# Already getting a lot of brown spots...



## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

Need some help with these spots. I know it's not a watering issue as I have an irrigation system and we've also had a shit ton of rain recently, and the spots are only in select areas. If it was a water/sun issue I assume the spots would be all over.

So what is causing this?? I do the standard weed application in early Spring, then Milorganite fertilizer following the recommended timeline. The lawn definitely needs to be aerated as the soil is super hard, but could that be causing the grass to die in only specific areas? After talking with a co-worker I realized I do not apply Lime at all, is this necessary? Will it help these spots?

You can see in the first picture that the area closest to the walkway is still very green, but that has shade for most of the day. So could the other area just be getting too much sun? That area is exposed to direct sunlight most of the day (third and fourth pics).

Thanks for the help!


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## StarRaider (Jun 29, 2019)

How old is the lawn? Seeded or sodded? Is this your 1st summer with it?

RI is one of my favorite places BTW.


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

Don't know how old it is, the house is 62 years old so I'm assuming the lawn is the same? Assume it's seed.

This is my 4th summer with it and it has progressively gotten worse each year. However, one big change that happened 2 winters ago was we had to have two huge Oak trees taken down which opened up a lot of sun to the area in the 3rd and 4th pics. So maybe the grass is still getting acclimated to the extra sun, but that doesn't explain why the heavy brown spots are only in the middle.


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## tgoulart (Jun 21, 2018)

Brown Patch? Did you apply a fungicide?


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

I did not. Do you think it's a fungus?


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

It does look like Brown Patch, but that area gets a lot of sun so it's hard to believe a fungus could grow there.

Maybe I'll put some DiseaseEx down and see what happens.


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## nocsious (May 14, 2018)

Looks like it could be brown patch. You might be right that the varieties growing under the tree weren't good in full sun. Seed in the Fall.


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

Is there any chance it could be grubs? I don't have any damage that looks to be from animals but I'll dig into the dirt a little bit tonight to see if there's any in there.


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## nocsious (May 14, 2018)

Reaper said:


> Is there any chance it could be grubs? I don't have any damage that looks to be from animals but I'll dig into the dirt a little bit tonight to see if there's any in there.


I doubt it, but it's easy to check for grubs. If the turf peels back easy you'll see them there mocking you. Most of the nasty grub damage occurs later. It's not to late to put down the preventative grub treatment. Honestly I wouldn't even bother to put down a fungicide at this point. Just wait and put down some proven varieties of seed in the Fall.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Also, do a screwdriver test to see how hard the soil is in those spots, or if there are a lot of rocks underneath it.

Looks like mostly Tall Fescue...is that correct?


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

Reaper said:


> Need some help with these spots. I know it's not a watering issue as I have an irrigation system and we've also had a s--- ton of rain recently, and the spots are only in select areas. If it was a water/sun issue I assume the spots would be all over.
> 
> So what is causing this?? I do the standard weed application in early Spring, then Milorganite fertilizer following the recommended timeline. The lawn definitely needs to be aerated as the soil is super hard, but could that be causing the grass to die in only specific areas? After talking with a co-worker I realized I do not apply Lime at all, is this necessary? Will it help these spots?
> 
> ...


I see your concern and something is definitely wrong. Your neighbor across the street looks fine. I think the trees you had removed are the culprit. I can clearly see the bright green area where one of them was. The brown areas seem to be radiating from that spot. Did the tree company grind down the stump to 4+ inches and did they remove the shavings? It could be that the roots and shavings are robbing nitrogen from the soil. I don't know the right answer but I would probably get a soil test and try to figure out what the soil underneath the lawn looks like. Is it decaying roots that are robbing nitrogen from the soil?


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

Also, no....don't put down lime like your coworker said. Get a soil test first and if it says to apply lime then do it


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

No grubs. I pulled a couple areas of the turf to check, didn't see anything moving around.

The tree stumps were ground down and there were shavings left, but the grinding happened January 2018, so everything has been gone for a full season. The green spot that you see is where a Dogwood was and I planted some TTTF last Fall. The areas where I put the TTTF came in nicely (except for the seed that died due to the leaves smothering it) and remain fully green.

The soil around this area is extremely hard, so definitely will be aerating the whole front yard around the end of August. Will also be doing a soil test.

I ended up putting down some DiseaseEx 1 week ago just to see if it helped. I do not see any change at all, I'm actually fairly positive it has gotten worse.

Can anyone offer a definitive explanation as to what this could be?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

When the tree was removed, did you apply new seeds? What type of seed?

The grass around a tree that provides shade tends to be a fine fescue since it survives being in the shade. Now with the tree removed, that grass will not tolerate the sun.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

I would definitely do a tall fescue over seed late August. Me personally would do a full renovation I think you have a lot of fine fescue in there that doesn't like full sun.


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## Bman1 (Dec 8, 2018)

Get a soil test before applying lime. New England soil tends to be sandy and acidic. Those brown patches could've been poa annua checking out because of the heat. 
Get a soil test and plan on repairing 3rd week of August.


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

As I stated, I planted TTTF last Fall, the nice green patch you see is TTTF.

I don't see how this has anything to do with type of grass and/or sun issues. The entire left side of the yard had the same amount of shade with the trees, and now has the same amount of sun without the trees. Also receives the same amount of water. And it's the same type of grass. But only this isolated area is dead/dying. The rest of the left side is still fairly green and growing. So how could it be a sun/grass type issue?

And no, I do not feel a full renovation is warranted. I barely have any weeds, and much of the yard grows well when I'm actually paying attention to it. This is the only year that a select area has been this bad. I will be getting a soil test soon.

I figured seeking help on here would prevent me from calling TruGreen but I guess not.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Did you kill the grass in that area prior to planting some TTTF last fall?

How much inches of irrigation do you do in that area? How long it takes to get 0.5inches?

Have you do a soil test? What are the results?

All I see in your images is too long fine fescue that fried in the sun and some weeds. Maybe they got hit with a fungus too.

Recovery? I think it will need to remove the dead stuff and more seeds in August.


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

Again with the grass type/water/sun theories....

As I've stated, the entire left side of the lawn is the same type of grass and gets the same amount of water and sun. Yet, only this isolated area towards the middle of the lawn is dead. Please explain to me how that could be the result of grass type/water/sun when the rest of the area is fine...??

And for the third time, I will be getting a soil test soon.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I understand your frustration, but we are trying to help since 2017. Back then J4C11 pointed that it looks like fine fescue. You said you don't have a clue on the  type of grass. 

I stlill see fine fescue and not TTTF. Fine fescue does not like dry, sunny hot weather. It goes brown and comes back in the fall/spring. That's why I think it looks like that in that area only, because it is a different type of grass and it is not a good grass for that area. You will need to get rid of it with round up. Exactly like you said in August 2018.

I don't know how else I could help.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

g-man said:


> I understand your frustration, but we are trying to help since 2017. Back then J4C11 pointed that it looks like fine fescue. You said you don't have a clue on the  type of grass.
> 
> I stlill see fine fescue and not TTTF. Fine fescue does not like dry, sunny hot weather. It goes brown and comes back in the fall/spring. That's why I think it looks like that in that area only, because it is a different type of grass and it is not a good grass for that area. You will need to get rid of it with round up. Exactly like you said in August 2018.
> 
> I don't know how else I could help.


I agree 💯%.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

The brown areas do look a lot like summer dormancy of the fine fescue in a Northern mix. The fine fescue will come roaring back again in September when the days are shorter, the sunshine is less intense, temperatures are lower, and there is more rainfall.

Until then, there's not much one can do -- fine fescue is a very hardy grass in that it survives very well, but it goes dormant due to high temperatures or drought (as well as in the winter, but we all expect that...)

In the long run, if you want fine fescue to stay green through the summer, then you need to provide it a lot of shade and water to avoid going into summer dormancy. You'll basically need to either live with it like that (the fine fescue is awesome in the spring and fall - or in places that stay cooler and wetter in the summer, like the West coast of Oregon and Washington state) or change to a different grass type.


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## Reaper (Jul 11, 2017)

I'm not debating about what you all are saying about Fine Fescue not surviving the hot temps/sun and the TTTF doing better. And I don't debate that I don't know what type of grass I have, all I know for sure is that I planted TTTF in a couple patches and it's doing well. If you all say that what is dying is Fine Fescue, then that's what it is.

What I am debating is that the whole area surrounding the brown areas looks to be the same grass type and it's doing fine. For example, if you look at the third picture from the top, the top right of the picture is mostly green and growing fairly well, while the brown spot area is obvious. The issue (for me) is that both of these areas are the same grass type, receive the same amount of water, and receive the same amount of sun. So how can one area be doing well and the other die?

Also, as I mentioned before, this is the second summer with the trees/stumps removed. And this did not happen last summer in this area. As g-man referenced, I've had this issue before, but not nearly this bad, and it was in different areas. It has not happened since in those areas. AND, the area that it has happened in the past is well shaded, so the sun exposure theory doesn't work for that area.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but I am an analyst at heart (and in profession) so I look at the entirety of the situation and historical trend. I don't just look at the one isolated area with blinders and give a reason for the issues while the other areas are similar (if not exact) in composition but are not experiencing the same issues.


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