Hot Spots

St Augustine turf cannot survive without water. It has no capacity to store up water, it cannot move to a wet spot, take a drink and then return and it cannot produce water. St Augustine is wholly dependent upon the soil for all it needs – especially water. If the soil is dry, the St Augustine turf is dry. A dry soil weakens turf, thins the canopy, opens up areas to invasion by weeds and - unless corrected by rain or irrigation – kills turf!

Drought Stress Explained

Our sandy soil in Pinellas County is like a sponge in its ability to store water. It rains and the soil becomes “wet’ like a sponge – the excess water drains out. At that point the turf has enough water for growing St Augustine turf. As the soil dries, the plant is “stressed”. This is the wilting point. The turf has gone from green to grey, leaves are folded and the plant has gone into protection mode to conserve water. At this point the plant is barely surviving, is weakened and incapable growing. If the turf receives water it will recover quickly with little loss of vigor.

If the soil continues to dry the plant wilts, leaves die and the stems and roots are now all that is left of the plant. This is the last ditch effort to survive and without water the turf dies. If the turf receives water, the plant MAY recover but the health and vigor of the plant is gone, the turf is damaged and it will take months of “TLC” to fully recover.

So, the turf goes from healthy to wilting to dead very quickly (hours) on hot summer days – even with irrigation. Cycling part of or the entire lawn through periods of “wet -> dry -> wilted” does not strengthen turf; it stresses, weakens and kills turf.

Hot Spot by IrrigationWhy “Hot Spots” in the Lawn

All of your lawn is lush green except this one spot. Most likely it is because of one or a combination of these three issues: A local irrigation problem; Soil variations; or a cultural condition.

If a sprinkler head is blocked, clogged or just not functioning you can get a hot spot. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that since the rest of the lawn is green then the irrigation system is working. Water runs down – not sideways or up – in a soil. Water does not “magically” spread itself evenly over the lawn or move into a dry spot – it must be applied evenly over the lawn by the irrigation system. I have seen areas where the soil was moist at point “A” and 2’ away at point “B” is powder dry. Why? Because an irrigation head was blocked by a shrub.

Soil variations and cultural conditions can cause hot spots. A coarser sandy soil or an old tree stump requires more water than surrounding areas. Also a sunny spot or western slope requires more water than a shady southern slope. So an otherwise green lawn that is irrigated may have localized hot spots because these spots require more water (they dry out faster).

What to Do?

You need to be vigilant during the hot dry summer months for irrigation trouble. A weak spot today will be dead next week. As often as possible, check your irrigation for trouble. Fix and repair often – that $5.00 sprinkler head is keeping $200 worth of turf alive.

For 1x week watering restrictions I highly recommend Hydretain. You can use it over your entire lawn of for trouble spots – like sunny spots and poor soil areas. It will help but it is not a spray-on irrigation repair product – you still need to keep your irrigation in good repair. You can click on the link on this page for Hydretain and purchase directly online, hook it to you hose and treat any and all of your lawn.

Correct Mowing HeightMowing height is critical. The higher the mowing height = less water stress, quicker recovery and better survival rates from water stress. If you stand in your lawn and look down at your feet you should only see leaf blades and the top of your shoes – if you see soil, stems or even the sides of your shoes, you are mowing too low.