# Grass growing in tufts , won't green up fully. What is going on?



## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

My lawn is Tiffway 419 planted last year. I have a Trucut reel mower (cuts paper). The cut schedule is every 4 days in AZ and the lawn is being fertilized monthly. The problem is the grass appears to be growing in tufts and refuses to green up fully. This pattern presented itself late in the season last year. The only traffic the lawn gets is when its cut. I could really use some insight on how to fix this. I'd love to get my lawn back to the way it looked when it was first installed. I've included pics of what the lawn looked like a few months in and what it looks like now.
New Lawn

Lawn This Year

Close up


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

You're cutting to high, get that under an inch.


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

Thanks erdons I'm under an inch. Not sure if it looks like it in the pictures but the mower is set at 3/4 of an inch. Think that is still too high?


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

Did you do a spring scalp? If not you may want to scalp down as low as you can to get new green leaf back up top.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

FlaDave said:


> Did you do a spring scalp? If not you may want to scalp down as low as you can to get new green leaf back up top.


+1 Scalp it down to lower than 3/4" and let the green come through. Looks like you are just exposing the brown stems when you mow.


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

My first spring mowing I scalped it at a lower setting, then I moved the mower up to 3/4 after that. I'll try going back to 1/2 inch and see if that improves things.


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

When's the last time you fertilized? Is it getting at least 1" of water per week? Looks thirsty and/or hungry to me.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

GRASSMAN said:


> Thanks erdons I'm under an inch. Not sure if it looks like it in the pictures but the mower is set at 3/4 of an inch. Think that is still too high?


It looks super high for 3/4 it could be the picture or my vision. A scalp and reset should get it going


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

@GRASSMAN is the cut schedule based on growth or your ability to cut it? I can only imagine that your temps are fairly warm right now. Every 4 days might be a little long in between cuts. Was that photo right after a cut or before a cut?


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

@Cory , I thought it might be lacking water too but I've essentially drowned it with no success. The results were the same so I've got it back to a regular watering schedule, 10 minutes every other day, I'll have to give it more water as I'm in Arizona and late summer weather demands additional watering (it's only now starting to creep into the 90s). The lawn was fertilized about 2 weeks ago, and a month before that (maybe i'm using the wrong stuff 21*7*14). @TN Hawkeye, I'm cutting it about every 4 days because that's been about the gap time it's required, this photo is 2 days in.


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

I'd do a soil test. It will give you more info on what's going on. Maybe a compaction issue? If you stick a screwdriver in the ground does it go in easy or hard?


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Watering 10 minutes every other day isn't ideal. You should be practicing deep and infrequent watering where you are putting down more water less often.

You should do an audit of the system and see how much water each zone puts out per hour. Then adjust your timer to water ~1" per week without runoff.

I have sandy soil so it doesn't hold much more than .8" at a time. So I water my .8" then wait for signs of drought stress, when I'm in the 90°s it's around 5-7 days, then have the sprinklers come on again the next morning. You want the roots to grow down looking for water. If you water every other day you're encouraging a shallow root system.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Im not saying that's why your grass is growing the way it is but it will make your grass hardier.


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

I prepped the soil prior to installing the sod with a minimum 2 inches of new topsoil, some spots required quite a bit more. @FlaDave I live on a mountain side so the ground below that gets a little rocky, maybe 6 inches of good soil in the low spots. The yard also slopes down, making deep watering a little more tricky. @J_nick I'd love to cut the water schedule down, I am aware it improves the root system. I tried a more gaped schedule last summer but the grass immediately looked stressed so I chickened out and gave it more water like a bad parent giving into a bratty child lol. Thank you all for the great feedback.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@GRASSMAN try a cycle and soak approach. Let the sprinkler run until you start to see run off, then let it soak for 30 minutes to an hour and run again. You might be able to get the water to penetrate deeper without being wasteful and your grass will be healthier as a result.


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## sanders4617 (Jul 9, 2018)

I see a lot of dead grass mixed in. Scalp it down really low and see what happens once it grows back.

I think that would be my first step. And I also agree, less frequent (but longer duration) of watering.


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## UGADawg (May 10, 2017)

Did you dethatch after you scalped? That might be an area that has thatch build up that is slowing green up.


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

10 minutes a day every other is definitely not enough. It's too short a time period and spread too far apart. It would be best to water twice a week for a longer time period. I went back and looks at the close up and it looks like a lot of the grass blades are curling. That's what happens when it's not getting enough water. It's possible that your soil is hydrophobic? A wetting agent may be beneficial for you if when you water it just rolls off the surface


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## JDM83 (Sep 19, 2018)

UGADawg said:


> Did you dethatch after you scalped? That might be an area that has thatch build up that is slowing green up.


i agree, im thinking a good verticut/dethatch would work wonders


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

Ok, so I have gone back and lowered my mower and recut the grass at about 1/2 inch. As expected I did get some scalping but managed to pull up a lot of the dead grass. I have also reset my watering schedule to 30 minutes twice a week. I think you guys are right regarding detatching. I don't own a dethatcher. Do you think I'll have to do it often enough to buy one or should I just rent a unit? Anything worth getting that's not too expensive?


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## gpbrown60 (Apr 7, 2018)

I have an Eliet Scarifier/Dethatcher that I use at least once a year on my Tifway 419. A good dethatching does wonders for the turf. If your lawn size is 1500 square feet I don't think you need something that big. Take a look at this review. Hope you find it helpful.
https://youtu.be/erC9sDJHy1o


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## GRASSMAN (Apr 24, 2019)

Awesome, thank you.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

gpbrown60 said:


> I have an Eliet Scarifier/Dethatcher that I use at least once a year on my Tifway 419. A good dethatching does wonders for the turf. If your lawn size is 1500 square feet I don't think you need something that big. Take a look at this review. Hope you find it helpful.


You can't beat @Pest and Lawn Ginja


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## gpbrown60 (Apr 7, 2018)

TN Hawkeye said:


> gpbrown60 said:
> 
> 
> > I have an Eliet Scarifier/Dethatcher that I use at least once a year on my Tifway 419. A good dethatching does wonders for the turf. If your lawn size is 1500 square feet I don't think you need something that big. Take a look at this review. Hope you find it helpful.
> ...


He seems like a knowledgeable guy. :thumbup:


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