Why are my St Augustine runners coming so high off the ground?
Should my chutes be sitting this high off of the ground? My mower is on nearly the highest setting but I’m afraid it’ll still damage the runners and then it won’t have a chance to turn in to nice grass. Any ideas?
It usually does this when the grass isn’t thick enough or the ground is really hard and it’s not able to grab onto the ground. Watering more will help thicken it up but if your ground is rock hard, you’re going to need to add some soil.
msabercr
Runners tend to travel the path of least resistance. It’s pretty common with St aug. You shouldn’t worry about it. Eventually they will knit together and fill in all the open spaces, but you need to train them by cutting them off so they know they need to dive down and weave underneath the canopy. Might a take a year or two but it will happen. Just keep watering and mowing.
gladiwokeupthismorn
When I see them like that I just tuck the under another stolon nearby
xzlnvk
It does that. Nothing to worry about.
jordanharris3
These aren’t your typical runners. More like the hurdlers.
XtremePhotoDesign
They really like a loose medium, like sand. St. Augustine is a native grass in sandy coastal areas along the Gulf and in the Caribbean.
garash
If you’re in Florida, it’s because ground is too damn hot already!
no_sleep2nite
Very common. I call them jumpers. I just mow over them. St Aug can grow over a sidewalk. I’ve seen runners grow up into a bush, through holes in fences, and in cracks of driveways. Sometimes a runner will grow right over the grass after being pulled up or just grow in funky direction. Mowing over jumpers won’t cause an issue for your lawn. If you think about it, there are tons of runners you cut every time you edge cut the driveway and sidewalk and the grass is perfectly fine. There’s so many runners constantly growing and weaving into each other, a couple stragglers that are cut aren’t a problem.
Great_Diamond_9273
They are turgid, a good sign, and that great maroon color means “you good job”, to quote Hancock, from some work you did last year.
10 Comments
It usually does this when the grass isn’t thick enough or the ground is really hard and it’s not able to grab onto the ground. Watering more will help thicken it up but if your ground is rock hard, you’re going to need to add some soil.
Runners tend to travel the path of least resistance. It’s pretty common with St aug. You shouldn’t worry about it. Eventually they will knit together and fill in all the open spaces, but you need to train them by cutting them off so they know they need to dive down and weave underneath the canopy. Might a take a year or two but it will happen. Just keep watering and mowing.
When I see them like that I just tuck the under another stolon nearby
It does that. Nothing to worry about.
These aren’t your typical runners. More like the hurdlers.
They really like a loose medium, like sand. St. Augustine is a native grass in sandy coastal areas along the Gulf and in the Caribbean.
If you’re in Florida, it’s because ground is too damn hot already!
Very common. I call them jumpers. I just mow over them. St Aug can grow over a sidewalk. I’ve seen runners grow up into a bush, through holes in fences, and in cracks of driveways. Sometimes a runner will grow right over the grass after being pulled up or just grow in funky direction. Mowing over jumpers won’t cause an issue for your lawn. If you think about it, there are tons of runners you cut every time you edge cut the driveway and sidewalk and the grass is perfectly fine. There’s so many runners constantly growing and weaving into each other, a couple stragglers that are cut aren’t a problem.
They are turgid, a good sign, and that great maroon color means “you good job”, to quote Hancock, from some work you did last year.
Let em do what they do