# Very Stemmy Grass



## TrialAndError (Oct 7, 2017)

All,

I'm in Rochester, NY and have a KBG, PRG, Fine Fescue Lawn. Last year, my lawn looked beautiful. This year i have very Stemmy grass. I believe it's the PRG. It so stemmy, that when I mow, the tips get shredded. I am at a loss as to what to do to fix this. I put down starter fertilizer at bag rate the first week of May, and put down 2 X bag rate of milorganite the last week of may. The blades on my mower are sharp. I've also sprayed RGS, Humic-12 at 3oz/1000 twice this year, and put down Strobe 2X, 21 days apart. In April, i did do a soil test, all all came back good. I do have an irrigation system and get 1 in / week.

Anybody have any ideas as to what is causing this, or what i can do to fix it?


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Any chance your mower isn't running at correct RPM? Are you mowing at wide open throttle?

If your blades are sharp as you say, it looks like maybe blade not spinning fast enough.

The bright green grass I have seen as well after spraying PGR. I was told is likely Kentucky 31 popping through.

What is your cut height and how much do you cut off when you mow? Are you mowing in the evenings when it cools down?


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## TrialAndError (Oct 7, 2017)

I verified it's not the mower. I mowed with both my Honda hrx on Saturday and my Troy-bilt TB240 today. I'm cutting a 3.5"


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

It's perennial rye seed stalks, and I am having the same pain to the point where I want to nuke my lawn and do 100% KBG.


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## TrialAndError (Oct 7, 2017)

Me too!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Sinclair said:


> It's perennial rye seed stalks, and I am having the same pain to the point where I want to nuke my lawn and do 100% KBG.


Agreed. Mine look like this. They're dying slowly but still make the new section of grass look brown.


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## JohnP (Oct 24, 2017)

@b0nk3rs


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It seems that this year has been worst than other with PRG stalks for most of us. I dont know what to do than keep mowing. KBG also has seed stalks that also looked horrible this year.


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## Robotussin (Oct 6, 2017)

I am having the exact same issue (without the shredding, though). My FF is a nice dark green but the sheer number of brown PRG seedstalks are giving my entire front a brown cast. It seems like in the last few days they are breaking down a little (they pull from the ground easily when tugged)but it's driving me nuts.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Ill add myself to the list. Its also annoying because its still happening, and i can still see seed heads at 3" that are growing under my mower height that will be browning in the coming weeks. I'm struggling to determine whats causing my lawn to look brown and blades to be dying. Is it just the blades on the stalks dying? Fungus? Drought?

I've attempted to hedge my bets by going heavy on water and spraying Fungicide, so we'll see over the coming weeks.


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## TrialAndError (Oct 7, 2017)

My problem is I don't see any seed heads.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

TrialAndError said:


> My problem is I don't see any seed heads.


I don't have any real PRG seed heads anymore either. I have an area between my burning bushes that sometimes only gets cut down every other week as I can't get the mower in there. I'll get some tall PRG stalks with seed heads.


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## Gpoe85 (Jul 10, 2018)

Same boat here, ive been putting up with it for years, only way to get it out is you scalp your yard. I was wondering perhaps the NExt de thatch product would help it to decay faster? 


pennstater2005 said:


> Sinclair said:
> 
> 
> > It's perennial rye seed stalks, and I am having the same pain to the point where I want to nuke my lawn and do 100% KBG.
> ...


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## Roosterchest (Aug 3, 2017)

I had this issue to a certain extent in May with my PRG/KBG stand I did last fall. I wasn't sure what was happening but much of the leaf surface died and the yard looked brown. I put down an app of starter fertilizer and raised the cutting height to 3.75 inches. I haven't had an issue since. I don't think I'd put fertilizer down now but I wonder if a lack of N in the soil causes this to become more pronounced?


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Maybe? But i put down .5N Starter fert/.5N Milo in May, another bag rate Milo mid June...


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## Lawnpool (Jun 19, 2018)

I've been raking after every mow (primarily to gather clumps of mulch clipping due to mowing issues / HOC most likely), however it has appeared to me that gentle raking is helping to clear the Rye stalks.


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