What is going on with my new sod put in last fall?
Question:We bought a new house last year and as part of the deal had them sod the front and back. It was absolutely beautiful last fall and this spring until the weather turned to the mid 70s and up. We noticed brown patches starting to form but the blade was not pulling away from the root - just changing color. Later on the blade did separate and now falls out quite easily. We have also noticed that there appears to be perfect circles around each of the pop up sprinkler heads of beautiful almost fluorescent green grass where all the other grass is brown. In places the grass is darker colored and now we see that it goes dark just before turning brown. We have also noticed a lot of mushrooms in the lawn. I called the sod farm and the gentleman there said that he thought we might be over watering - we have had a lot of rain as well. I turned off the water and we have had a good rain storm once a week for two weeks now. The problem seems to be getting worse. Please help?
Answers:
Here are some considerations:
Your lawn may simply be going dormant due to the increased summer temperatures. Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-season grass that grows best during the fall, winter, and spring months when temperatures are cool. Its growth slows during the warm summer months. It can tolerate cold winters but has a relatively low tolerance for heat and is only moderately drought tolerant. During the summer months if stressed for water, Kentucky bluegrass can go dormant.
For a year-round green lawn, you might seed the lawn with a "summer" grass or an early annual rye grass, which will be green during the summer when the Bluegrass goes to sleep. In fact, most Bluegrass mixes contain annual rye as well for this reason
The healthy grass right around the sprinklers, but no where else, also sounds like it is water-stressed. The fact that you have a in-ground sprinkler system indicates you live in a warm-season or dry area.
When stressed by temperatures, lack of water, or poor soils, Kentucky bluegrass can be susceptible to disease and weed invasion. The mushroom issue you mentioned is often seen in thin and/or stressed lawns (usually healthy grass keeps things such as moss and mushrooms at bay).
Good luck!
water it daily. that is common with grass in the spring and summer months. a good point of thumb is 2inches of water per every square foot.
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