tonydperez
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2017 7:02 pm

New Lawn Troubleshooting

I planted a new lawn this spring, in Portland, OR. It's a mix of Perrenial Rye Grass and Fescue (JB Sun & Shade blend), and it was planted from seed. It was coming in well for the most part, but last week, a huge portion of it suddenly died off/turned a very light tan.

I think I may have overwatered? I'd been doing it on an almost daily basis for the first couple weeks--not terribly heavily-- then switched to every couple days (mostly in the evening, which I've since read is a mistake). But then we had a week of really hard rain. It was shortly thereafter that the damage set in. Does this look like a fungus problem?

I had also fertilized it the previous week, so I'm wondering if I screwed up the application and overdid it in this section of the yard.

If it is an issue of overwatering, will I need to till it and re-seed? Or is there something I can do to nurse it back to health? Is there something I should do to stop the spread of fungus (if that's the case)?
Grass detail 1
Grass detail 1
Grass Detail 2
Grass Detail 2

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13947
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Is this a place where water puddles when it rains?
Is the brown spot circular?
do you have more than one spot?

If it is puddling water, than low spots need to be filled and replanted
If the spots are circular and expanding then fungal disease is a possibility
If there are random spots and patches then do you have a dog or you may have soil grubs that are causing the problem.
Flood a patch of grass then wait to see if the worms come up. If you have birds walking on the lawn in the morning, you most likely do have soil worms that are probably eating the grass roots.



Return to “Lawn Care”