How to repair bare patches in Sir Walter Buffalo lawn?

AmyLouise1

we have an odd bit of sir Walter turf in between the path to the front door and where we park one of our cars. It was planted 8 years ago or so- the turf is not looking too good. I have fertilised and water often. Should I just returf it at this point? Thank you!

JacobZ

Hi @AmyLouise1,

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem likely from what I can see that it would fill in adequately without some help. Luckily, there are a couple of ways you could approach repairing these bare areas.

As you've got Sir Walter Buffalo, which spreads via above-ground runners, you could use a Cyclone Soil and Lawn Plugger to take plugs from healthy sections of the lawn and transplant them into the bare areas. If there was more Sir Walter Buffalo elsewhere, this could be a viable option. With appropriate care, the Buffalo grass will send out runners from these plugs and gradually spread into the surrounding bare soil.

The other option, and the one I'd probably favour, is simply to grab a few slabs or rolls of Sir Walter Buffalo turf. Cut out the damaged sections to create neat edges, prepare and level the soil underneath, then cut the new turf to fit and water it in thoroughly. This will give you complete coverage straight away and is likely to be the simplest approach for patches of this size.

Have a look at our guides How to repair a lawn and How to fix bare patches in the lawn for some helpful advice on preparing and repairing the area.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob