winter grass (yard, areas, quality)

[nightgirl151]

Hi all...

Having a problem with our winter rye grass this year...we planted perennial rye (last year we did the annual). The grass came in good, full, and our bermuda went dormant. Now 6 weeks later, it is patchy in areas and getting dead spots from dog urine (which we give our dog the "grass green" pills to prevent). Last year with the annual, our winter grass was lush thick and green all winter....never had dead spots from the dog urine with the annual grass or our summer bermuda.

I thought the perennial was a better quality than annual? Does anyone else experience this problem as well? What can we do to improve the lawn? Currently getting watered 2-3 days per week for 10 min at at time...anything more than that with the cool daytime temps seems to leave the yard swampy..

Thanks!

[sh9730]

My, and my neighbors winter didnt do as well this year either. Seems like the temperatures bouncing from very warm later than normal, to very cold quickly may have had something to do with it. I would have thought is was something I did (I also switched to perrenial this year), but when all three of my neighbors also had less than stellar results this year, I thought it had to be more of a general problem.

I mean its looks fine, better than dead bermuda of course, but not as full as last year, or as I would like. But Im not doing it again! Its alot of work to cut that bermuda down to the nubs!

[BillyBaroo]

Have you fertilized your lawn?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by BillyBaroo

Have you fertilized your lawn?

My rye looked kinda bad too and I fertilized just before the rain a week or so back. It is looking much better now -much more uniform growth and obviously greener.

[nightgirl151]

I did fertilize it last week with the rains....some mild improvement..but stilll looks blah.

[nightgirl151]

Thanks sh9730 for the feedback...so I know its just not my yard that looks crappy...I also thought it was something that I did, or may not have done!

[sh9730]

Welcome, and yes I did fertilize, but also not right at planting time....probably should have, as I too am seeing some improvement (although nowhere near perfection yet!) now.

This is only my second season doing this so I wouldnt be surprised Im still learning, but again, my whole block didnt do as well this year as last.....so...

[wit-nit]

Here's a couple of sites for information on growing grasses in the desert areas of AZ, maybe these will help answer your questions.

Plant a Winter Lawn Over Your Summer One - All About Lawns
How to Grow Grass in Arizona | eHow.com

[RCR]

I ran across this info regarding the Dog Urine aspect of your problem.

Secrets to Dog Training: Consultation


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