Lawn question...

[spartan]

I have noticed a new type of weed growing in my St Augustine lawn the past two years. It has a small leaf and grows like a vine. I can't even find it on the websites for Florida Weeds. Weed and Feed does not seem to knock it out.

Ok, that spoils my weed and feed smartass comment!!

[BucsFan1976]

I thought my lawn problems were under control but the weeds came back with a vengeance this year.

[acacius]

I just bought my first house back in December, and I'm having a horrid time myself.  The weed and feed has at least greatly helped with the leafy weeds, but the crabgrass is kicking my butt.  Never having had to worry about taking care of a lawn before, I didn't lay down any sort of preemergent for it.   I've got *most* of the patches of crabgrass from my front yard taken care of (filling a stupid number of trash bags), but my side yards still need some serious work.  And my back yard?  God, I just don't know.

[OpTiOnMaStA]

LOL...a lot of replies about the lawn. You guys must really care .

[replica]

I have Bahia grass, I like it because you do not have to water it. It turns brown in the winter but comes back every spring. Weed & Feed works pretty good, I also use Over & Out for fire ants.

[yuccaneers]

Well, guys I have St Augustine in my lawn and have no weeds at all but I having a problem with SAD St Augustine Decline where some of the grass blades at the tips start to turn a little yellow, I think next year I may be going to have it taken up and new sod put in will go with the same thing as I have not had any other problems with it, I think Dollar spot and grub worms are the worse when you get them in the yard.

[mjs020294]

Well, guys I have St Augustine in my lawn and have no weeds at all but I having a problem with SAD St Augustine Decline where some of the grass blades at the tips start to turn a little yellow,

When the lawn is mowed are the ends of each blade cut nice and clean or are the jagged?

When you mow lawn you are essentially pruning it, and no plants like being pruned while actively growing.  To minimize the stress you should have a very sharp blade, and never cut more than 1/3 of the length off at a time.  If the blade leaves a jagged edge and/or too much is cut off at a time the grass gets stressed, and it becomes susceptible to disease.

If your grass has disease at the tips it will be just fine if you follow the following steps:

1 – Cut it with a SHARP blade.

2 – Treat it with a lawn disease control chemical.

3 – Never cut more than a 1/3 of its length off at a time.  From Spring-Fall this means two cuts a week.

4 – Don’t let the lawn get drought stressed.

[Buckaroo55]

Been watering the hell out of my lawn every night to keep it from turning completely brown during this drought.

[mjs020294]

Been watering the hell out of my lawn every night to keep it from turning completely brown during this drought.

St Augustine doesn 't like too much water.  The root system doesn't do well when it is kept wet. 

[Buckaroo55]

Well it is turning brown and dying in several spots anyway.

[mjs020294]

Well it is turning brown and dying in several spots anyway.

That sounds like fungus damage....possibly from over watering.

[Buckaroo55]

Maybe so, will have to wait and see and do the best I can.

[tonyflash]

Well it is turning brown and dying in several spots anyway.

That sounds like fungus damage....possibly from over watering.

Not good to water St Augustine every night as it will start a fugus that will cause browning. Best time to water it is early in the morning so it has time to dry during the day. Fugus will also become a problem in shade areas during the rainy season. Seems like it always rains after 5pm. You will then need to use a fungicide every 2 weeks or so. It won't stop it all, but it will keep it from killing the entire lawn.

[mjs020294]

true ^^

St Augustine doesn't like being wet for hours.  Best to water just before day break

[Uncle Stan]

FWIW, one of my companies has been in the lawn business for over twelve years. Don't claim to be an expert, but listed below are the highlites of our experiences.

I am in Florida.

Bahia
You will never get rid of all the weeds. You can't do it, no chemical lawn service that I know of can do it or has done it. Scotts weed and feed we found is the best out there and it has to be applied on a regular basis to help control it. All weed and feed must be watered in within 24 hours or it may well burn the lawn. We belive drop spreaders (properly set) do a better job.
Mole cricket bait has to be applied on a regular basis. Watering not needed.
Bahia is a hardier grass than the St Augustine blends and requires signicantly less water. Does not require water every week in the winter-once a month for 20 minutes/zone is sufficient in non rainy season.
Bahia has roots that grow down. St Augustine is more of a surface root so it can't get its water from the ground.
We cut Bahia at 3 1/2 "
You can drive wehicles, occasionally, on dry Bahia and it doesn't seem to harm it.

St Augustine
St Augistine blends do tend to choke out most of the weeds. It still needs regular Scotts weed and feed.
St Augustine requires water on a regular basis year round. Over watering brings fungus, which if not sprayed soon, will kill the grass in a short time. Water just before daybreak.
Need to treat on a regular basis for chinch bugs.
Blade should be minimum 4" to the ground or it will burn it. We cut at 4 1/2". Blades must be sharp so as not to tear.
We will not put down new St Augustine sod unless customer has a working sprnkler system.
St Augustine has different blends for different areas of a yard-i.e. full sun (Floritam) and partial sun (Classic).
St Augustine costs over double of Bahia when installing new sod.
In my area of Florida, we have water restrictions and presently are only allowed to water once a week on a certain day-except for new lawns.
St Augustine does not like a lot of heavy traffic on it, especially around a pool because of the traffic and the excess water-which may cause fungus.

Misc
There are couple of weeds that only Roundup will kill-but it kills the grass too.
When laying new sod, be sure to completly spray first to kill whats left of the existing lawn but more important the weeds. Put down Milorganite before laying new sod.  Old sod needs to be removed with a machine which can be rented from Home Depot.


FWIW, we are going to experiment with Zoysia on about 1500 sq ft this year in my yard. I presently have Bahia.

Hope that helps.