Does your lawn look sick or healthy?

Really hot temps mean stress and disease problems for lawns. If your lawn looks less than lovely, here are some tips to help you diagnose potential problems.

Drought stress
Does the lawn have a bluish cast? Has it turned a straw color in some areas or throughout the lawn? If you push a screwdriver into the soil, is the soil hard, keeping the tool from going very far into the soil? "Yes" answers indicate drought stress.

What to do: If there are patches of dry grass like the one above, check out the sprinkler system for problems that impede water coverage. Drought stress due to high temps and lack of water will turn Kentucky bluegrass a blonde color. If there is no traffic on the lawn--such as kids playing soccer--the grass will recover on its own as temperatures come down.

If the lawn has traffic, increase water to bring it out of dormancy. Avoid applying fertilizers while the grass is dormant as that is too much of a shock. When the grass begins to green up, you can fertilize.

Dollar Spot
Do you look across the lawn and see rounded or oblong spots that look bleached? If so, you may have Dollar Spot. The bad news is that lawnmowers can spread the spores of this disease from one area of the yard to another. The good news is that of all the turf diseases to have, this one is the least serious.
Dollar spot usually develops when the turf is heat and drought stressed and nitrogen deficient. Regular watering and some fertilizer along with regular mowing will usually relieve the problem within a couple weeks.

Necrotic Ring Spot (NRS)
Do you see very large rings or donut-shapes about 6 to 8 inches across that are scattered throughout the lawn? The donut shape looks brown and dead while the hole inside is green.
If this is what you see, you may have NRS--a more serious fungus problem. NRS is a root problem that actually happened in May, but doesn't show up until the intense heat of July/August. Since the roots are dead, there is little you can do for the brown areas now and that is why applying a fungicide this time of year won't help.
The most effective treatment for NRS is an ongoing health program that will build strong roots that are resistant to disease. Provide adequate water without over-watering. This fall, aerate the lawn, top dress with compost and seed with perennial rye.

Melting Out
Does the lawn look very gray and does the grass look collapsed? These are signs of a less common but serious condition known as Melting Out. If you suspect your lawn has this condition, act quickly and consult with a lawn pro.
Melting out typically requires a fungicide applied right away that's followed with adequate watering and fertilizer at the right time. This is a serious turf grass problem that will take considerable care and time for recovery.

Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC