QUESTION: I live on the North Shore and have St. Augustine grass ... but I recommend doing it in early summer rather than later. Thatch often can be controlled with a light top dressing (about ...

A. Experts say that stray St. Augustine runners won't root in dry soil, compacted soil or too much thatch (the nondecomposed organic matter between the soil surface and the base of the blades).

Take thatch, please. It's the scourge of lawns ... If soil tests show that you have acidic soil, sprinkle dolomitic limestone on St. Augustine and Bermuda lawns each spring.

Older St. Augustine lawns are also likely to develop a thick, spongy layer of dead grass, stolons and roots between the lawn and the soil called thatch. More than a half-inch of thatch becomes a ...

Are they some kind of super weed? Green and lush looks good, but the thick layer of thatch you have is not good. St. Augustine grass needs a certain amount of fertilizer to keep it healthy but ...

St. Augustine grass is a very shade tolerant grass ... We also need to reduce thatch. Thatch is the dead stolons (runners) and roots that collected between the leaf blades and the soil.

Many people have St. Augustine grass in shady areas because ... I will part the grass and pull back the thatch down to the soil. You can sometimes see them easier in thin areas crawling across ...

They slice into the thatch and lift it. This method, which can be used on St. Augustine grass or Bahia grass, removes both thatch and matting. Thatch removal allows water and fertilizer to reach ...

But don't overdo it, because such treatments often wipe out beneficial insects and those organisms that decompose thatch. Some St. Augustine varieties are more resistant to chinch bugs.

If more are visible, check soil conditions. Experts say St. Augustine runners may not root in dry soil, compacted soil or when there is too much thatch (the nondecomposed organic matter between ...