# Grass blades turning lime green suddenly



## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

Why is my grass turning light green all of a sudden in some areas? I know it's not Poa annua nor trivialis. And it's just been this week. We've had hot temps and I put down some fertilizer a few weeks ago. Maybe I need more fertilizer still?

I keep it short, around 1.25 inches. And I mow often enough to keep the 1/3 rule.

Ryegrass, bluegrass, and fine fescues. But it's happening to all of them, just in certain areas.

And it's the blades, definitely not stalks from going to seed and dying off starting to go yellow. The blades.

In Utah zone 6b. This was a fall renovation, the first summer this grass is seeing.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

dawk said:


> We've had *hot temps* and I *put down some fertilizer *a few weeks ago. Maybe I need *more fertilizer* still?


Why is everyone trying to murder their lawns lately?!


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## Clamman (Sep 25, 2020)

I have some lime green areas after I did a fertilizing a few weeks ago and can tell it was from where I didn't spread it well there…I'm not adding now until October.


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

Not sure but please kill the grass around the tree and don't string trim it. You will kill that tree.

Can you give some close ups on the grass you are concerned about? Close up's on the blades


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

Clamman said:


> I have some lime green areas after I did a fertilizing a few weeks ago and can tell it was from where I didn't spread it well there…I'm not adding now until October.


You're suggesting that if you hadn't fertilized at all your entire lawn would be neon green now?


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

thats not a black walnut tree is it?

if it is, walnut trees poison the ground and plants look lime green


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

cleohioturf said:


> thats not a black walnut tree is it?
> 
> if it is, walnut trees poison the ground and plants look lime green


Maple.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Do you have a soil test? High pH could make micros less available causing chlorosis. Otherwise, a nitrogen deficiency is possible, caused either by too much rain flushing it away, not applying enough or uneven application, or maybe that maple tree is using it all up.

You wouldn't think it needs more N if you just put some down recently, but I don't know how much you put down this last app, the total since your reno, what kind of fertilizer used, or how much rain you've received.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

BH Green said:


> Do you have a soil test? High pH could make micros less available causing chlorosis. Otherwise, a nitrogen deficiency is possible, caused either by too much rain flushing it away, not applying enough or uneven application, or maybe that maple tree is using it all up.
> 
> You wouldn't think it needs more N if you just put some down recently, but I don't know how much you put down this last app, the total since your reno, what kind of fertilizer used, or how much rain you've received.


This is from this spring. I was told the high pH is something I can't beat because it's in the water, and to just supply a little more nutrients. But that modern grass deals with high pH by making us own microenvironments. Since then I've applied the proper amount of potassium sulfate and no-phosphorus fertilizer. Spoon fed weekly until dropping some granular 3 weeks ago.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

tgreen said:


> Not sure but please kill the grass around the tree and don't string trim it. You will kill that tree.
> 
> Can you give some close ups on the grass you are concerned about? Close up's on the blades


Photos linked below. Go to Imgur itself to see them in full res. Now that I look closely, it appears the perennial ryegrass is unaffected (it's low and tillered horizontally a lot) and the bluegrass and fine fescues are the ones turning neon green.

Yeah I'll kill the grass surrounding the tree.



http://imgur.com/7lQzurk


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## Clamman (Sep 25, 2020)

dawk said:


> Clamman said:
> 
> 
> > I have some lime green areas after I did a fertilizing a few weeks ago and can tell it was from where I didn't spread it well there…I'm not adding now until October.
> ...


Kind of, but if none of it got fertilizer I wouldn't notice…it's an old late 70s, not backfilled in correctly lawn that I've been trying to correct…it needs a whole redo with good soil added.


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

dawk said:


> tgreen said:
> 
> 
> > Not sure but please kill the grass around the tree and don't string trim it. You will kill that tree.
> ...


It may simply be the different grass types. The lighter green looks like the KBG. I'd give it a little time. I've had KBG look like that early in the year, especially when it's newly planted within the past couple years. The color should even out.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

tgreen said:


> It may simply be the different grass types. The lighter green looks like the KBG. I'd give it a little time. I've had KBG look like that early in the year, especially when it's newly planted within the past couple years. The color should even out.


Yeah it's the KBG except in the last photo you're seeing fine fescue also go that color.

I don't care about the color (it's kind of cool) so much as if it's indicating poor grass health for some reason. And it's only gone that color in the last week or so. It was dark all year up until just recently then lit up like neon green popsicles. Just want to make sure it's not going to fail if there was something I could do about it.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It looks like it is growing too fast. Maybe too much nitrogen (applied or from organic matter). When it grows too fast, it looks lime green.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

G-man makes a valid point. The area where my dog pees most often sometimes turns a lighter green in the spring because the grass grows too fast.


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

dawk said:


> BH Green said:
> 
> 
> > Do you have a soil test? High pH could make micros less available causing chlorosis. Otherwise, a nitrogen deficiency is possible, caused either by too much rain flushing it away, not applying enough or uneven application, or maybe that maple tree is using it all up.
> ...


Cant you use pelletized sulfur to lower PH , it might take a few healthy doses over a season or 2 . I fight low PH here in SE Mass zone 6b . It just wants to go to low 5s so I have to do a good amount of lime every other season to keep it in check.

My lawn is full of all sorts of varieties as since 2001 I basically was over seeding with what ever was on sale. 2007 ish I laid down K31 for 2 seasons and wife hated the heavy blades. Not till 2010 did I start reading about "what grass should I grow" did I start thinking about drought and disease resistance. Color texture and so on.
Since 2017 I have been using Lesco all pro team. Did a heavy dose fall of 2020 and 2021 and now going into fall of 2022 its finally evening out.
I still have remnants of older varieties.
Im also in the mind set that ehat ever survives is the stuff I want!
Good luck.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

g-man said:


> It looks like it is growing too fast. Maybe too much nitrogen (applied or from organic matter). When it grows too fast, it looks lime green.


I think you're right. I was spoon feeding with ammonium sulfate all season until the last application a few weeks ago which contained urea. Why does urea do that as opposed to ammonium sulfate?

Will growing too fast for a period do lasting damage? Does anything need to be done about it?


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

Funny I was just poking around tonight 
After reading this post yesterday and came across this area. There was no grass in most of this area a few feet off the foundation. Its been slowly filling in.
Maybe you just have some new growth or late germination ?


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

MacLawn said:


> Funny I was just poking around tonight
> After reading this post yesterday and came across this area. There was no grass in most of this area a few feet off the foundation. Its been slowly filling in.
> Maybe you just have some new growth or late germination ?


Is that poa annua?


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

dawk said:


> MacLawn said:
> 
> 
> > Funny I was just poking around tonight
> ...


I dont think so most of my poa has set seed and died off with the lack of rain.
I still cant be sure. I did lay down a good amount of lesco all team pro last fall? Its been slowly filling in , used to keep some plastic bins here and it was all compacted soil and grass less about 20" or so from foundation. 
I also have a run if grass Along the drive that a much lighter green than anything else. Fun stuff


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

High temps can cause chlorosis. We usually get it here in July for a few weeks. The grass goes yellow-green. Maybe you have the same thing going on. I know it's probably hot there at the moment.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Summer-induced-iron-chlorosis-on-Kentucky-bluegrass-DeVetter/7ce814352804535fa917d5baffd9b503d92d0280


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## Lawnbadix (10 mo ago)

Remember that Urea turns ph up by a lot in a tiny bit of time so that's maybe just it plus roots of the tree might adding it's causing part to the discoloration.

Try to dig into the soil always first. In my case and also for my neighbors lawn which I occasionally take care of, I always find roots/stones when digging. Either that or hydrophobic spots. Never been anything else so far for me but I don't use urea, as(-s) works better.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

Lawnbadix said:


> Remember that Urea turns ph up by a lot in a tiny bit of time so that's maybe just it plus roots of the tree might adding it's causing part to the discoloration.
> 
> Try to dig into the soil always first. In my case and also for my neighbors lawn which I occasionally take care of, I always find roots/stones when digging. Either that or hydrophobic spots. Never been anything else so far for me but I don't use urea, as(-s) works better.


Yeah now that a little more time has passed, the light green color is definitely in the areas surrounding my maple trees. It actually seems like it's the areas with the most shade, and a result of too much forced growth that can't green up fast enough due to lack of enough light to keep up.


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## dawk (Nov 29, 2021)

Green said:


> High temps can cause chlorosis. We usually get it here in July for a few weeks. The grass goes yellow-green. Maybe you have the same thing going on. I know it's probably hot there at the moment.
> 
> https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Summer-induced-iron-chlorosis-on-Kentucky-bluegrass-DeVetter/7ce814352804535fa917d5baffd9b503d92d0280


Maybe so. The light (neon) green is only in the shadiest spots under my maple trees though. So I think it might be forced growth without sufficient light to keep the blades as green as the areas with plenty of light to keep up with the quick growth.


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