# Virginia Beach Lawn Help



## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

Unsure what section to put this in since I am in a transition zone but long story short I bought a house in VB 2 years ago and never had any issues with the backyard. It was always thick and full and I did nothing but mow it. I never really cared about it much until now. I think I may have cut it to short to late in the season last fall and allowed for weeds to get in. Now this summer it is terrible. The combination of short cutting, foot traffic and some low spots that flood when it rains hard has left me with a disgusting yard. I have done a lot of research and searching on here and google, watched you tube videos, and asked some friends and family. First step I took was raising my mower deck height as high as it would go. Second I removed weeds, crabgrass, and anything dead and raked the entire yard very thoroughly. Third I filled in the low spots with topsoil and leveled them to the rest of the yard. Then I made the mistake of going to Lowe's and asking them what kind of grass I have (i brought clippings and photos) and bought some grass seed. Now I have grass growing in some of the bare spots but its defiantly not the right kind. I am not looking to have a golf course quality lawn, but need some help getting it healthy and full again. Appreciate any guidance as to what grass type I have and what seed I should buy, and any other steps I can take to help it get back to normal. I have included some photos. Thank you in advance.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I'm bumping this for grass identification. Are you watering, fertilizing? It looks like you did a good job eliminating the broadleaf weeds.

Welcome to TLF @TeamGreen!!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It looks like a northern mix. It looks like you had or have a fungus (black dots in the leafs). I dont think the low mow cause this, but a fungus might have.


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## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

pennstater2005 said:


> I'm bumping this for grass identification. Are you watering, fertilizing? It looks like you did a good job eliminating the broadleaf weeds.
> 
> Welcome to TLF @TeamGreen!!


Appreciate the bump. Yes water every morning around 5am before leaving for work. Have not used any fertilizer as I don't want to feed/help any unwanted grass or weeds. Sadly, this is about 20%-30% better then it was in the spring.


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## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

g-man said:


> It looks like a northern mix. It looks like you had or have a fungus (black dots in the leafs). I dont think the low mow cause this, but a fungus might have.


It rains a lot in the spring here. Also very humid so great climate for a fungus. I do see the occasional mushroom randomly too. Ideas to help get rid of this? Could it be a drainage issue?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

It's getting a little late and a little hot to be pushing fertilizer now. The fert might have helped some of those areas fill in. You could rake out some of the dead or dying areas and keep the weeds down until fall when you could re seed those same areas. It looks like some weedy grasses mixed in there as well.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

TeamGreen said:


> It rains a lot in the spring here. Also very humid so great climate for a fungus. I do see the occasional mushroom randomly too. Ideas to help get rid of this? Could it be a drainage issue?


If established turf is fully submerged for more than a couple days, it's a crap shoot for recovery. I don't know if it actually drowns or if the roots just die off from lack of oxygen underground even as the surface water recedes but I've seen it happen. Any new baby grass, forget it - under water for even a short stint and it's done. Fungus also really likes long periods of damp / wet. Part of your problems may indeed be drainage related.

I'd focus on fixing the drainage issue and getting the soil ready for seeding in the fall. Send soil sample to lab. You seem to be doing good with the weeds.

Need better pics to id the grass. What seed did you buy that you didn't like?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Don't water every day. That encourages fungus. We call it deep and infrequent. The idea is to apply an inch of water per week ideally at once. In summer I do split it in two 0.5in applications.

Solving any drainage issue is important. Water that pools keeps things humid for fungus. Give the Cool Season Guide a good read for more tips.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

The first picture I immediately thought st Augustine grass. But the 2nd picture steered me away. However in the 3rd and 4th pictures I swear I see runners. Can someone with more experience with st aug help me here? If it's st aug forget about seed. You need plugs or sod. Do you see a lot of warm season (st aug, zoysia, Bermuda) lawns in your area?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

TN Hawkeye said:


> The first picture I immediately thought st Augustine grass. But the 2nd picture steered me away. However in the 3rd and 4th pictures I swear I see runners. Can someone with more experience with st aug help me here? If it's st aug forget about seed. You need plugs or sod. Do you see a lot of warm season (st aug, zoysia, Bermuda) lawns in your area?


I thought the blades looked a little pointed (v shape) like St. Augustine.



I was trying to compare this stock photo with the OPs first one. They look somewhat similar.


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## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

There certainly are runners everywhere. I can see them coming out of areas of good grass and into the bare spots. I don't think we get a lot of warm season grass here. It gets very hot and humid here but the winters are cold and wet with very little snowfall.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

TeamGreen said:


> There certainly are runners everywhere. I can see them coming out of areas of good grass and into the bare spots. I don't think we get a lot of warm season grass here. It gets very hot and humid here but the winters are cold and wet with very little snowfall.


Can you get a couple pics of the runners? St Augustine has fairly distinctive looking runners. I'm no grass expert but I don't know of many cool season grasses that spread by runners, save KBG.


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## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

> Can you get a couple pics of the runners? St Augustine has fairly distinctive looking runners. I'm no grass expert but I don't know of many cool season grasses that spread by runners, save KBG.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Holy warm season grass Batman! I have no idea exactly what that is which tells me this thread needs to move to warm season. . It's not crabgrass? Lol


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

If that's the grass you want, this thread should be moved! I wish TTTF did that....


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Delmarva Keith said:


> Holy warm season grass Batman! I have no idea exactly what that is which tells me this thread needs to move to warm season. . It's not crabgrass? Lol


Agreed and moved for now unless positively identified otherwise


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

Can you get a couple pics of the runners? St Augustine has fairly distinctive looking runners. I'm no grass expert but I don't know of many cool season grasses that spread by runners, save KBG.
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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

That is 100% St Augustine. You cannot seed it. Either let the runners fill in the bare spots or get a positive id on what type of st aug it is and get plugs or sod. Do you watch The Lawn Care Nut on YouTube. He has lots of videos about st Augustine and how to get it to fill in and even how to properly plug areas.


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

That definitely looks like the St. Augustine runners that I have down here in Charleston.


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## TeamGreen (Jun 24, 2018)

Seems like the verdict is in then. I have no problem with the St Augustine. Now that I know what I am working with I can move forward appropriately. I am going to find out what type and get some plugs in the ground. Its 90+ degrees here almost every day so they should take easily. I have come across many Lawn Care nut videos on you tube and now that I know I will go back and seek out advice. Really appreciate the help everyone.


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