Front Lawn Discoloring

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
Post Reply
GermanShep
Posts: 22
Joined: August 8th, 2021, 4:58 pm
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 3000-5000
Level: Experienced

Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by GermanShep » May 18th, 2022, 8:14 pm

My front lawn has turned front the normal deep dark green it has always been to a pale green with yellowing and I am wondering if my lawn got to much nitrogen this could happen? The reason I question this is that last week I applied a nice balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer to my front lawn and a day or two later the lawn care company that my neighbors use came thru the neighborhood and dropped some type of fertilzer and I am thinking they mistakenly did my lawn also as this has happened before. I don't know how my lawn could go from a nice deep green even color to what has happened but my neighbors lawn looks healthy and nice and this is not normal. It is literally like the two lawn changed positions overnight. My front lawn is on the right and my neighbors lawn is on the left. Can someone give me some guidance or ideas on what may have happened and what I should do now?

Image
Image

flyin-lowe
Posts: 322
Joined: September 30th, 2012, 9:13 am
Location: Indiana
Grass Type: TTTF
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by flyin-lowe » May 19th, 2022, 12:36 pm

How much fert did you put down per 1K square feet?

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by MorpheusPA » May 19th, 2022, 1:47 pm

What he said. Also, I'd have some words with the lawn care company in question as to their mistaken identity issue with your lawn to see if this actually happened. The word "furious" would not describe the reaction I'd have if this occurred to me and my lawn.

The reaction you're seeing doesn't look completely like overfeeding. On the low side, it simply sparks vast growth in a paler green, which isn't really an issue. Cut it, mulch it in, and it slows when the nitrogen runs out. Moderate overfeeding is the same, but worse and usually paler green still. Extreme overfeeding and the grass dies because food is salt (there are exceptions, but lawn care companies' feeding types is not generally one of them).

There are stripes down at the far end, which is suspicious in terms of feeding. The brown patches and patchy yellows up top are suspicious in terms of disease and other problems.

Close-up photos of the grass blades and lawn itself will also help here.

GermanShep
Posts: 22
Joined: August 8th, 2021, 4:58 pm
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 3000-5000
Level: Experienced

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by GermanShep » May 20th, 2022, 7:50 pm

Thank you for expressing the possibilities. I will try and get some up close photos of the grass blades. I just cannot understand how a vey healthy nice lawn can go to looking so bad in a 2 day time frame? Something is up and I will get to the bottom of it. I still have to pull my soil plugs and get my samples sent into Logan Labs for analysis so maybe my soil has something going on? To be continued!!

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by MorpheusPA » May 21st, 2022, 1:29 pm

It's very unlikely that a soil problem would lead to deterioration like that in 2 days--it's something that's systemic and that shows constantly over the course of years. That's a disease or other issue.

This is the spring peak (well, it is here; Minnesota is probably still in the future by a week or so yet) of the grass season. Grasses should be near their best for May. I can't tell you to treat it, wash it out, or anything else, though. There are a lot of inconsistent signals from that.


User avatar
ronfitch
Posts: 252
Joined: April 1st, 2012, 1:41 pm
Location: St. Paul, MN
Grass Type: original: I don't know; overseed: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by ronfitch » May 22nd, 2022, 12:10 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
May 21st, 2022, 1:29 pm
It's very unlikely that a soil problem would lead to deterioration like that in 2 days--it's something that's systemic and that shows constantly over the course of years. That's a disease or other issue.

This is the spring peak (well, it is here; Minnesota is probably still in the future by a week or so yet) of the grass season. Grasses should be near their best for May. I can't tell you to treat it, wash it out, or anything else, though. There are a lot of inconsistent signals from that.
I am north of GermanShep by about 70 miles, just east of St. Paul. Spring is late here, though to be honest doing anything lawn or plant-related prior to May 1st for most of the state (SW Minnesota might be the outlier) is an exercise in optimism. For me, the soil temp at the 4" depth was steadily rising fairly close to normal rates and hit 50F in mid-April, but quickly dropped for about two weeks before heading back into the 50s. I saw the neightbor's forsythia start to bud and dropped pre-em based on that but others I see around were waking up as late as two weeks after that. Also note that - for the state - we experienced lower-than-normal high daily high temperatures each month January through April. For us, lawns were simply dormant later that usual (even mine, which gets hit with UREA in the fall to winterize after top growth ends). Across the street, our neighbor's lawn was still dormant until this past week, when it finally woke up. That is late for us.

GermanShep
Posts: 22
Joined: August 8th, 2021, 4:58 pm
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 3000-5000
Level: Experienced

Re: Front Lawn Discoloring

Post by GermanShep » May 22nd, 2022, 8:42 pm

ronfitch wrote:
May 22nd, 2022, 12:10 pm
MorpheusPA wrote:
May 21st, 2022, 1:29 pm
It's very unlikely that a soil problem would lead to deterioration like that in 2 days--it's something that's systemic and that shows constantly over the course of years. That's a disease or other issue.

This is the spring peak (well, it is here; Minnesota is probably still in the future by a week or so yet) of the grass season. Grasses should be near their best for May. I can't tell you to treat it, wash it out, or anything else, though. There are a lot of inconsistent signals from that.
I am north of GermanShep by about 70 miles, just east of St. Paul. Spring is late here, though to be honest doing anything lawn or plant-related prior to May 1st for most of the state (SW Minnesota might be the outlier) is an exercise in optimism. For me, the soil temp at the 4" depth was steadily rising fairly close to normal rates and hit 50F in mid-April, but quickly dropped for about two weeks before heading back into the 50s. I saw the neightbor's forsythia start to bud and dropped pre-em based on that but others I see around were waking up as late as two weeks after that. Also note that - for the state - we experienced lower-than-normal high daily high temperatures each month January through April. For us, lawns were simply dormant later that usual (even mine, which gets hit with UREA in the fall to winterize after top growth ends). Across the street, our neighbor's lawn was still dormant until this past week, when it finally woke up. That is late for us.
:wave: ronfitch is correct in everything he said. I have not seen such an unusual cold wet Spring for many years. I am located in the southeastern part of the state and the soil has been cold here to. We hit 50 degrees consistently each day the last week of April which is a little late by about 10 days or so for my area but May came in and the soil temps dropped back into the upper forties. My yard woke up and was nice and green as the soil temps warmed up but then when it got cold again, something happened to my lawn and I cannot figure it out. As I set and type this post tonight, my front lawn is starting to look better again and I hope to get some soil samples this coming week and get them set into Logan Labs for an analysis to see where my soil stands. This is the first Spring for me in a new house with a new yard so I know that I have a lot of work ahead but that is the fun to see what I start with to where it goes in a few years. As far as the weather goes, the cold times continue as we had night time temps the past two nights in the upper 30's :(

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests