How did I manage to kill my monkey grass?? - Ask Extension
My backyard is very shady, and I've had this monkey grass planted since I bought the house. Over the past two weeks of late April, early May - It's tu...
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How did I manage to kill my monkey grass?? #243356
Asked May 11, 2015, 12:11 PM EDT
My backyard is very shady, and I've had this monkey grass planted since I bought the house. Over the past two weeks of late April, early May - It's turned yellow and is dying on me! This stuff usually grows like a weed, and now it's going south fast!
Replacing this will be a big task, and I don't want to replace it and have this happen again.
Thank you!
Replacing this will be a big task, and I don't want to replace it and have this happen again.
Thank you!
Jefferson County Kentucky
Expert Response
I don't know we had a difficult winter, but monkey grass should have adequate hardiness for Kentucky. Phytophthora root rot or crown rot could be the problem as it has proven to be fairly common across the monkey grass growing area.
Allen Owings of LSU reported in Getting the Most From Your Liriope Ground Cover, January 2012 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/il/newsletter-stories/getting_the_most_from_your_liriope_ground_cover/ "Disease resistance is being sought in liriope. Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum, causes spotting and browning of leaf blades. This is very commonly observed in the winter and is also a problem in late summer and fall after periods of heavy rainfall or during over-irrigation events. Phytophthora root rot or crown rot of liriope, which leads to root death and yellowing of leaf blades in the crown of the plant canopy, has also become an ever-growing problem in the past five years. Anthracnose can be controlled with fungicide applications but root/crown rot is
very hard to control once the disease is established."I would recommend taking a sample to your county extension office to send to the plant disease diagnostic laboratory. Go to the website and click on your county to find the office location, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/county/
Allen Owings of LSU reported in Getting the Most From Your Liriope Ground Cover, January 2012 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/il/newsletter-stories/getting_the_most_from_your_liriope_ground_cover/ "Disease resistance is being sought in liriope. Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum, causes spotting and browning of leaf blades. This is very commonly observed in the winter and is also a problem in late summer and fall after periods of heavy rainfall or during over-irrigation events. Phytophthora root rot or crown rot of liriope, which leads to root death and yellowing of leaf blades in the crown of the plant canopy, has also become an ever-growing problem in the past five years. Anthracnose can be controlled with fungicide applications but root/crown rot is
very hard to control once the disease is established."I would recommend taking a sample to your county extension office to send to the plant disease diagnostic laboratory. Go to the website and click on your county to find the office location, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/county/
Thank you for your thoughtful and well researched response! I will take a sample to my county extension agent! I appreciate your time, that is very helpful!
Glad to be of assistance, Win
