[TonyC]

Our new sod yard has been down for over a month now, and it's just starting to kick in. Although I would like to fertilize it soon. Many of the rolls with thinner canopies are filling in, and the pallet variations are starting to fade. There are some row lines still visible, but I'll be addressing those with a leveling soon enough.

I have searched for other pictures and info on these irregular patches that I have. The sod came from the farm this way, so I want to understand if they are just a growth variation from conditions, or if I need to consider a treatment. The stalks in these areas are dark brown/black and are very soft. They don't appear to have any above ground stolons either. Were these areas rotting in some way? I can see tips of new growth in most of the spots, but again just trying to be cautious. We continue to get heavy rain the in the Atlanta area, so nothing is drying out. I have dethatched several spots including these with my hands and fingers lightly agitating the areas trying to open them up to the air, again for fear of rotting and fungus.

I'd appreciate any feedback on these. :thumbup:

TIA,

Tony

 

[JollyGreen]

Not going to be much help with a response but my Zeon had/has a similar patch in areas where water pools. Mine was installed last August. I have a low area at the gate where half my yard slopes to before flowing out onto the driveway and the grass right before the driveway seems to have thinned out and looks similar to your picture. I have been fertilizing and not overwatering until I can install a drain and am starting to get growth back slowly. You may try lowering your cut height to keep it dry. Curious as to what others on here say.

 

[green is king 01]

Also make sure there is nothing under the sod (at least a few inches down). I had a few spots that had roots under my sod.

 

[TonyC]

I'm asking because these are localized spots that have been there from Day 1, so I'm not so worried about the ground underneath yet. It's possible that they were low spots at the sod farm, but again very localized, I would expect more of the roll to be in recovery. Their position in the yard is also on a slight slope which I would call a good drainage area. I'm thinking that the farm doesn't scalp sod coming out of dormancy, so it could be just old stalks that still have a weathered outer sheath on the stalk from a prior issue.

Thanks for the responses!

Tony

 

[CARL HD MOVIE SOURCE]

Does look like a water drainage issue. Can you redirect your gutters in any way?

 

[SCGrassMan]

Too much water and or not enough sun. Put down some fungicide as well while you're watering in.

 

[raymond]

i've had similar issues with my zeon. The area almost appears scalped though, yeah? At least for me, even though the grass looked to be ~1 inch high, there wasn't any leaf, just stem, so it wasn't greening up at that height. It has been filling in for me with new blades but very slow with zeon as you know

 

[SCGrassMan]

Also are you bagging your clippings? If not please do.

 

[jayhawk]

Rolls? They suck....tightly wound up doesn't help keep dirt w/ sod. SuperSod?

I don't think thatch is a worry at this age but I assume you're referring to dead material. Is yard lumpy, possibly scalping some areas? Sun all day?

 

[TonyC]

Many good comments, thanks!

I think the general consensus is that the grass is ok, just in need of some blade growth. It was the localized dark and soft stalks that had me wondering. Again, the sod came from the farm this way, and these spots are all on what I would consider good draining, sunny areas.

We have been getting tons of rain, so right when I started to taper off the watering, the lawn in general remains WAY too wet. I've been cutting at 1 1/2 with the reel mower and have not been bagging, trying to get whatever nutrients I can back into the soil, but I can switch over. The yard is well graded. It think these areas were either scalped at the farm, and arrived without leaves, and then when I cut at the same height I just lopped off the new growth. I'm waiting for some more vigorous growth before I even consider cutting lower than 1 1/2'. Will likely have to wait until next season for a seriously low cut which should help clean out some of the thatch and drive lower branching.

SuperSod, yes, I'm generally ok with the product, BUT, their rolls did suck. I don't know if their fields were not level, but their sod cutter tore up one side of a majority of the rolls. I'm guessing they had dips in their fields and the cutter didn't stay deep creating a root scalping effect. There were two pallets that smelled like they were taking runoff from a pig farm. Definitely low on the quality control.

Getting ready for the first application of fertilizer. IF it will stop pissing!

Cheers!

TonyC

 

[JollyGreen]

My area that looked like yours has filled in and the thin area I posted about early last month is about 3/4 of the way filled back in. I think the grass just needed sun and was a little late to start this year. Over the last couple weeks it has exploded with growth and really greened up (helps with Milo and 16-4-8). I would post pictures but I am at work. From what it sounds like, we seem to be in the same position regarding installation date. If the picture above is a recent picture it should start thickening up soon. You may want to throw some Milo on it or some other 16-4-8 but it sounds like you are planning that.

 

[jayhawk]

@TonyC thanks for that picture, gonna guess Marietta or Roswell? if you ever buy sod again, i'd suggest NG Turf (a producer), they won't even sell you dormant zeon. you can even talk to the owner!

i'd pick up a fungicide soon - to have on hand, avoid the panic when it pops up

 

[SCGrassMan]

Put the fert down in the rain! You won't melt and the grass will love it.

 

[Greendoc]

Large Patch and Pythium are becoming known issues for me on Zeon. Overcast and wet conditions are problems for this grass. Only time it is not an issue is if the lawn is not shaded by trees or structures and it is laid on top of sand not dirt. Another issue is Nematodes. Nematodes are not usually a problem on Bermuda or St Augustine kept under home lawn conditions. However, Zoysia seems susceptible. Most Nematode thresholds published by academics are for Bent or Bermuda greens not for Zoysia turf. I suspect it takes less to cause damage to Zoysia.

 

[SCGrassMan]

Large Patch and Pythium are becoming known issues for me on Zeon. Overcast and wet conditions are problems for this grass. Only time it is not an issue is if the lawn is not shaded by trees or structures and it is laid on top of sand not dirt. Another issue is Nematodes. Nematodes are not usually a problem on Bermuda or St Augustine kept under home lawn conditions. However, Zoysia seems susceptible. Most Nematode thresholds published by academics are for Bent or Bermuda greens not for Zoysia turf. I suspect it takes less to cause damage to Zoysia.

Do you recommend Stressgard for the other varieties of lawn like Centipede and St Augustine when newly sodded? Looking for something to put down on areas we are resodding for someone.

 

[Greendoc]

I would stick to soluble and available NPK + Micronutrients at time of sodding. A biostimulant mix of Kelp and Humic/Fulvic is a worthy addition to the fertilizer. I treat sod as if it is a hydroponic plant the first month after install. The concept of laying it down and forgetting about it is foreign to me. Irrigation. At this time of the year, unless it is raining ever day, new sod needs water. Once those points are addressed and sod is failing to take hold 2-3 weeks after being laid, I would then look at Nematodes and diseases. I typically get called in when a sod install looks bad a month or two after it has been laid. Of course, sod has not received the fertilizer program. But normally, it has been getting enough water.

 

[SCGrassMan]

I would stick to soluble and available NPK + Micronutrients at time of sodding. A biostimulant mix of Kelp and Humic/Fulvic is a worthy addition to the fertilizer. I treat sod as if it is a hydroponic plant the first month after install. The concept of laying it down and forgetting about it is foreign to me. Irrigation. At this time of the year, unless it is raining ever day, new sod needs water. Once those points are addressed and sod is failing to take hold 2-3 weeks after being laid, I would then look at Nematodes and diseases. I typically get called in when a sod install looks bad a month or two after it has been laid. Of course, sod has not received the fertilizer program. But normally, it has been getting enough water.

Right or wrong, the practice here in SC is to apply fungicide when the sod is put down, preventatively. You recommend against that? Just want to make sure I'm getting it right

 

[Greendoc]

Is that a practice suggested by the academics? Or is that a practice done by people whose butts are on the line if there is a problem with the sod? If it is the latter, I would indeed apply 4 oz Exteris Stressguard per 1000 sq ft. I would also provide coverage for Pythium because of the heavy watering needed to establish sod. Subdue Maxx is labeled for application to residential lawns. That is something I have tank mixed with other fungicides when Pythium is a possibility. When dealing with fungal diseases, I have long ago discarded the notion of only one disease being a problem. In the case of Large Patch, Brown Patch or the other diseases stemming from Rhizoctonia, be aware that the fungicides for Rhizoctonia do not necessarily deal with Leaf Spot or Dollar Spot. It is fortunate that Exteris provides coverage for both diseases, but I do not count on it for Pythium.

 

[jonthepain]

We had pythium in one of our zoysias last season, i believe it is meyer. We got it very early, customer is retired and vigilant. Super nice guy.
Neighbors were not so lucky.

 

[Greendoc]

My kind of customer. They call for off color spots before the whole lawn is dead. I also teach mine to call me if the notice scavenger type birds in the lawn. The birds mean Sod Webworm and Armyworm. Call me before the lawn is totally eaten up.