As we start back into spring, now is the time to take stock of your yard and see if there are any dead grass patches that need some TLC. Nothing gets in the way of a lush green lawn like unsightly brown spots where grass has either thinned or died.
Has your yard seen better days? Don’t worry! Today, we’re talking about how to revive dead grass in your yard and bring your lawn back to its former glory.
Dormant Grass vs Dead Grass
Before homeowners dive into how to revive dead grass they need to ask themselves, “is my grass dead or dormant?” Just because you’re seeing a few brown spots in your yard doesn’t necessarily mean your grass has bought the farm.
One way to determine dormant grass vs dead grass is by taking a look at the crowns. These white areas are where your grass blades grow from. If the grass is brown but the crowns look healthy, chances are you may simply have dormant grass on your hands.
Conversely, if you spray your lawn with some bursts of water and it beads up on the surface, chances are your grass is toast. If you pull up a small section of grass and it comes out without resistance, that’s another sign it’s time to learn how to fix dead grass.
Causes of Dead Grass Spots
As you learn how to revive dead grass fast and prepare your lawn for spring, it’s important to identify the cause. If you don’t figure out what caused your lawn to die in the first place, you may face a similar situation next year, or even mid-season. A few common causes of dead grass spots include:
- Improper lawn care: Forgetting to aerate, overseed, or fertilize your lawn at the proper times could result in dead grass. Additionally, underwatering or overwatering your lawn could result in brown patches from drought or oversaturation.
- Bad lawn mowing practices: Mowing too often, too little, or too short during the season could result in your lawn dying.
- Wrong types of grass: To have a lush, green lawn in the Capital Region, you need to ensure you’ve determined what grass is right for Upstate NY lawns. Growing the wrong type may result in your lawn dying during the seasons for which that species is least accustomed to.
- Insect infestation: Unfortunately, insects love your yard almost as much as you do. Each spring and summer, it’s important to inspect your lawn and treat it against pest infestations to keep your grass alive.
- Disease: Grass can experience disease, too. One of the most common grass diseases in Upstate NY is snow mold, a fungal disease that appears in early spring when the snow melts.
Learning how to revive dead grass fast and keeping it healthy throughout the year is largely dependent upon learning what killed it in the first place. Once you’ve figured out the case of your ghostly grass, you can adjust accordingly and avoid the same issues in the future.
If you’re uncertain what killed your grass, consult landscaping professionals in the Capital Region like our NVS Landscapes team for analysis and recommendations. We’ll have your yard back to being the envy of the neighborhood in no time.
Bonus Tips: Learn more about spring and summer lawn care mistakes to avoid after this!
How to Revive Dead Grass
You’ve taken stock of your lawn to determine what killed it, so now you want to learn how to revive dead grass fast. Getting your yard back into great shape presents two options: planting new grass or laying sod. The latter provides the instant gratification of a green, lush lawn for your home but comes is more expensive and possibly unnecessary if most of your lawn is still intact.
This brings us to steps for how to revive dead grass without all new sod. These steps are:
- Prepare your lawn for revival
- Dethatch your yard
- Aerate your lawn for optimal seed germination
- Fertilize the soil to replenish nutrients
- Overseed your lawn for fresh grass growth
- Water your lawn properly
Step 1: Prepare Your Lawn for Revival
The first step towards how to revive dead grass in your yard is to prepare what’s left behind. This means treating your yard to rid it of any weeds, pests, or diseases. It’s best to treat your lawn on a warmer, sunny day as it will need time to dry for it to be effective. After you’ve treated your lawn, give it about a week for the herbicide or pesticide to take full effect and have your lawn ready for reseeding.
Step 2: Dethatch Your Yard
A buildup of debris such as dead grass, twigs, or leaves from the winter months is called thatch. This buildup of decomposing plant materials covers the surface of your soil and will limit airflow, sunlight, and water absorption to new grass seed when left unchecked. Ideally, you want any layer of thatch to be less than half an inch thick. For help on this task, you can check out our dethatching tips after this.
Step 3: Aerate Your Lawn for Seed Germination
Aerating your lawn is an essential task to help with how to revive dead grass in your yard. Using a lawn aerator or tiller, you will be putting holes in your yard roughly five to six inches deep. For spring, aerate your lawn before the soil reaches the 55-60 degree threshold to avoid the climate being too warm, which can invite unwanted weed growth. Lawn aeration improves airflow and lets water reach your new grass seed more effectively.
Step 4: Test and Fertilize the Soil
Next up on our list of steps for how to revive dead grass in your yard is testing the soil and adding fertilizer as needed to replenish nutrients. When choosing fertilizer, aim for products that are low in phosphorus while being high in nitrogen and potassium. This will balance out the nutrients and create a hospitable environment for your new grass seed to germinate and thrive.
Pro Resource: Check out our guide, “When Should I Fertilize My Lawn?” to learn more!
Step 5: Overseed Your Yard
We can’t talk about how to revive dead grass in your yard without overseeding it. You want to spread the new seed evenly across the affected areas. This is the best method for how to fix dead grass and get your lawn back to its lush former self. Be sure you’re planting the right kinds of grass seed for your area. For example, cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass are excellent choices for seeding Upstate NY lawns.
Step 6: Water Freshly Seeded Areas Properly
Last, but not least, as you learn how to revive dead grass fast is watering your freshly seeded yard properly. Underwatering can lead to seeds drying out and not growing, while overwatering can drown them and leave your lawn looking like a mess.
Depending on the weather in your area, you may need to water freshly seeded lawns daily (or even more than once a day) for the first few weeks. The goal is to keep the soil moist without being oversaturated. Grass roots may grow deeper with a deep watering technique.
Determining how to revive dead grass in your yard takes some work, but with time and effort, you can have your lawn looking amazing again this spring. Don’t feel like taking on such a large project yourself? Leave it to us! Contact NVS Landscapes and let our team of professionals bring your lawn back to life.
