Question
Hi,
We live in Austin, TX and just re-sodded our dead lawn in the backyard 3 weeks ago now, and it is not growing yet.  I believe we prepared the right way, we killed everyting with round-up, a week later tilled up the yard, the next week brought in 3 cubic yards of fresh soil from the local landscapers nursery to cover a 600sq ft yard, and layed St. Augustine sod the next day.  It has been watered religously, and the dirt underneath has stayed moist.  The first pallet we got looked OK, mostly green.  However we did not order enough and I had to get an additional 1/2 pallet of grass the following day - it looked MUCH better and took off growing immediately - we've already mowed it and you can't even see the lines anymore. (my husband said it must be a different kind of St. Augustine) But the first pallet of grass is not growing at all, the edges of the squares are brown and weeds are starting to grow through it already!  I called the nursery we got it from and they said the first pallet must have came from a grower that got a late freeze and put it back into dormancy so it will take a little longer. I even had them come out and look at it, and they said it was starting to take root, but I would think that after 3 weeks, it would catch up with the other already.  I was told not to fertilize it, but I don't know of anything else to do.  Will the different grasses ever blend together?  If so how long will this take?  We re-sodded becasue I wanted an instant green lawn, but now I have a 1/2 thick green lawn and 1/2 barely alive looking. Any ideas?  Thanks!

Answer
Go out in the area where the poor turf is planted. Find a piece and try to lift it with your hand. If it comes up easily (like a carpet) the pieces have not rooted. If they are not rooted by now, then I would call the landscaper back for a refund. If it can not be lifted up then it has rooted and then it probably just need some more time. It is not uncommon for st. augustine to take some time to green up in spring if exposed to freezes. If no result in another 30-45 days, then you should also contact the landscaper.

I agree that fertilizing does nothing to "wake up" the sod. In fact, I always recommend fertilizing after the grass has started to grow actively on it's own.

I would weed the spaces between the sod, and put some soil in there to mask the spaces.

If these sod pieces have not rooted yet, then it is time to discuss with the landscaper again.