Have you noticed one or more spots in your lawn where grass simply fails to grow? Even if the rest of your lawn has a lush green color, there may be other, small areas plagued with a brown color.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to create a healthy, attractive landscape when your lawn has patches of dead or missing grass. It reflects poorly upon the rest of your lawn, thereby hurting your home’s curb appeal.
So, why is grass dying in this area of your lawn, and what can you do to prevent it from happening?
Insufficient Water
One of the most common reasons for dead grass in a particular area is insufficient water. Whether it’s Kentucky bluegrass, lawngrass, fescue, bentgrass or any other common variety of grass, all grass needs water to survive. It it doesn’t get enough, it will turn brown and eventually die.
Here’s the thing: Some areas of a lawn will receive more water than other areas. The top of a hill, for example, will receive less water than the bottom of the hill because water naturally flows down. Make sure your lawn is receiving adequate water throughout the entire area to prevent this from happening.
Dull Lawnmower Blade
When was the last time that you changed your lawnmower blade? If it’s been several years (or never), perhaps it’s time to invest in a new blade.
Mowing your lawn with a dull blade will stress the grass and, in some cases, contribute to patches of dead or dying grass. Always use a sharp blade when mowing your lawn to promote a healthy, green yard of grass.
Spilled Chemicals
Another common reason for patches of dead grass in a lawn is spilled chemicals. As a homeowner, you may keep a variety of herbicides, automotive chemicals, pesticides and other chemicals stored outdoors – and that’s okay. As long as these chemicals are safely stored, they shouldn’t be a problem.
But if you accidentally spill a chemical, it may seep into your lawn, causing the grass to die. Spilled engine oil and radiator coolant, for example, will quickly kill grass and other plant life. So, use caution when handling chemicals outside to avoid accidentally spilling them.
Roots
Something as simple as tree roots growing underneath your lawn can cause patches of dead or dying grass. Even if the top of the soil looks clean, there may be a network of large, invasive tree roots growing under it.
When this occurs, the tree roots will leach valuable moisture and nutrients from the soil, thereby preventing grass from receiving it. Of course, this causes the grass to die while the tree to which the roots are connected continues to grow.
The Woodsman Company offers tree planting, tree pruning and shrub trimming, tree removal and stump grinding as well as a tree wellness program.
If we can help with any of your tree care needs give us a call at 512-846-2535 or 512-940-0799 or
Front, side, and one side of back grass grows beautifully.the other side of the walkway out back WILL NIT grow grass, only weeds. Moved in 6 years ago. That 1,000 sq ft didn’t look good. I dug out and conditioned soil on a 10×8 ft patch. Grew great year one. Next year, died back. This Spring, we dug out,by hand,nentire 1,000sf. Pulled out weeds and grasses, laid down Scott’s lawn soil, added peat moss to it because we live innSE NC. Sprouted, grew a beautiful emerald green. Had a handful of leftover seed and sprinkled it in a depression on other side of yard, just for fun. That circle is still lush and green. New grass? Brown and dry. Watered regularly. No shade from trees. The people before had planted a pecan tree that didn’t belong in the middle of the yard, so we got rid of it and gave away the wood. Gets sun morning to evening. No bugs. No disease. No vole or moles. What the heck can it be?
Could the soil be very compacted ? How easy is it to probe soil with a straightened clothes hanger wire.Use a soil sampler to check the depth of soil moisture and the quality of soil. A green steel fence post can be hammered in used as well. The groove in the post will pull out a nice sample.
if there is a considerable amount of wood chips buried the grass will die because of nitrogen deprivation from the carbon in the chips. if the soil is moist do you ever see emerging fungi ?