Knowledgebase

Grass without roots #769066

Asked August 25, 2021, 10:57 AM EDT

I have an area in my back that gets very little sun. In past years I have noticed the edges you could almost roll up. This year I was gone fir 2 weeks but had yard tended to by irrigation eo day 40 min in this area. When I got home I saw little circles(animal digging) and bunches of dead like grass-when looked n pulled in grass it was like there were no roots securing it to ground and this whole area was like this. Asked fertilizer man n he stopped looked Said he didn’t see any grubs are in sex better go ahead and put grub ex down and he also noted that you could almost roll the grass up. I am very concerned. Also yesterday in a more sunny part of this yard but still some shade my dogs are playing and they were actually when they would run and then stop pulling up areas of grass and I noted once again this almost seemed to not be routed to the ground. Now we got 3 inches of rain and my landscape guy thought maybe it could’ve been due to just the recent rain. I’m very concerned about my backyard I have a lovely backyard are used to be a farmers orchard pre-1970s it has good earth and many perennial gardens that do well obviously tolerant of shade. There are many big Ash trees and some cedar trees that the areas that have grass are the most open areas of the yard. Please help. Thank you

Dakota County Minnesota

Expert Response

Photos of the grass that pulls up easily would help us identify it.  If you reply to this message and attach sharp photos, we will try to do that. Otherwise we can only guess what the problem might be.

If grub damage can be ruled out (no grubs present), bentgrass (a guess) is the next thing that comes to mind.  This shallow rooted grass spreads extensively via above ground stolons and forms extensive dense patches of fine textured, puffy stems.  Sizeable portions of these unrooted stems can be easily lifted and removed from the lawn.

Go here to learn more about bentgrass and ways to control it:
https://u.osu.edu/athleticfieldmanagement/2017/04/06/selective-creeping-bentgrass-control/

http://kentcoopextension.blogspot.com/2008/03/turfgrass-tenacity-herbicide-mesotrione.html
An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 25, 2021, 4:55 PM EDT
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I’m not very tech. I will send a few more in a different reply as this says I have reached my attachment level‍♀️




On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:55 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 25, 2021, 8:52 PM EDT
On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:54 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:49 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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I’m not very tech. I will send a few more in a different reply as this says I have reached my attachment level‍♀️




On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:55 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 25, 2021, 8:58 PM EDT


On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:54 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:49 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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I’m not very tech. I will send a few more in a different reply as this says I have reached my attachment level‍♀️




On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:55 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 25, 2021, 8:59 PM EDT
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On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:49 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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I’m not very tech. I will send a few more in a different reply as this says I have reached my attachment level‍♀️




On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:55 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 25, 2021, 8:59 PM EDT
I tried to send photos. I’d like to send a few more. Can you give me an email address? To try to send more in reply to this email it doesn’t seem to want to let me add anymore. Hope you received the first 4. Also if you send another email ladders to me should I include the number from above?

On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:57 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:54 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
image
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On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 7:49 PM Pam MacDonald <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
image


image


I’m not very tech. I will send a few more in a different reply as this says I have reached my attachment level‍♀️




On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:55 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 25, 2021, 9:07 PM EDT

The photos are fine.  However, based upon what we can see, we can't confirm or rule out the presence of bentgrass.  We will get back to you about this.  Thanks.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 25, 2021, 10:30 PM EDT

Although we can't confirm the presence of bentgrass, another grassy weed called rough bluegrass has similar characteristics.  It too spreads by stolons is shallow rooted, and  therefore easily uprooted.

Because we can't reliably identify grass species by viewing photos, we can't be sure rough bluegrass is present either. However, the following publication describes this grassy weed and its characteristics. Perhaps you can use the illustrations to determine whether rough bluegrass is present.
https://turf.purdue.edu/roughstalk-bluegrass/

If rough bluegrass is present and extensive, complete lawn renovation may be needed to eliminate it.

Compact soil and heavy thatch can also result in shallow rooted grass.  Go here to learn about that:
https://extension.umn.edu/lawncare/how-control-thatch-your-lawn

If you remain uncertain, a reliable lawn care professional should be able to help you diagnose the problem and take action to correct it.

As a last resort send turf samples for analysis to the University of Wisconsin Turfgrass Diagnostic Laboratory.  The lab will be able to identify the grass species and determine whether disease or pest factors account for the problem.
https://tdl.wisc.edu












An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 26, 2021, 11:43 AM EDT
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Thank you so much! Also if you have a contact to someone who could physically come out I’d greatly appreciate it! Just FYI the bigger circle of dirt was where I did an 8 x 8“ section to pull up and see if they were grub. The little holes are I’m guessing squirrels digging. Once again the problem being no roots to the grass and I am concerned that that’s starting to happen on my upper more sun available grass. I was able to copy n paste two pics of that in this email.  My fertilizer guy without stopping by thought maybe that could’ve been just the where in tear of my dogs playing with that 3 inch rainfall that we had but I felt like you could pull up the grass pretty easily some root bound some not but I hated the pool too much because when I pull it up and try too much but maybe I need to do that‍♀️. Thank you again so much for your help. As I have said concerning and a bit depressing

On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 9:30 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 27, 2021, 10:26 AM EDT
University of Minnesota Extension staff do not provide onsite lawn care assistance or recommend or vouch for the reliability of lawn care professionals. However, if you decide to consult with one, the following information may be useful:
https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g1617.pdf

As you mentioned, squirrels might be creating  holes in the turf. Raccoons and skunks sometimes cause similar damage searching for soil insects.
An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 27, 2021, 10:40 AM EDT
So now just that lower grass that just rolls up with not feeling rooted. Thx

On Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 9:40 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 27, 2021, 10:44 AM EDT

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