Hey all,
Charlotte area. I tried Scott's Southern gold tall fescue last summer and any part that was in the sun died in the heat by the end of August.
So I replanted it with Titan RX heat resistant tall fescue. It's doing maybe a smidge better, but despite how much I water it, there's still this corner that seems to die every summer from the heat. Maybe about 75% of the lawn does well, but this corner always dies and thins out where it gets direct sunlight.
Is there something I can plant to supplement this area that is more heat resistant and won't look horrible mixing with tall fescue? Maybe there's a fix I'm not thinking about?
by cynicalnewenglander
10 Comments
plant a second sprinkler nearby 😀
A garden – pick some sun loving plants and create an edge.
I wonder if it’s thatch?
Flowerbed around the mailbox with natives.
Plant another tree. Like an oak or something. Shade will do wonders for your fescue
you ever poke around with a shovel in that area? i ask because I had some similar spots around the same-ish areas and discovered lots of buried concrete chunks, some just inches below the ground line, and some were so heavy, i needed help to pull them out and roll to the street. it caused the soil to obviously get much hotter, retain less water, and less room for growth, which caused thin growth and browning. (and i have Bermuda which can grow in asphalt if it wants to..) Builders can be lazy and dump trash under the lawn all the time.
Titan RX is supposed to spread but Im calling BS lol i haven’t seen that at all
For Charlotte, you really should be using a warm season grass, but if you have unlimited water, just hit that area with more water.
Otherwise, Zoysia is your best sun/shade choice.
Why are you seeding the summer? Id work backwards from your first frost date for fall seeding.
I think you need to attack this from all angles. Get sprinkler timer with multiple zones. Keep the oscillating in the hotspot. And add another rotary sprinkler. Water the hot spot more often. I’d even water some at night to help it recover.
Consider aerating heavily in the heat spots and plant a nicer seed. Mow higher. Look into RGS spray to help roots.
Also your label says warm season, so why not look into a warm season grass that can handle the heat??