There are plenty of ways your lawn can get damaged. It might be stress from the weather, as in a drought. It might have to do with too much traffic going over the lawn and killing parts of the grass. Or perhaps the grass got burned when a dog urinated or you spilled some chemicals on the grass.
However your lawn ended up damaged, repairing it is the next step after identifying and dealing with the problem. Our lawns are a key part of the first impressions people receive of our homes. If the lawn is stressed and dying, dead or torn up in patches, or filled with weeds, it will lower the curb appeal of even the nicest house.
Fortunately, if your lawn has been damaged, there are several steps you can take to help it recover. Part of this will depend on what caused the damage, but in general these are the five steps you’ll take to repair a damaged lawn.
1) Identify and Treat the Cause
Sometimes, lawn damage is a one-time thing such as when you spill fertilizer or herbicide and it burns a patch of grass. Other times, lawn damage is caused by ongoing issues such as a fungal disease or regular, heavy traffic. Before you can repair the damage, it helps to identify what’s wrong. These two articles are a great place to start:
- Help! My Lawn Is Dying And I Think It Has A Disease
- What’s Wrong With My Lawn? How To Identify Common Texas Turf Grass Problems That Aren’t Caused By Disease
Once you’ve identified what damaged your grass and made sure it’s not going to happen again, then you can start repairing the damage.
2) Remove Weeds
When a lawn is stressed and the grass is not growing well, it is easier for weeds to take over. Repairing your lawn will help with this problem, but until then there’s a good chance you’ll be doing battle with the weeds.
You can remove weeds that grow in your damaged lawn by pulling or with an appropriate herbicide used according to label directions. Another thing to keep in mind is that weeds aren’t the only plants that can cause problems in lawns. If bedding plants have escaped from your garden areas, they should also be removed from the lawn to prevent them from competing with your grass.
[imagenumber: 93550020]
3) Replant Bare Patches
If patches of grass have died due to drought or damage, the areas should be replanted with an appropriate grass. The best time to do this is in the fall, though some grass can be started in the spring. Grass can be seeded or planted from sod or plugs. Click here to read an article that discusses planting turfgrass in Texas and includes charts with recommended planting methods for different types of grass.
If drought is an issue, choose a more drought-tolerant type of grass when you reseed or plant. Zoysia is a warm-season grass that will grow in sun or shade. It grows slowly, so it requires less mowing, but also forms a lush lawn that tolerates foot traffic and is very water efficient. For full sun areas, Bermuda or Bahia grass are also good choices. St. Augustine grass prefers dappled shade, so it’s a good choice if you have trees in your yard.
For yards where you have heavy traffic on the lawn, Zoysia or Bermuda grass will be your best choices. Once established, these grasses can stand up to foot traffic better than many other kinds of grasses. Just make sure to treat them with a little extra care after planting so they can develop a good root system before you start walking all over them.
4) Dethatch and Aerate
Two lawn maintenance tasks that will help your existing grass recover and ensure that new grass remains healthy are dethatching and aerating. Thatch is a layer of dead grass that builds up on top of the soil. A thin layer of thatch is good, but if it builds up more than a half-inch it should be removed. You may not need to do this every year, especially once the lawn is healthy.
For fertilizer and water to reach the grass’s roots, all lawns benefit from yearly aeration to prevent soil compaction. For this task, you’ll want to use a core aerator that removes plugs of soil from the lawn. Click here to learn more about when and how to aerate your lawn.
[imagenumber: 107848598]
5) Fertilize and Water
Getting your lawn on a regular schedule for watering and fertilization can help stressed lawns recover more quickly. In general, lawns need about 1 inch of water a week to stay green and growing. This isn’t always possible, though. If you’re experiencing water restrictions, you might want to check out these posts:
For Texas warm-season grasses, you’ll want to fertilize when the grass is growing in the early and late summer. Several applications of compost, or the use of time-release chemical fertilizers, will ensure grass receives the nutrients it needs throughout the year. Here is a good article with more information about fertilizing warm-season grass.
Conclusion
Dealing with the source of the damage, removing encroaching weeds, patching bare spots, making sure nutrients can get down into the soil, and then giving the grass water and fertilizer are key steps in repairing damage and maintaining the heath and the appearance of your grass. And once that’s back to normal, you can settle into a more relaxed lawn maintenance schedule focused on mowing.
If you need any lawn care equipment to help make maintaining a healthy lawn easier, just stop by Richardson Saw and Lawnmower. We carry a wide range of mowers, spreaders, sprayers, and lawn renovation tools to help you keep your lawn in top condition. And we’ll be happy to talk with you about your lawn care needs and help you find the perfect tool for the job. Just stop in for a visit or contact us if you have questions.
