# Extreme uneven color



## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

Hi all I am having some serious issue this year with uneven green. I have been increasing my nitrogen dosage thinking I've had a lack of nitrogen. The yard is growing at least 3" a week. Mowing at 3.5" watering around 1-1.5" a week. I have applied 30-0-3 twice this year putting down around 1# per 1k feet each time. The nitrogen seems to be darkening the majority well. Some areas weren't taking the nitrogen well at all however. In these patch areas where it is light green the grass is growing perhaps .25-.5" per week. The dark green areas within the lime green are seed patches I had put down last season. I don't believe and fungus issues are present.

I went around about a week ago and hit the lime green spots with another application on 30-0-03. Bad mistake. Made thing way worse in those areas and has cause some fertilizer burn. Been watering it in heavily for the past days and won't do that again. Anyway I know the yard has plenty of nitrogen now but what am I missing? I will listen for any help, this yard is going on 3 years old all sodded. It's slowly every year been lacking something. All I have ever really applied is nitrogen.


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## jimmythegreek (Aug 7, 2020)

As we get into the warmer weather the lawn evolves. The dark green of fall amd spring changes because of the heat and so does the grass. Summer is the time to pray amd water the lawn as best you can and hope for no fingus. Id keep watering and watch for any disease going forward til the cooler weather starts. Look onto iron apps in the future I'd you just want the color and your N is enough for the season


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks like a different type of grass.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Im with @g-man. It doesnt look diseased or distressed, it looks green, although a different shade of green than the other grass, so much so that it sticks out. As evidence by your dark green circles from your spot seeding.

You could in theory try chopping that area as low as possible in the fall and overseeding with whatever you put in those spots and in the surrounding area so it blends better.

*edit* Could be poa Triv spreading, but without closer pictures would be impossible to tell. All the poa triv i've had grew faster than the PRG around it though and was very distinct. You can see my post from several years ago here
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13687


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

Thank you both for the replies. I am almost certain my over application of nitrogen in this areas has caused discoloration. I have been watering a lot to prevent burning. I will allow a few weeks to go by and see how it all goes before I make and new attempts. I obtained a Lamotte soil testing kit. I will measure out my npk with this and report back.


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## Rydaddy1972 (May 2, 2020)

I don't comment very often, as usually other members here answer before i even have a chance to sit down for the evening and get caught up on posts. I have this problem at my house, and my culprit is POA Triv. That may not be in your case. In my backyard I gave up the battle and we choose to co-exist. As the weather gets hotter/dryer it goes dormant and looks like it's dying off. It doesn't.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Yeah that really doesn't look like too much nitrogen. Does look like a different grass type.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

g-man said:


> That looks like a different type of grass.


My thoughts too. The lighter portions are probably a different type of grass. Cut some blades. Compare them to the darker ones.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Rydaddy1972 said:


> I don't comment very often, as usually other members here answer before i even have a chance to sit down for the evening and get caught up on posts. I have this problem at my house, and my culprit is POA Triv. That may not be in your case. In my backyard I gave up the battle and we choose to co-exist. As the weather gets hotter/dryer it goes dormant and looks like it's dying off. It doesn't.


I'm thinking the same POA


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

The only thing that is odd since is this grass never use to look like this even after the seed patch. For example check out this picture showing the same area from 2 seasons ago. 


I just feel these areas aren't taking in the nitrogen as they aren't growing near as fast and everywhere else the grass has really taken off and turned dark green.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

A close up picture of the light green area also dark green would help solve the mystery


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

jordan572 said:


> The only thing that is odd since is this grass never use to look like this even after the seed patch. For example check out this picture showing the same area from 2 seasons ago.
> 
> 
> I just feel these areas aren't taking in the nitrogen as they aren't growing near as fast and everywhere else the grass has really taken off and turned dark green.


Off topic but damn those are some nice stripes!


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

M32075 said:


> A close up picture of the light green area also dark green would help solve the mystery


These were just taken before mowing today


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## Overtaxed (May 9, 2021)

I'm really interested to see the answer to this, my lawn looks exactly like that right now. Different colors in patches throughout the lawn. Looks healthy everywhere, I do have some fungus and am treating it, but I feel like there's something else causing this. Some of the deep green sections have the most fungal infection, and some of the lighter sections have almost none. I'm thinking seed heads perhaps?


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

The two blades of grass show the variation I am experiencing. The longer blade removed from a dark green uniform area while the other removed from a very light green thin area. You can see the difference in height as well. Mowed around 6 days ago. 






I did a soil test with a Lamotte test kit, not sure how we'll respected those are on this forum. Anyway the soil ph tested out around 7.0
Medium amounts of nitrogen on the lower side which is hard to imagine 
Phosphorus tested out medium/okay
Potash had a trace to nothing

Do these results mean anything useful or is a soil sample sent to the lab the only useful information? I feel the heat has amplified the variation especially since most the yard is taking the nitrogen well and becoming dark green causing even more color variation. The light green areas just act like no nitrogen has ever been applied. The yard was thatched this spring but you can see in the close up pictures that the thatch just never greened up. Looks terrible, I've even tried raking it out and it doesn't come up real easy like dead thatch does. I'm to the point I will pay an expert or anyone on this forum for some advise, it looks terrible!


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

amartin003 said:


> jordan572 said:
> 
> 
> > The only thing that is odd since is this grass never use to look like this even after the seed patch. For example check out this picture showing the same area from 2 seasons ago.
> ...


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## SpiveyJr (Jun 7, 2018)

The seed heads on some of your close up pictures look like poa annua. Do those light discolored sections of grass pull up like carpet?


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

It's looking like you have POA the seed heads and light green color. It will die off soon it's not deep rooted and doesn't like heat. Sad part it's dropped a ton of seed and germination will happen come late summer all over again.


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

SpiveyJr said:


> The seed heads on some of your close up pictures look like poa annua. Do those light discolored sections of grass pull up like carpet?


They do not, maybe I'm just trying to make myself believe I don't have poa coming in but a few reasons why I'm thinking that isn't it. The grass in the light areas is very thin, not real thick like a lot of the poa pictures I see online or on the forum here. Also if you look in the thin areas close up there is a lot of matted down dormant grass at the base of the yard that won't come to life. I wouldn't even really call it thatch as it is very hard to rake out, it just simply looks like dead layed over grass. The up close pictures I've seen of poa seem to be quite thick where mine is very thin. Also the light areas of grass do not pull out easily the blades tear out just like the normal good areas of grass.

I think the seed heads are forming because in these light areas the grass is growing so slowly it is going to seed instead of growing vigorously like the dark green health areas. Also since the beginning of the year I haven't felt these light areas of lime green grass have spread or changed much at all, they just seem to be dormant/growing very slowly. I believe the increased color variation is just coming from the darker areas getting darker and the light areas remaining the same. It has been 95 for a week straight and nothing has really subsided or changed from my observations.

I pulled on of the seeded blades this AM for a picture. 




As you can see the stock is just browned and weak looking, and the green areas are yellow/green.


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

M32075 said:


> It's looking like you have POA the seed heads and light green color. It will die off soon it's not deep rooted and doesn't like heat. Sad part it's dropped a ton of seed and germination will happen come late summer all over again.


I am hoping this isn't true the only okay thing I'm doing is at least I am bagging my clippings for now. Just very odd how this stuff has been present since this spring and the grass came out of dormancy. It was like these few areas never woke up.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

It could be perennial rye grass it does get thick stalks with seed heads. The heads should be drying out by now hopefully that's what it is.


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## jordan572 (Aug 23, 2020)

I checked out a friends yard that isn't exeperiencing any uneven green patches and observed small seedy blades in areas. Pulled one and it looked basically identical to this one in the picture above. Any thoughts?


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## 2L8 (Mar 18, 2019)

jordan572 said:


> ...
> Potash had a trace to nothing
> ...


Very low K? So I would spread some of it.



jordan572 said:


> SpiveyJr said:
> 
> 
> > The seed heads on some of your close up pictures look like poa annua. Do those light discolored sections of grass pull up like carpet?
> ...


If I see it correctly, the second side branches from the bottom go from the axis in threes. With Poa annua, there are always only one or two. Look at the ligules of the leaves. In Annua it is long, in KBG short (only the upper leaf can have a longer ligule). I suspect that it is KBG.


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