I am getting a bunch of runners in my St Augustine grass that are ending up on top of the grass instead of in the dirt. I would expect runners on the edges where the grass is thin but this is in the middle where the grass is full and very thick. What is causing this? I have never seen it like this before.

mow more

I believe you are correct. How thick is the grass. Do you fertilize?

I am mowing once a week, sometimes more often, depending on how tall the grass is. I do fertilize regularly and I cut the grass as high as I can. The grass is as thick as St Augustine gets I guess. Except on the edges there are no bare spots and its a SOB to find the sprinkler heads when they are not popped up.

Maybe you are using too much ferts, mainly nitrogen. The nitrogen is triggering accelerated growth and its ran out of space to grow so its growing on top. Too much nitrogen is not necessarily a good thing. Using too much nitrogen will also cause you to cut more often. Slow down on the nitrogen and see what that does. Could be wrong , just a thought

once a week on the highest setting just isn't enough. When you have it on 5 you have to cut it 2-3 times per week to keep it looking pretty


PS......a sharp blade will help

That's a solid theory. I had to work real hard to get the yard back in shape after the winter. Had to hire a guy to mow and rake leaves while I was out for back surgery and he did a number on it.

I appreciate the feedback and any other thoughts you may have. In the meantime, I have a ton of material for sprigging. Been moving them to the backyard every couple of weeks with good success.

I have the same problem at times. I think you need to fertilize. Runners are growing and stretching out to find more nutrients.

JR

Enjoy them. The grass is healthy. That's what it is telling you.

What I always heard about Bermuda in a hay field.

I was reading up a little on this and I did not find any more info. Basically the same a you see here. Some say need ferts, no ferts., bugs, watering times, not enough water,sharpen blade,its normal,etc. I would guess its doing this because the top layer is to dense, but isn't that normal with st Augustine? If you haven't you can also try to aerate to top layer a little. If you have not tried to yet there are attachments to your shoes and rollers that have spikes on them. Should help in getting the top layer of soil aerated and also help getting moisture down a little deeper.

I appreciate the additional comments. It could be too much fertilizer for sure since I worked real hard to get it back in shape. I have been thinking about aerating with an actual machine this time. I used a hand tool that was designed for the task earlier this year with somewhat mixed results. It worked OK, but it didn't get deep enough that I felt it was doing much. I am watering every other day at around 530AM and the grass indicates that this is OK if maybe slightly not enough. No fungus or bug issues that I have seen, but you never know for sure.

The problem I have with more fertilizing is the grass is already growing super fast and is in much better shape than the neighbors . If I was to fertilize again soon, I don't know that I would get anything out of it other than a lot more time pushing the mower and more water usage.

Yeah, I have never mowed or been on St Augustine that wasn't dense unless it had gaps and it looked unhealthy. I did a bunch of looking like you did and there is no concrete answer. For now I will continue enjoying the lawn and hoping for more rain!

this.

I was thinking there was a fungus that would kill the roots on the stolons.... Neil says pathogens..

http://www.mywesttexas.com/life/article_44eba70a-7cd7-5626-a72a-399f93c183cd.html

Appreciate the help!

My mom (who can not kill a plant if she tried) will drag a garden rake through it to pull out the runners, then relocate the runners to a bald patch to take root. She has a great yard.