[Catlettsl]

Hey

Most of my lawn seems to have woken up. No crazy growth but the color seems to be coming in. I do have a decent patch of lawn that remains brown. Any ideas

Haven't fertilized at all this yr only thing I put down was Pre M.

 

[g-man]

Post a picture and maybe we could help.

 

[Catlettsl]

 

[SNOWBOB11]

What was your fertilizer schedule like last fall?

 

[Catlettsl]

Late in the fall I applied starter fert when I overseeded. Before that I probably did 3-4 apps of Milo at 3/4-1lb per K every 4-5 weeks. Lawn appeared very healthy last summer and fall before going into dormancy.

 

[Catlettsl]

 

[Catlettsl]

These are some pics from last summer. My lawn and house was renovated about 3-4 yrs ago and some large trees were removed.

 

[Catlettsl]

I'm in the Wash DC area....is it too early to start fertilizing?

 

[rockinmylawn]

I'm in the Wash DC area....is it too early to start fertilizing?

No.
As long as the grass is growing & you do it before end of May in the mid-atlantic region aka transition zone - you'll be alright.
But the only way to salvage this year spring & summer & to confirm what ever deficiency you have - you'll need a soil test ASAP.

My lawn was green during the growing season - beautiful & regimen were somewhat like your last year south of you in the Richmond area
I didn't do a soil test - kind of guess at it. Maybe read too much about disease problems that had never appeared before so I underfed the lawn most likely.
Didn't do as much as you with Milo - only 2 drops (May & Sept).
Did have a drop of 10-10-10 in April & 46-0-0 in December.

Flip the switch to this spring & I have the similar issues as you: with some areas still sleeping & yellowish while lagging vs. neighbors.

This was last week:

vs. last July:

 

[g-man]

I see a slight hill/slope in the section that is more brown. Which way does the sun hit that area? Could it be on shadow most of the time? Also, the slope might make the fertilizer rundown in a heavy downpour.

I would wait for the lawn to wake up naturally than pushing it with nitrogen.

 

[rockinmylawn]

I see a slight hill/slope in the section that is more brown. Which way does the sun hit that area? Could it be on shadow most of the time? Also, the slope might make the fertilizer rundown in a heavy downpour.

I would wait for the lawn to wake up naturally than pushing it with nitrogen.

Interesting - My house is graded with house on a crown & lawn flowing down & away to move the water.
Some of my yellow areas are at the perimeter of my lawn - some on the top of the slope & some at the bottom.

 

[GrassDaddy]

It's possible it's many factors but the end result just being that those areas still haven't woken up fully yet. Thinks like sunlight, water, etc can have an effect on spring greenup. If it lasts long term then you really need to investigate but I'd just start working on normal good lawn habits - mowing/fertilizing/watering and it should pick up from there.

 

[ABC123]

I'm in the Wash DC area....is it too early to start fertilizing?

I'd say you can apply it. Was there last weekend and saw crab germinating everywhere.

 

[Catlettsl]

Just read the Fall Nitrogen Blitz. So I'm guessing I clearly under fertilized and def did not winterize hence the slow green up. Gonna get a soil test and drop 3/4lb per K of Milo and that should kick start things.

 

[Turfguy93]

If you wanna give it a jump start and boost the color .25lbs N from Urea or Ammonium Sulfate with some chelated iron would do the trick. Milo's slow and relies a lot on microbial breakdown which is low in cooler soil temps

 

[kevreh]

Just read the Fall Nitrogen Blitz. So I'm guessing I clearly under fertilized and def did not winterize hence the slow green up. Gonna get a soil test and drop 3/4lb per K of Milo and that should kick start things.

Hey Catlettsl, I'm in Annandale, Va, right by you (not sure if your in MD or VA). Close enough....
4lbs of Milo is only ~/25 lbs of N. Not much at all and as has been mentioned Mile is slow acting with these cooler temps. Won't have much of an effect. I dropped a 1/2 lb of N a few weeks ago thats a mix of fast and slow acting Urea. Will drop another 1/2 lb in late April then thats likely it for Urea. Milo will continue to go down monthly. If you don't have a good all around N source with Urea check out a lawn supply company like Site One. Or something like Vigoro Super Green (with Iron) from Home Depot.

I think that area is just taking its time coming out of dormancy. My front yard looks like that brownish area and back like your green area. Since it looked good last year I think you can eliminate localized issues. I'd say give it a couple weeks, but who knows with these hi/low temps.

 

[Catlettsl]

Just read the Fall Nitrogen Blitz. So I'm guessing I clearly under fertilized and def did not winterize hence the slow green up. Gonna get a soil test and drop 3/4lb per K of Milo and that should kick start things.

Hey Catlettsl, I'm in Annandale, Va, right by you (not sure if your in MD or VA). Close enough....
4lbs of Milo is only ~/25 lbs of N. Not much at all and as has been mentioned Mile is slow acting with these cooler temps. Won't have much of an effect. I dropped a 1/2 lb of N a few weeks ago thats a mix of fast and slow acting Urea. Will drop another 1/2 lb in late April then thats likely it for Urea. Milo will continue to go down monthly. If you don't have a good all around N source with Urea check out a lawn supply company like Site One. Or something like Vigoro Super Green (with Iron) from Home Depot.

I think that area is just taking its time coming out of dormancy. My front yard looks like that brownish area and back like your green area. Since it looked good last year I think you can eliminate localized issues. I'd say give it a couple weeks, but who knows with these hi/low temps.

Thanks Kevreh. In this Mid Atlantic area it can be tricky year to year. Some years it feels like spring in early February some years we are still getting mid 40's in April. I really want to go by the feel of the season and what my lawn is telling me. Looking at it today I have some areas that wants to grow and some that are lagging behind.

I think you're right with a good 1/2 rate of N from a starter fert in the next week or 2 then ride it out with Milo.

 

[kevreh]

Yep, 100 different ways to approach this. I think you meant "1/2 lb of N", not "rate"? Rate is subjective to the product you use.

This year I'm hitting my TTTF yard a little harder with the N in the spring so I can get it thickened up *and growing taller*. I mention height because I tend to mow at about 3" but want to bring that up to at least 4" to surpress weeds better (especially clover).

Of course I'll be using fungicide preventatively starting in early June and am using a Humic and Fulvic mix to help prep the soil/roots for heat stress come july.

 

[Catlettsl]

Makes sense. I mow at 4 plus inches. I'm also irrigated which helps root stress in the high temps.

 

[Catlettsl]

Yep, 100 different ways to approach this. I think you meant "1/2 lb of N", not "rate"? Rate is subjective to the product you use.

This year I'm hitting my TTTF yard a little harder with the N in the spring so I can get it thickened up *and growing taller*. I mention height because I tend to mow at about 3" but want to bring that up to at least 4" to surpress weeds better (especially clover).

Of course I'll be using fungicide preventatively starting in early June and am using a Humic and Fulvic mix to help prep the soil/roots for heat stress come july.

You see the area is expecting 5-6 inches of snow on Saturday? Craziness!