Dollar Spot Disease Forms Straw Colored Dead Spots in St Augustine Lawns

PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA

By Rick Orr 04/18/2020

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Dollar spot disease in a St Augustine lawn with close up of dollar spot
Dollar spot on a St Augustine lawn with closeup of individual dollar spot damage

The Name is Deceiving

The name originates from the distinctive 2" round circles - the size of a silver dollar - found on golf greens. In St Augustine Grass the dollar spot forms spots of straw-colored leaves - circular in form but because of the tall canopy are 4 – 6” in diameter.

Dollar Spot is a Signal Disease

Dollar spot is signaling the lawn has low fertility. Dollar spot is most common in the spring when the turf is actively growing in warm air temperatures, but the soil temperatures are cooler preventing the uptake of nutrients.

​ Dollar Spot Cure

The cure for Dollar Spot is fertilizer - mainly Potassium and micronutrients. For my customers, dollar spot will occur the week before my regular visits and fade shortly after an application. This by design – Dollar spot is a signal that it is time to fertilize the lawn. Rarely will there be a need for fungicide treatments.

For the DIY, dollar spot is an indicator of low fertility. Allowing the condition to go uncorrected will result in the decline of your St Augustine lawn from low fertility and the impact of the disease. The best plan is to wait a week to ten days after observing the dollar spot and apply a good fertilizer with micronutrients.

Rick Orr Owner-Operator APL Pest Control/Creator of ILOVETURF.COM
Rick
Orr
APL Pest Control

Since 1995, Rick Orr has worked in Pinellas County providing turf management and pest control. Rick Orr is a graduate of VA Tech in Agronomy (Turf Ecology) and the creator of Iloveturf.com.

Since graduating from VA Tech in 1979, Rick worked in the green industry, mostly with golf courses, resorts, and large communities. Rick has obtained certifications in arboriculture, landscape contractor, and irrigation contractor, and taught Environmental Horticulture at St Petersburg College. 

Currently, Rick is the owner and operator of APL Pest Control. APL Pest Control provides lawn care and pest control for all of Pinellas County.

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