Should I use a fungicide on brown grass during high humidity?
Applying a fungicide to heat-stressed and browning turf during humid weather can be tricky, as severe damage often leaves the grass dead and unable to recover. Treating small patches might not save grass that easily pulls out of the ground, leading many to wonder if they should simply wait to fertilize in the fall instead.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Giving edges extra water with a hose in the morningDid this help you?
- 2Applying a fungicide to tall fescueDid this help you?
- 3Waiting to hit the lawn with fertilizer in the fallDid this help you?
- 4Raking out the dead grassDid this help you?
- 5utilizing a phosphite treatmentDid this help you?
- 6skipping top soil to reduce moisture retentionDid this help you?
- 7holding off seeding until later in the year with less humidity or colder groundDid this help you?
- 8cutting back or stopping watering and using an over the counter sprayDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“for the past 3 years on my new construction I’ve been trying to patch areas that don’t have good grass growth.”source ↗
“Each year I add top soil, and high concentrations of perennial rye and Kentucky blue. I keep seeing this every year around September and it kills my new grass.”source ↗
“So the death heat of summer has finally abated enough, the mushrooms are growing like crazy, and while I didn’t see any, here’s the indication of rust fungus which coming from the amount on the machine, I’ve probably spread it further.”source ↗
“Prior to the humidity, I noticed my edges getting heat stressed and started to turn brown.”source ↗
“After this recent spell of humidity, I noticed the browning started to look “black” and I can only assume it’s fungus. The grass pulls out really easy too so unfortunately I’m guessing it’s dead dead”source ↗
“My question is, should I treat this with a fungicide? I’ve read mixed reviews about using fungicides on tall fescue but I’d only hit the edges since the rest of the lawn is in great condition. Should I just let it be and hit it with fert in the fall. Or should I try raking it out.”source ↗
Where this came up
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