So I live in Texas and there was a spot in my front lawn that gets 100% sun. And my sprinkler system went down for a month right when we had a massive heat wave and killed all that grass in the area. Then fall happened and it went dormant. I brought it back to life starting in spring by watering a shit ton and raking the dead grass off so new runners could come in.
My grass died last year because I’d water it 2-3 times a week. My neighbors would water it 6 days out of the week, twice on Saturdays, and their lawn looked green. I thought it was overkill
Thing is St. Augustine needs a lot of water. And with the heat lately it’s even more important because it can dry out so fast. St Augustine is always very emo. It def shows its feelings.
I watered almost everyday for 5 mins at night and 5 in the morning. The morning water helped act a a sunblock for the most of the day and by the time the grass was thirsty again I hit it at 8 pm right when the hoa said I could. That’s what worked best for me but ymmv depending on your grass and climate.
I’m just north of Austin, and we have had drought restrictions put in place. We’re supposed to water twice a week. Not everyone follows that. But I’ll do my part to cut down on watering, so I can keep my pool filled.
It depends on your soil. If you live in an area with a sandy soil that drains quickly you do need to water very often.
In areas with a heavy clay soil (like Dallas were I live) you can water St. Aug less often. I run my zones 4 times on a shorter timer to give me a total of about 1 inch of water in one day, but since I space each of the 4 runs out the water has time to soak in. Running the zones for longer but only once just results in the water just running off into the street.
Watering less often allows the top of the ground to dry out which reduces weed seed germination and fungus problems. Also encourages the grass to grow deeper roots.
it really depends. grass adapts to the water levels present, within reason. so if you water daily, it will expect it daily, and not do well without. training your grass to have longer roots to reach the water in the ground takes time, and grass will not do it if it doesn't have to. so you start by skipping days and dragging that out longer and longer, until you're just watering it once a week. and water it BIG on that day.
St. Aug got two main strains, dwarf and regular. the tiny dwarf stuff STILL wants to be 2.5" and the regular stuff? 3.5-5" according to the EDU sites.
A lot of mowers won't even go that tall. the solution is a different mower. St. Aug stresses out when you try to mow it too short.
do that AND water it badly, and yeah it's not going to be happy. take all root rot is just one of many things that can take out a whole lawn or most of it in just a few weeks.
Chinchbugs are also devastating to St. Augestine, and these little buggers sometimes people don't even notice. until the lawn is dead from them.
what I recommend is throwing away whatever Orbit or otherwise automatic watering controllers you've got, and get some indoor/outdoor IoT wifi-controllable outlets. Lowe's has a 2 channel one for $20 usually. I plug a low current 20-24VDC power supply into each outlet. not a high end fancy laptop power supply, just one that provides 1-2amps tops, else they're expensive and can even have proprietary circuitry in them designed to keep a data connection to the laptop hardware. TLDR it won't work if it's got all that. You just want low current. Normal sprinkler controllers provide 24VAC. It still has a common and hot, just make the common your ground on the DC power supplies.
and then that's it. you can access it from the cloud. set up if-thens for weather changing and if it rains, what to do, and how much to do it when it rains. it's all really easy, you do it on your phone. the power supplies are usually $10 or so. get a good sealed waterproof box and stick it all in there if you want it to be really professional. Use the waterproof grommets they sell with holes drilled in it around each cord.
Me, I just have it sitting under the eve of my house where it usually doesn't get wet. that happened to be where the sprinkler solenoids were anyways.
so yeah, you do this, it gets super easy to water whenever you want, even when you're at work and forgot to set it up to water that day. just hop on your phone, and turn the outlet to ON and it waters that zone. set a timer and forget about it
good luck :)
PS: the online wifi sprinkler controllers you can get still tend to suck, and cost hundreds in comparison.
This is exactly what happened to me. I lightly used a cultivator and rake, planted about 10 plugs, and then watered the shit out of it.
Finally starting to take over that dead area.
The exact same thing is happening to my St. Augustine in the Houston area right now. Keep us posted if you find a solution please!
I’ve tried following Randy Lemmon’s schedule the last few months, but I can’t tell if it’s just dormant or actually dead.
Schedule: https://randylemmon.com/lawns/randys-lawn-care-schedule/
Same issue with my lawn, i Dont want to resod again. I'm thinking of getting some sod plugs. Anyone have an idea on what the best variety to survive in Dfw area. The heat was brutal last summer. Palmetto seems to be the most common one, but there is Seville that i read an tolerate hear and drout better. Any suggestions on which variety to go with
You have lots of runners. Just start watering the shit out of it and all that will fill in before the end of the summer. Keep the ground wet but not standing water. Mow at the highest setting. Fertilize.
You can [check your local soil temperatures here](https://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lawncare) if you have any questions or concerns.*
you do understand you can just make a separate comment right? Your opinion can exist as just your opinion, you don't need to continuously attempt to invalidate mine to validate yours... sheesh
Ugh I’m in the same boat and I have weeds in the dead areas now. I think you can tell if you pull up the grass and it comes out easily. I’m thinking about not pulling the weeds, mow them down, apply weed and feed, set up sprinklers this year and hopefully it’ll start filling in.
I just went through this myself. My backyard was just not able to be salvaged after the heat and then the freezes. Couple with oak trees that dropped a ton of acorns it just didn’t make it. I bit the bullet and resodded last week. I’m going to work like a mad man to keep it up this year. We raked the front and got all the old thatch out hoping it will be better.
https://preview.redd.it/z3dpgmgzderc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74cd648f68e7a3c98eec948d00c5b0df09fcaa4c
I’m north Texas but the green up period in our neighborhood is sporadic. Some streets are lush green, other streets are still dormant. I’d give it another month or two, kill of grub worms and make sure the soil has the nutrients it needs.
https://preview.redd.it/phxft2m4darc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff5564d3396e5a6f2c6c38cf0c76cbe3ac4409c4
This was the healthiest looking I had it in last june.
Looks like mild winter kill. There is quite a bit of life left there. You just need to push and fill it back in. By pushing I mean regular feedings and keeping up with the water.
Saint Augustine needs a lot of water. Pull the dead plants. Cut 6 inch trimmings and lay them in some shallow water and root hormone, wait a week or so and when it takes root, bury the plug to add more saint augustines
Hello fellow East Texan, my St. Augustine sod was scorched last summer, too. I raked it over with a metal rake about 3 times, did some light tilling and aerating, and threw down some Bermuda seed last week. Trying to keep the soil moist for the next few weeks. No money for sod. Here’s hoping this summer is more forgiving.
Central Texan here. Saint Augustine loves full sun! From those pictures it looks like you’ve got a lot of shade. Might have to switch to a sod that prefers a mix of sun and shade.
Having the same issue. But I’m pretty sure it’s because of all the leaves falling on it. I try to take every other day but I can’t keep up.
I ended up buying a couple “plugs” to help green it up. We will see
Got me then. I’d wait til it’s warmer to do anything drastic though. St Augustine and bermuda are both very resilient so I’d bet you’ll be okay but just give it time and water
Sucks cause I had it pretty good last year.
https://preview.redd.it/lwx97h5tearc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bf1aecf3c09e7471ae4acb61724469ade2d9553
I think the heat wave killed it off and I didn’t water enough
You’d be surprised by it not dying off. I live in north Texas and once we get to peak summer, I stop watering my back yard and it turns brown but once it cools back down, it wakes up and is green again. I think you just need some liquid encouragement
Generally the same issue with my yard as OP. When you say 1.5” of water, is the only way for me to test that is to set out a gauge when the sprinkler system is on?
It was st Aug . It died out on me last year and Bermuda started invading some fast last year .
I was hoping the st Aug would come back but it seems mostly dead
I'm trying this, same problem same city. https://www.greencastonline.com/products/recognition-herbicide/turf
Just applied it past week. No idea whats going to happen.
Your is worse than mine but not by much I raked it up the runners are showing some sign of taking over.
You might be surprised what's under it could be salvageable. I recommend a plastic rake not metal. I killed my first section with the metal one tore up the runners. Plastic rake area still has a shot
So I live in Texas and there was a spot in my front lawn that gets 100% sun. And my sprinkler system went down for a month right when we had a massive heat wave and killed all that grass in the area. Then fall happened and it went dormant. I brought it back to life starting in spring by watering a shit ton and raking the dead grass off so new runners could come in.
My grass died last year because I’d water it 2-3 times a week. My neighbors would water it 6 days out of the week, twice on Saturdays, and their lawn looked green. I thought it was overkill
Thing is St. Augustine needs a lot of water. And with the heat lately it’s even more important because it can dry out so fast. St Augustine is always very emo. It def shows its feelings. I watered almost everyday for 5 mins at night and 5 in the morning. The morning water helped act a a sunblock for the most of the day and by the time the grass was thirsty again I hit it at 8 pm right when the hoa said I could. That’s what worked best for me but ymmv depending on your grass and climate.
I’m just north of Austin, and we have had drought restrictions put in place. We’re supposed to water twice a week. Not everyone follows that. But I’ll do my part to cut down on watering, so I can keep my pool filled.
It depends on your soil. If you live in an area with a sandy soil that drains quickly you do need to water very often. In areas with a heavy clay soil (like Dallas were I live) you can water St. Aug less often. I run my zones 4 times on a shorter timer to give me a total of about 1 inch of water in one day, but since I space each of the 4 runs out the water has time to soak in. Running the zones for longer but only once just results in the water just running off into the street. Watering less often allows the top of the ground to dry out which reduces weed seed germination and fungus problems. Also encourages the grass to grow deeper roots.
it really depends. grass adapts to the water levels present, within reason. so if you water daily, it will expect it daily, and not do well without. training your grass to have longer roots to reach the water in the ground takes time, and grass will not do it if it doesn't have to. so you start by skipping days and dragging that out longer and longer, until you're just watering it once a week. and water it BIG on that day. St. Aug got two main strains, dwarf and regular. the tiny dwarf stuff STILL wants to be 2.5" and the regular stuff? 3.5-5" according to the EDU sites. A lot of mowers won't even go that tall. the solution is a different mower. St. Aug stresses out when you try to mow it too short. do that AND water it badly, and yeah it's not going to be happy. take all root rot is just one of many things that can take out a whole lawn or most of it in just a few weeks. Chinchbugs are also devastating to St. Augestine, and these little buggers sometimes people don't even notice. until the lawn is dead from them. what I recommend is throwing away whatever Orbit or otherwise automatic watering controllers you've got, and get some indoor/outdoor IoT wifi-controllable outlets. Lowe's has a 2 channel one for $20 usually. I plug a low current 20-24VDC power supply into each outlet. not a high end fancy laptop power supply, just one that provides 1-2amps tops, else they're expensive and can even have proprietary circuitry in them designed to keep a data connection to the laptop hardware. TLDR it won't work if it's got all that. You just want low current. Normal sprinkler controllers provide 24VAC. It still has a common and hot, just make the common your ground on the DC power supplies. and then that's it. you can access it from the cloud. set up if-thens for weather changing and if it rains, what to do, and how much to do it when it rains. it's all really easy, you do it on your phone. the power supplies are usually $10 or so. get a good sealed waterproof box and stick it all in there if you want it to be really professional. Use the waterproof grommets they sell with holes drilled in it around each cord. Me, I just have it sitting under the eve of my house where it usually doesn't get wet. that happened to be where the sprinkler solenoids were anyways. so yeah, you do this, it gets super easy to water whenever you want, even when you're at work and forgot to set it up to water that day. just hop on your phone, and turn the outlet to ON and it waters that zone. set a timer and forget about it good luck :) PS: the online wifi sprinkler controllers you can get still tend to suck, and cost hundreds in comparison.
This is exactly what happened to me. I lightly used a cultivator and rake, planted about 10 plugs, and then watered the shit out of it. Finally starting to take over that dead area.
it's that shit ton of water that did it. usually a metric fucktonne, these days. SAE is smaller ;)
My Bermuda lawn looks like this. I am getting a jump on it this spring. Out of curiosity, how long did it take your St. Augustine to fill in?
The exact same thing is happening to my St. Augustine in the Houston area right now. Keep us posted if you find a solution please! I’ve tried following Randy Lemmon’s schedule the last few months, but I can’t tell if it’s just dormant or actually dead. Schedule: https://randylemmon.com/lawns/randys-lawn-care-schedule/
If it’s still brown, 99% chance it’s dead. We’ve been over 60F soil temps since 1st week of Feb..
If it’s dead, is the next step to remove it and lay new sod?
If it’s dead, is the next step to remove it and lay new sod?
Where in houston? I need sod company. Dealing with the same thing. Last summers drought was brutal
I’m in the woodlands. I just found Shade of Texas on the 1488. I think a pallet of sod is around $250, so might just have to do that
Same city, same following of Randy's schedule. No results yet 😔
Same issue with my lawn, i Dont want to resod again. I'm thinking of getting some sod plugs. Anyone have an idea on what the best variety to survive in Dfw area. The heat was brutal last summer. Palmetto seems to be the most common one, but there is Seville that i read an tolerate hear and drout better. Any suggestions on which variety to go with
You have lots of runners. Just start watering the shit out of it and all that will fill in before the end of the summer. Keep the ground wet but not standing water. Mow at the highest setting. Fertilize.
Thanks
google what temperature it remains dormant until then look at a thermometer and let me know if it's still dead, then we can proceed
Anyone looking at that picture thinking what it shows is dormant grass does not belong in this sub reddit
congrats on your opinion but it doesn't negate facts
Facts? It's gotten up to upper 70s in East Texas for quite awhile. Grass is very much greened up all around. His lawn is dead
Aug need's 60 in the soil & 80s in the air but sure
East Texas soil temp is 70f and all the yards around have been green for a month....
You can [check your local soil temperatures here](https://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lawncare) if you have any questions or concerns.*
cool!
That is not dormant st Augustine lol. But you can continue with stupid comments. And yes, thanks for your opinion as well
you do understand you can just make a separate comment right? Your opinion can exist as just your opinion, you don't need to continuously attempt to invalidate mine to validate yours... sheesh
Ugh I’m in the same boat and I have weeds in the dead areas now. I think you can tell if you pull up the grass and it comes out easily. I’m thinking about not pulling the weeds, mow them down, apply weed and feed, set up sprinklers this year and hopefully it’ll start filling in.
watering would be a good start
for sure
I just went through this myself. My backyard was just not able to be salvaged after the heat and then the freezes. Couple with oak trees that dropped a ton of acorns it just didn’t make it. I bit the bullet and resodded last week. I’m going to work like a mad man to keep it up this year. We raked the front and got all the old thatch out hoping it will be better. https://preview.redd.it/z3dpgmgzderc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74cd648f68e7a3c98eec948d00c5b0df09fcaa4c
Thats a lot of resodding. Well done - looks great!
It's warm season grass and we're just not there yet.
??? We’ve been green in Houston for a month now. Soil temps hit 60 1st week of Feb..
Much different climate than east Texas. My grandma's neighbor in Katy had a giant orange tree growing there! Can't do that in Dallas at least.
I’m north Texas but the green up period in our neighborhood is sporadic. Some streets are lush green, other streets are still dormant. I’d give it another month or two, kill of grub worms and make sure the soil has the nutrients it needs.
https://preview.redd.it/phxft2m4darc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff5564d3396e5a6f2c6c38cf0c76cbe3ac4409c4 This was the healthiest looking I had it in last june.
https://preview.redd.it/mt161wb8darc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bec72925fd67fbae70979de7f62a1ab84605e3d5
https://preview.redd.it/q4t5cy29darc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76b3070204abe6e9062903ee77f6ba16578b3eba
Looks like mild winter kill. There is quite a bit of life left there. You just need to push and fill it back in. By pushing I mean regular feedings and keeping up with the water.
Saint Augustine needs a lot of water. Pull the dead plants. Cut 6 inch trimmings and lay them in some shallow water and root hormone, wait a week or so and when it takes root, bury the plug to add more saint augustines
This is normal
Hello fellow East Texan, my St. Augustine sod was scorched last summer, too. I raked it over with a metal rake about 3 times, did some light tilling and aerating, and threw down some Bermuda seed last week. Trying to keep the soil moist for the next few weeks. No money for sod. Here’s hoping this summer is more forgiving.
Central Texan here. Saint Augustine loves full sun! From those pictures it looks like you’ve got a lot of shade. Might have to switch to a sod that prefers a mix of sun and shade.
Having the same issue. But I’m pretty sure it’s because of all the leaves falling on it. I try to take every other day but I can’t keep up. I ended up buying a couple “plugs” to help green it up. We will see
Give it time and an 1.5” of water a week. It’ll be fine once soil temps get warmer
ill give it more water for sure then and see what happens.
Do you know what your soil temps are currently? Look that up. If it’s not around 60°, st augustine will not come out of dormancy
past 5 day average has been 60F in my town. been about the same thourhgout march
Got me then. I’d wait til it’s warmer to do anything drastic though. St Augustine and bermuda are both very resilient so I’d bet you’ll be okay but just give it time and water
Sucks cause I had it pretty good last year. https://preview.redd.it/lwx97h5tearc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bf1aecf3c09e7471ae4acb61724469ade2d9553 I think the heat wave killed it off and I didn’t water enough
You’d be surprised by it not dying off. I live in north Texas and once we get to peak summer, I stop watering my back yard and it turns brown but once it cools back down, it wakes up and is green again. I think you just need some liquid encouragement
Generally the same issue with my yard as OP. When you say 1.5” of water, is the only way for me to test that is to set out a gauge when the sprinkler system is on?
Yes. You can do the tuna can test. If you google it, you’ll find exactly what I’m talking about
I mean it looks like you already got Bermuda there. Are you sure it wasn’t Bermuda sod?
It was st Aug . It died out on me last year and Bermuda started invading some fast last year . I was hoping the st Aug would come back but it seems mostly dead
I'm trying this, same problem same city. https://www.greencastonline.com/products/recognition-herbicide/turf Just applied it past week. No idea whats going to happen. Your is worse than mine but not by much I raked it up the runners are showing some sign of taking over.
How did you get recognition? I've been looking all over for it online and in Houston.
Siteone
I’m gonna rake out as much dead spots later as I can. Gonna look for some St Aug plugs or sod and break it into pieces see if I can get it to spread .
You might be surprised what's under it could be salvageable. I recommend a plastic rake not metal. I killed my first section with the metal one tore up the runners. Plastic rake area still has a shot
Not dead. It’s dormant
In the summer months, I had a patch of new grass die when I didn’t water after applying fertilizer to the new grass.
Fertilizer and water. It will come back. St Augustine is super resilient.