is finer textured than floratam and develops a dense turf much like the texas common strain of st. Augustine shows the most potential for being highly resistant. This disease, brown patch, is also known as rhizoctonia and what is does is it starts out and starts dying in the grass and sometimes there a little halo almost, like a smoke right around the growing part.
Brown patch can also affect a variety of warmseason grasses, including st. Maintaining your yard properly can prevent this type of fungus from destroying. Michael bosco of soils alive, llc shows you how to recognize symptoms of brown patch fungal disease in your lawn. Brown patch is circular in shape, takeall patch has an irregular shape. Brown patch disease of lawns bexar county extension texas. It most commonly occurs in the spring and fall, and risk increases with high nitrogen levels. Often the center of the patch will recover, resulting in a doughnutshaped. Covering many different lawn care topics relating to most aspects of lawn care practices for st augustine grass lawns. It has since been observed to be brown patch tolerant. New grass blades may emerge in the center of the patch, giving the circle a doughnut look. Symptoms symptoms of brown patch may vary greatly with the type of grass and soil conditions. Augustine planted on shallow soil and watered less than once a week with an application of at least one inch of water will turn brown. To both prevent and heal instances of brown patch, water grass early in the morning and allow the blades to dry out during the day.
Feb 27, 2009 john dromgoole explains how to recognize brown patch in lawn grass, why it happens, how to prevent it and how to treat it organically. Trichoderma helps to suppress rhizoctonia, or brown patch. As the disease spreads, new green leaves may emerge in the center of the patches. A saint augustine lawn will begin recovering after a few weeks of treatment, and may take up to a few months to fully repair. Its more costeffective than laying sod, but unlike the instant gratification that sod provides, seed takes 5 to 30 days to growand can take years to fill in completely. While it is very popular in central texas, it can be prone to drought stress in the hot summer months without proper watering. Brown patch fungus unsurprisingly causes large brown patched in.
Native st augustine also known as common st augustine, is a rare variety to find amoung farms today. You are really just a few weeks of proper watering and some good mowings away from a nice lawn. Augustine especially the overplanted raleigh selection, bermuda, and zoysia are most commonly affected by brown patch also called large patch during the early spring and late fall. Johnson galveston county extension agent horticulture. Applying the total years fertilization in two spring and fall feedings is bad because fertilizer not used will wash away. It will turn brown with fall freezes and will be slow to green in the spring. Augustine, zoysia, and bermuda grass brown patch description.
Austin, take all patch,takeall patch in austin, texas, take all patch treatment in austin, texas, austin, austin, symptoms of brown patch. Types of lawn grass for central texas bermuda buffalo zoysia st. It is the least cold tolerant of the warmseason turfgrasses. That means that the blades were turned brown by the cold, so there is very little chance of brown. Zoysia produces a thick turf and is shade tolerant like st. In the deep south, from florida to central texas, st augustine grass is the turf of choice. Brown patch is a fungal disease that creates circular to irregular patches of light brown, thinned grass. Brown patch is a fungus disease caused by excessive water and cured by reducing the watering and applying a fungicide. Augustine grass plugs or sod in full sun, at least 90 days before your regions first estimated fall frost, to give the grass plenty of time to establish. May 19, 2014 all types of lawns can be affected, but brown patch is often seen in st. It naturally forms a dense turf and also has a good salt tolerance. It has great drought tolerance,shade tolarance and cold tolerance. Its hardiness and cold shade tolerance have made it an easy sell at the beginning of the spring season when other types of st. St augustine grass is a favorite hot weather grass adapted to the coastal and southern regions of the u.
The outer edges of the affected areas are orangebrown in color and the blades can easily be pulled from the runners. Patches up to several yards in diameter commonly develop in the fall, winter and spring when these grasses are approaching or emerging from dormancy, evening temperatures are below 68of. Lawn types fertilizing, weed control, turf and lawn care. However, it is common and not too difficult to treat. Saint augustine lawn care tips saint augustine lawn care. For the last 3 years we have large circles of st augustine grass that turns brown starting about october. Because january 2017 found extremely low temperatures plunging deeply into texas, st.
Brown patches, rings of dead grass, rustylooking growths, and browned or yellowing blades of grass in random patterns may all indicate that a fungus is present in your st. Augustine is a variety that can also be found growing native in texas in areas such as ranches and under trees. Takeall patch is a serious root rot disease caused by the soilborne fungus. With its unique blend of super absorbent mulch and controlled release technology, you can repair your bare spots 60% faster. John dromgoole explains how to recognize brown patch in lawn grass, why it happens, how to prevent it and how to treat it organically. Actinovate is a texas made product that stops diseases. Augustine grass grows best in the warmth of spring and summer, when high temperatures are normally 80100 f. Maintaining your yard properly can prevent this type of fungus from destroying your lawn. Infection is triggered by rainfall, excessive irrigation, or extended periods of high humidity resulting in the grass blades being continuously wet for 48 hours or more. Brown patch is a common fungal disease in susceptible types of st.
So this is a good other way to prevent the disease from happening out there. Floratam is a fastgrowing, vigorous, dark green, broadleafed st. Brown patch is the most common and important disease of raleigh st. Irrigation heads are putting out the water and watering times get pushed to their limit as homeowners each compete for bragging rights. Its a turf that is wellsuited for central texas warm. Brown patch disease in st augustine lawn saint augustine. It is a low to medium maintenance grass that forms a thick, carpetlike lawn, crowding out most weeds and other grasses.
It also grows more slowly than st augustines, which means youll have to mow less often. Treating brown patch disease in saint augustine grass. Sod provides an instant lawn as the process involves rolling out squares of pregrown grass. Spot treatment of active brown patch is included in our normal. Symptoms on warmseason grasses such as bermuda grass or st.
Augustine issues are brown patch fungus, leafspot fungus, chinch bugs and grub worms. Augustine, from small, irregular dead spots to the entire lawn. Augustine grass, especially during humid weather, according to university of florida extension. The brown areas usually are caused by drought, brown patch, takeall patch, chinch bugs or grubs. Jun 21, 20 diy how to repair lawn patchy dead areas, brown dead grass, turf insects. My front lawn now has brown spots in several spots. Palisades zoysia, the most popular zoysiagrass in central texas, is a dark green, mediumcoarse textured lawn grass. Solutions for brown spots in the lawn urban program. In severe drought situations, zoysia grass would be more likely to ultimately recover, while st.
In addition to being good looking, zoysiagrass has great wear resistance. Augustine lawns in south texas that normally never turn brown from the cold did so this year. Symptoms of brown patch may vary greatly with the type of grass and soil. The come back fine and are nice and green in the spring and summer, but come fall, the brown patches start again. September october brown patch is best treated with preventive products. As we all learn, theres a balance between being efficient and being effective. Avoid over watering, over fertilizing, and mowing grass too short. Its a lowtomedium maintenance type of grass that forms a thick, carpetlike lawn. Augustine grassstenatophrum secundatum, zoysiagrasszoysia japonica. Augustine, have taken a pounding over the summer from dry weather, chinch bugs, and white grubs. Brown patch fungus unsurprisingly causes large brown patched in the lawn. Blends super absorbent mulch and controlled release design. Soils with good water holding capacity provide more water reserve for the roots than sand soils. But you have to pay for all these great qualities by performing regular maintenance.
This grass fares well in moderate shade and full sun and in welldrained or less optimally drained environments. Augustine grass is widely known by farms that continued to grow the variety, even as marketing programs have introduced various other varieties, as a hidden gem. Augustine grass has recently started turning brown. With its early spring greener color, and long history of success in many of our states different regions, texas native is a great. Augustine lawns offers a brand new way to repair bare spots in your st.
Brown patch lawn disease is most active at a time of year when the saint augustine lawn is less actively growing, so therefore repair times from brown patch may be slow. Augustine grass was released by the florida and texas agricultural experiment stations in 1972 as a sad virus and chinch bug resistant selection. Turf grown near heat sources use more water, while turf under trees uses less. Routinely check for these pests and treat as necessary. Takeall patch kills the entire grass plant and is very hard to. Cooler weather signals brown patch aggie horticulture. Make sure zoysia is the right grass for the conditions of your lawn. Augustine grass stenotaphrum secundatum is a tropical grass that is the most popular turf from florida to central texas. This fungus will generally occur in the same areas of the lawn each year. Augustine is suitable for humid, subtropical environments and thrives in a variety of soil conditions. The city of austin and the texas agrilife extension provide this information as a comparative. But what happens when you use the corn meal is it feeds an organism that lives in the compost. Grass seed involves spreading and sprouting new grass from a bag of seed. Use horticultural cornmeal from a garden centerfeed store or ordinary yellow meal.
Controlling thatch if the thatch layer a layer of undecomposed. Lawn care schedule for central texas austin, tx real. Austin, texas lawn care, st augustine grass when to fertilize grass, general lawn care, when to water your lawn how high to mow grass, certified lawn care professionals in austin, texas, ant and deer control for austin weed control, austins finest locally owned lawn care company. Brown patch is a foliar disease, meaning that it harms the blades of grass but not the crown of the plant or the root system.
Augustine grass, by the texas agricultural extension. You may see a grayish smoke ring of wilted grass at the edges. Augustine grass crowds out most weeds and other grasses. Hybrid bermudacynodon dactylon, common bermuda, bentgrassagrostis palustris, centipede grass, fescue, perennial ryegrasslolium perenne, poa seriespoa sp. Prevention is the key to stopping all lawn diseases in a saint augustine lawn, and many of the same preventative measures which stop brown patch from taking hold in a lawn will also be the cure. The southern states in the warmhumid climate zone in the u. Augustine is the grass most likely to suffer from gray leaf spot. My st augustine yard in rainy central fl has 6 large brown spots about 4 feet in diameter. Lawn grasses in the texas upper gulf coast region, especially st. Small brown spots appear on the blades, which turn gray with a purple or yellow halo as the spots get bigger. Brown patch fungus usually occurs from november to may when temperatures tend to drop below 80f.
Identifying summer lawn diseases the grass outlet texas. The turf varieties we use in south central texas are warmseason grasses and primarily. It is a tropical grass being found in several countries and islands from africa to australia. Augustine grass is susceptible to a type of fungus aptly called brown patch fungus. Augustine grass in 1991 but has also been found in bermuda grass, zoysia and centipede grass. That means that the blades were turned brown by the cold, so there is very little chance of brown patch showing up this spring. Augustine grass the best grass for south and south central texas floratam st. A line from south carolina to north central texas marks the.
Brown patch fungus proliferates in cool wet conditions. In most cases, affected areas are able to recover, but the selection of floratam st. You can pull out the root stem and the bottom of the root is brown and rotten. Augustine grass was released by the north carolina experiment station in 1980 as a cold tolerant, sad resistant strain. Augustine is known for its salt tolerance and relative disease resistance. How to identify the cause of brown spots in your lawn today. Under the same shortterm dry conditions, zoysia grass will turn brown in its dormant state and require new leaf growth to cover the dormant brown leaves. With the onset of cooler temperatures and rainy weather, there is the possibility of yet another threat to the health of area lawns.