What has caused these large dead areas in my lawn?

ASK THE HORT AGENT

Question What has caused these large dead areas in my lawn?

Answer The possibilities are nearly endless. People want to hear answers like vengeful neighbor, UFO, ex-wife, hurricane, or contaminated batch of fertilizer. A weird, but simple answer would greatly satisfy most homeowners. In reality, the answers can be complicated, yet mundane.

Homeowners located east and south of Raleigh mostly grow warm season grasses. These grasses include Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine and zoysia. Centipede is by far the most popular, accounting for 80% of all warm season grasses grown. Centipede is also the first grass to emerge from dormancy in the spring.

All grasses have multiple factors which affect their overall health. Weather is a factor that cannot be controlled. Extremely dry, wet, cold or hot conditions can cause serious turf problems. Sometimes the conditions don’t have to be extreme. They merely have to be well timed.

The warm weather experienced throughout the south east in March caused grasses like centipede to grow earlier and faster than normal. This warm spell was followed by a cold snap in April and May. Temperatures were chilly enough to kill spots in centipede turf.

Now that a culprit has been identified (the cold snap), the detective work gets more complicated. The degree of turf damage depends on many combinations of variables. Factors like soil type, slope orientation, shade, moisture, fertility, and mowing height all contribute to either help or hurt a lawn. Homeowners can control the cultural practices (mowing heights, date of fertilization, rate of fertilization, etc...). Slope orientation and soil type may be impossible to change. However, proper design of a landscape can minimize the impact of these natural factors. Proper maintenance can also minimize damage associated with other problems like nematodes, grub worms and fairy rings.

This same concept applies to fescue, which is a cool season grass. Maintenance will have major impact on fungal diseases like brown patch during the summer. Whether the impact is helpful or harmful depends on management decisions.

Here is the great news. It is just as easy to do it right as it is to do it wrong. Check out this website for the specific lawn maintenance calendar you need http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/hortinternet/lawn.html

If you don’t have internet access, then call my office at 893-7533, write us at PO Box 1089, Lillington, NC 27546, or email me at gary_pierce@ncsu.

It is certainly easier to figure out the cause of a problem if a lawn has been properly maintained. Why not do it right? Save the vengeful neighbor explanation for your car problems.

Gary L. Pierce

Horticulture Extension Agent

Harnett County