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K-State Turf and Landscape Blog

A not-so-obvious site issue

I mentioned this last week in a post about brown patch (click HERE if you missed it) but forgot to post a picture:

What’s going on here? This is part of my yard. I have heavy clay soils, and though it’s not obvious from the photo, this is a slight depression area where water sits for awhile after rain. Wet heavy soils = compromised roots. Compromised roots = areas that area quicker to check out during summer heat and drought.

We’ve seen this with trees, shrubs, and flowers this year too. We got some big rainfalls earlier in summer that damaged root systems. As long as weather was mild, the plants chugged along okay on those compromised roots. However, as soon as stress kicks in, those compromised roots can’t support the plant as well, and we see some decline.

In my lawn there, it is that same area year after year that shows the problem. Come autumn (and milder temps) it usually recovers pretty well.

**After posting, someone asked about the solution. If possible, improving the overall flow/drainage by changing the grade might be an option. Here, there’s just isn’t enough slop to play with in order to do that. Another way to improve root health and drainage is through core aerification. The best time to do that in cool-season lawns is in the fall.**

3 thoughts on “A not-so-obvious site issue
    1. Thanks for the comment – I’ll put it in the main part of the post, too, in case people don’t look down here. If possible, improving the overall flow/drainage by changing the grade might be an option. Here, there’s just isn’t enough slop to play with in order to do that. Another way to improve root health and drainage is through core aerification. The best time to do that in cool-season lawns is in the fall.**

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