# Grass pulling up easily



## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

It's been very humid all summer and my grass is pulling up easily by hand no root depth. It's mainly on the north side of the lawn. I checked for grubs and there aren't any. It's almost like pulling up a carpet. Any ideas what it could be? It's a mix of fescue, rye, and Kentucky blue grass.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Sounds like it could be poa triv. Is it in a shady area?


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## PA Lawn Guy (Jul 2, 2018)

If it had been grubs, I believe they would be gone by now but the damage was already done.


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

It was in a shady area and the soil was compacted. It was always wet due to the humid weather.


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## Miggity (Apr 25, 2018)

Pull some up by the roots and post a close-up picture. If it has whitish lateral stolons, it is bad news. Would you describe the grass as 'floppy' when it gets longer?


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

The grass is flappy I cut it usually to 4". The roots were brown and were very shallow. It was like no roots at all. I'll send a picture when I pull some up today. My whole lawn flops over when I cut high. 
Thanks


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It could also be fine fescue.


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

It is part fine fescue I tried to post pictures but I don't know how to. It literally has no roots


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## maynardGkeynes (May 23, 2017)

Tommy65 said:


> It's been very humid all summer and my grass is pulling up easily by hand no root depth. It's mainly on the north side of the lawn. I checked for grubs and there aren't any. It's almost like pulling up a carpet. Any ideas what it could be? It's a mix of fescue, rye, and Kentucky blue grass.


Not enough sunlight causes blade to elongate and become floppy. You want to put fine fescue in those areas, not KBG or PRG, Some TTTF are pretty shade tolerant too. Basically, I doubt that the area established well to begin with. Were the roots ever very deep?


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

It happened about 5 years ago during a humid summer and i reseeded it and never had a problem. This year the grass is always wet due to high humidity. I do have spots that pull up in the sunny areas but not much. Should I cut it shorter so it won't stay wet all day?


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Is the grass itself still green / alive?


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

Yes but the roots are brown and just raking it a whole patch of grass comes up. I could literally roll the lawn up like a carpet


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

triv?


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

Triv?


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

I'm no expert but I have had triv......sounds like it. Usually triv goes dormant in summer heat, but I've had shady areas where it remained green. If it is triv, it's a long difficult battle


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

While spraying to suppress some bermuda with Tenacity / triclopyr mix, I sprayed what looked like a patch of lush triv, about one sq ft., on Aug 20. It was very happy in a partial shade area.

It is now absolute toast. I'll post a pic once the sun comes up. Unfortunately I didn't get a "before" pic. I would describe the "before" as a nice looking, fine bladed grass, lighter shade of green than the TTTF around it, very dense. I'm pretty sure it was triv. The "after" is . . . well, you'll see it soon enough.


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## MichiganGreen (Aug 7, 2018)

Question on tenacity in this regard, because ill.be spraying bentgrass. Once dead, do you just buzz that area real short and seed it or do you have cut it out with a sod cutter etc?


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

MichiganGreen said:


> Question on tenacity in this regard, because ill.be spraying bentgrass. Once dead, do you just buzz that area real short and seed it or do you have cut it out with a sod cutter etc?


Buzz short and I also work the seed in with a garden weasel (like Pete does :nod: ) or a four tine cultivator in the really bad spots. Also roll after seeding. If it's dead, no need to completely dig it up. The decaying roots are good for your OM too - weeds are good for something


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## MichiganGreen (Aug 7, 2018)

Love it. So let me get this straight.

1. Spray tenacity 
2. Watch what turns white. 
3. When white, scalp and even maybe a little weed wack to turn it up a bit
4. seed 
5. Water

I'll be doing this in spring but hopefully I can make it work because it's a small focused area I can keep my eye on.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

MichiganGreen said:


> Love it. So let me get this straight.
> 
> 1. Spray tenacity
> 2. Watch what turns white.
> ...


For cool season grass, I'd do it now.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Here's what I think was triv killed dead as a hammer with Tenacity / triclopyr mix. I can't be positive that it was triv but if I see more of it I'll investigate more closely before spraying.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Here's some dead bentgrass which might be mixed with a little hybrid bermuda (the stuff that's small leaved and still showing some green). I obviously let this patch get way out of control. Dead now.

Bermuda gets knocked back and brown but always seems to come back.

Both triv and bent have very shallow roots. Just tearing it out for small patches remains an option too. They are easy to tell apart when alive. Bent is very distinctive in appearance.


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## MichiganGreen (Aug 7, 2018)

unfortunately my lawn budget is exhausted. it's either next fall or spring. im going to go for spring just to avoid the spreading. i can finish off anything in the fall of 2019


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## Tommy65 (Aug 16, 2018)

What is triv please


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## Miggity (Apr 25, 2018)

Tommy65 said:


> What is triv please


Poa Trivialis or rough bluegrass. It spreads and is hard to kill, even with Roundup. Run a plug aerator over a patch of it and now it is everywhere in your yard.


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