Kentucky Blue grass lawn issue - Ask Extension
The grass between the street and the sidewalk in our yard has a noticeable amount of dry-looking grass interspersed with the green grass. This area is...
Knowledgebase
Kentucky Blue grass lawn issue #874875
Asked June 26, 2024, 7:58 PM EDT
The grass between the street and the sidewalk in our yard has a noticeable amount of dry-looking grass interspersed with the green grass. This area is in full sun and has looked this way over the last several summers. Our irrigation system does not cover this area well, but this year we've have plenty of rain, with the exception of one week in early June. This spring before it warmed up, it did look very nice and lush. We use a yard service company to fertilize our lawn. This area is about 100 square feet in full sun, and the rest of our yard looks very nice.
The grass in front of the other houses on our street are still very lush looking. Could this be some type of fungus or did it just get dry and has not recovered yet? Thanks for your help.
Washington County Minnesota
Expert Response
I am going to contact the turf science dept at the U and ask for their advice. It may be several weeks before I get an answer because this is a very busy time for them.
Greetings. You've got a great close-up photo! This has been the year of turfgrass disease in Minnesota with the mix of humidity, heat and rain. The differences between you and your neighbor's yard could just be the mix of turfgrass varieties or maybe fertilization levels.
There are a couple things going on, none are serious and none of which requires treatment at this time with any fungicide. The one thing you could do this weekend is put down a small application (1/2 lb of N per 1,000sf of 24-0-5 or 6) fertilizer with about 30% slow-release nitrogen. The grass will grow out from the diseases as the weather dries up.
