Moved into a home in a rural area. No lawn.

Went to a local equipment rental facility that also sold sod grass by the
pallet. Looked at his list of species and the traits of some 5 different
species of St. Augustine. Picked out the type indicating high tolerance to
heat and drought. They brought out a couple of truckloads of topsoil to put
around the house first. Then I laid the sod. This was in April.

Have kept the grass irrigated, and did some light watering in the late
evening to supplement when appeared the heat was drying the grass out.

The back of the house is what I expected due to the prevailing shaded area
near the house. Lush and green. Some other areas are having difficulty
maintaining their green-ness. Guess due to the heat, and when the rain is
less prevalent.

Have noticed in the sunny areas, there are some single sods if you will,
that are deep green and seem unaffected by the heat. These are few, the
remaining seem to dry up and start turning yellow.

Did the sod contractor (not the reseller) mix up the grass species in the
order?

You'll get better advice if you provide a little more info -- although the
yellowing can be due to overwatering, since your back yard is OK, that's
probably not it. The best way to get an answer is to take a sample to your
local extension service and Master Gardener program --

1. -- Where are you?
2. -- Which variety did you plant -- Bitter Blue? Floratam?
3. -- Most St. Augustine grass does not do well in shade, so that in your
shady back yard may not do well in the long term.
4. -- If you're sticking to a good watering schedule -- deep enough and
frequent enough, the sod in your sunny areas should be doing well, even in
the summer.
5. -- If there are areas that got skipped at topsoil time, or if your yard
has other issues (e.g., buried construction debris -- not uncommon in new
developments -- or a septic tank close to the surface, the sod in that area
may not do well.

Your St. Augustine grass should be well established by now, and healthy.
the light afternoon watering is not doing it any good and could lead to
fungal problems. Just make sure it's deep watered without overdoing it.
Sod that I laid about 8 weeks ago has already established itself, and yours
should have, also.

Good luck and regards --

"Lil' Dave" <spamyourself [at] virus.net> wrote in message
news:4VyVe.11624$FW1.3694 [at] newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Moved into a home in a rural area. No lawn.
>
> Went to a local equipment rental facility that also sold sod grass by the
> pallet. Looked at his list of species and the traits of some 5 different
> species of St. Augustine. Picked out the type indicating high tolerance
> to
> heat and drought. They brought out a couple of truckloads of topsoil to
> put
> around the house first. Then I laid the sod. This was in April.
>
> Have kept the grass irrigated, and did some light watering in the late
> evening to supplement when appeared the heat was drying the grass out.
>
> The back of the house is what I expected due to the prevailing shaded area
> near the house. Lush and green. Some other areas are having difficulty
> maintaining their green-ness. Guess due to the heat, and when the rain is
> less prevalent.
>
> Have noticed in the sunny areas, there are some single sods if you will,
> that are deep green and seem unaffected by the heat. These are few, the
> remaining seem to dry up and start turning yellow.
>
> Did the sod contractor (not the reseller) mix up the grass species in the
> order?
>
>

Understand the need for detail. Comparison of various sections of sod that
receive alot of sun, supposedly all the same species. Some very green, some
not. All has been irrigated identically. Asked for an opinion based on
that observation as to whether there may be more than one species of grass
in the delivery.

Answers to your questions below in your reply.

"World Traveler" <wt [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:JhKVe.10030$Wd7.3587 [at] newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> You'll get better advice if you provide a little more info -- although the
> yellowing can be due to overwatering, since your back yard is OK, that's
> probably not it. The best way to get an answer is to take a sample to
your
> local extension service and Master Gardener program --
>
> 1. -- Where are you?

Hays county, west of Wimberley. IE hill country

> 2. -- Which variety did you plant -- Bitter Blue? Floratam?

I'll have to hunt down the paperwork.

> 3. -- Most St. Augustine grass does not do well in shade, so that in your
> shady back yard may not do well in the long term.

Depends on the variety/species. The species my parents had thrived in the
shade. Turned brown, dormant in days of extended heat in the summer. I
remember that well.

> 4. -- If you're sticking to a good watering schedule -- deep enough and
> frequent enough, the sod in your sunny areas should be doing well, even in
> the summer.

Once a week, deep irrigation/watering. Bearing in mind any major
precipitation to modify that schedule. Light watering to combat
wilting/yellowing due to heat if sunlight is excessive/no cloud cover for
that period. No fertilizers, root growth stimulators or other additives
have been applied to this grass.

> 5. -- If there are areas that got skipped at topsoil time, or if your yard
> has other issues (e.g., buried construction debris -- not uncommon in new
> developments -- or a septic tank close to the surface, the sod in that
area
> may not do well.

Spread topsoil about 3" deep, to 10' from house, runs the perimeter of the
house. Debris, rocks etc. were cleared away from house well before the
topsoil arrived. Septic tank is downhill from house, in front. About 70'
away in the middle of the gravel drive. Leech field is further downhill and
further away from house.
>
> Your St. Augustine grass should be well established by now, and healthy.
> the light afternoon watering is not doing it any good and could lead to
> fungal problems. Just make sure it's deep watered without overdoing it.
> Sod that I laid about 8 weeks ago has already established itself, and
yours
> should have, also.
>
> Good luck and regards --
>
> "Lil' Dave" <spamyourself [at] virus.net> wrote in message
> news:4VyVe.11624$FW1.3694 [at] newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> > Moved into a home in a rural area. No lawn.
> >
> > Went to a local equipment rental facility that also sold sod grass by
the
> > pallet. Looked at his list of species and the traits of some 5
different
> > species of St. Augustine. Picked out the type indicating high tolerance
> > to
> > heat and drought. They brought out a couple of truckloads of topsoil to
> > put
> > around the house first. Then I laid the sod. This was in April.
> >
> > Have kept the grass irrigated, and did some light watering in the late
> > evening to supplement when appeared the heat was drying the grass out.
> >
> > The back of the house is what I expected due to the prevailing shaded
area
> > near the house. Lush and green. Some other areas are having difficulty
> > maintaining their green-ness. Guess due to the heat, and when the rain
is
> > less prevalent.
> >
> > Have noticed in the sunny areas, there are some single sods if you will,
> > that are deep green and seem unaffected by the heat. These are few, the
> > remaining seem to dry up and start turning yellow.
> >
> > Did the sod contractor (not the reseller) mix up the grass species in
the
> > order?
> >
> >
>
>

"Lil' Dave" <spamyourself [at] virus.net> wrote in message
news:8gRVe.12104$FW1.2751 [at] newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Understand the need for detail. Comparison of various sections of sod
> that
> receive alot of sun, supposedly all the same species. Some very green,
> some
> not. All has been irrigated identically. Asked for an opinion based on
> that observation as to whether there may be more than one species of grass
> in the delivery.
>
> Answers to your questions below in your reply.
>
> "World Traveler" <wt [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:JhKVe.10030$Wd7.3587 [at] newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> You'll get better advice if you provide a little more info -- although
>> the
>> yellowing can be due to overwatering, since your back yard is OK, that's
>> probably not it. The best way to get an answer is to take a sample to
> your
>> local extension service and Master Gardener program --
>>
>> 1. -- Where are you?
>
> Hays county, west of Wimberley. IE hill country
>
>> 2. -- Which variety did you plant -- Bitter Blue? Floratam?
>
> I'll have to hunt down the paperwork.
>
>> 3. -- Most St. Augustine grass does not do well in shade, so that in your
>> shady back yard may not do well in the long term.
>
> Depends on the variety/species. The species my parents had thrived in the
> shade. Turned brown, dormant in days of extended heat in the summer. I
> remember that well.
>
>> 4. -- If you're sticking to a good watering schedule -- deep enough and
>> frequent enough, the sod in your sunny areas should be doing well, even
>> in
>> the summer.
>
> Once a week, deep irrigation/watering. Bearing in mind any major
> precipitation to modify that schedule. Light watering to combat
> wilting/yellowing due to heat if sunlight is excessive/no cloud cover for
> that period. No fertilizers, root growth stimulators or other additives
> have been applied to this grass.
>
>> 5. -- If there are areas that got skipped at topsoil time, or if your
>> yard
>> has other issues (e.g., buried construction debris -- not uncommon in new
>> developments -- or a septic tank close to the surface, the sod in that
> area
>> may not do well.
>
> Spread topsoil about 3" deep, to 10' from house, runs the perimeter of the
> house. Debris, rocks etc. were cleared away from house well before the
> topsoil arrived. Septic tank is downhill from house, in front. About 70'
> away in the middle of the gravel drive. Leech field is further downhill
> and
> further away from house.
>>
>> Your St. Augustine grass should be well established by now, and healthy.
>> the light afternoon watering is not doing it any good and could lead to
>> fungal problems. Just make sure it's deep watered without overdoing it.
>> Sod that I laid about 8 weeks ago has already established itself, and
> yours
>> should have, also.
>>
>> Good luck and regards --

Dave: I stumbled onto a website that might help, which includes a map
showing areas where St. Augustine grass can best be used -- have you seen
http://www.fertilizer.com/lawn/st_augustine.htm?

This site does say "Bitterblue and Seville are the most tolerant of shade;
others need full sun". This area has a lot of sod farms, but Seville is
hard to find anymore. Mostly it's Floratam or something similar. My
experience has been that St. Augustine is a warm weather grass that should
stay green all summer, and that the differences between the characteristics
of different varieties of the grass are not great enough to fit your
description, so my kneejerk reaction to your question is that rather than
mixing varieties it may be that there's a environmental/maintenance problem
of some kind. In established lawns yellowing could be a sign of an iron
deficiency. The website has some fertilizer and other care recommendations.
Regards -- WT

Apparently, based on the fact that all the grass has the same soil
underneath it, and was irrigated identically, and keep getting misdirects to
other things. Don't believe you can form an opinion. Which is all I asked
for. Nevermind.
"World Traveler" <wt [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:ox3We.10268$4P5.6357 [at] newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> "Lil' Dave" <spamyourself [at] virus.net> wrote in message
> news:8gRVe.12104$FW1.2751 [at] newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> > Understand the need for detail. Comparison of various sections of sod
> > that
> > receive alot of sun, supposedly all the same species. Some very green,
> > some
> > not. All has been irrigated identically. Asked for an opinion based on
> > that observation as to whether there may be more than one species of
grass
> > in the delivery.
> >
> > Answers to your questions below in your reply.
> >
> > "World Traveler" <wt [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
> > news:JhKVe.10030$Wd7.3587 [at] newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> >> You'll get better advice if you provide a little more info -- although
> >> the
> >> yellowing can be due to overwatering, since your back yard is OK,
that's
> >> probably not it. The best way to get an answer is to take a sample to
> > your
> >> local extension service and Master Gardener program --
> >>
> >> 1. -- Where are you?
> >
> > Hays county, west of Wimberley. IE hill country
> >
> >> 2. -- Which variety did you plant -- Bitter Blue? Floratam?
> >
> > I'll have to hunt down the paperwork.
> >
> >> 3. -- Most St. Augustine grass does not do well in shade, so that in
your
> >> shady back yard may not do well in the long term.
> >
> > Depends on the variety/species. The species my parents had thrived in
the
> > shade. Turned brown, dormant in days of extended heat in the summer. I
> > remember that well.
> >
> >> 4. -- If you're sticking to a good watering schedule -- deep enough and
> >> frequent enough, the sod in your sunny areas should be doing well, even
> >> in
> >> the summer.
> >
> > Once a week, deep irrigation/watering. Bearing in mind any major
> > precipitation to modify that schedule. Light watering to combat
> > wilting/yellowing due to heat if sunlight is excessive/no cloud cover
for
> > that period. No fertilizers, root growth stimulators or other additives
> > have been applied to this grass.
> >
> >> 5. -- If there are areas that got skipped at topsoil time, or if your
> >> yard
> >> has other issues (e.g., buried construction debris -- not uncommon in
new
> >> developments -- or a septic tank close to the surface, the sod in that
> > area
> >> may not do well.
> >
> > Spread topsoil about 3" deep, to 10' from house, runs the perimeter of
the
> > house. Debris, rocks etc. were cleared away from house well before the
> > topsoil arrived. Septic tank is downhill from house, in front. About
70'
> > away in the middle of the gravel drive. Leech field is further downhill
> > and
> > further away from house.
> >>
> >> Your St. Augustine grass should be well established by now, and
healthy.
> >> the light afternoon watering is not doing it any good and could lead to
> >> fungal problems. Just make sure it's deep watered without overdoing
it.
> >> Sod that I laid about 8 weeks ago has already established itself, and
> > yours
> >> should have, also.
> >>
> >> Good luck and regards --
>
> Dave: I stumbled onto a website that might help, which includes a map
> showing areas where St. Augustine grass can best be used -- have you seen
> http://www.fertilizer.com/lawn/st_augustine.htm?
>
> This site does say "Bitterblue and Seville are the most tolerant of
shade;
> others need full sun". This area has a lot of sod farms, but Seville is
> hard to find anymore. Mostly it's Floratam or something similar. My
> experience has been that St. Augustine is a warm weather grass that should
> stay green all summer, and that the differences between the
characteristics
> of different varieties of the grass are not great enough to fit your
> description, so my kneejerk reaction to your question is that rather than
> mixing varieties it may be that there's a environmental/maintenance
problem
> of some kind. In established lawns yellowing could be a sign of an iron
> deficiency. The website has some fertilizer and other care
recommendations.
> Regards -- WT
>
>