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My buffalo lawn is not doing well. I’ve neglected it. Lots of bare and dry spots. Areas under shade is doing better. Wondering if it can be revived with lots of love and care or should I start again and returf my lawn? If I can revive it, please let me know what to do. There’s some weeds and there’s a patch of a different type of grass growing in some spots, one with a finer leaf. Thanks
Fine leaf grass
Hi all,
Just needing some assistance with identifying what could be wrong with my buffalo lawn and what steps I should take next. For context, I live in central QLD and the sun is usually blasting. Since November last year the grass has been looking not as nice and now there are more round dead circles as well as sections that look brown/dry? But I’m unsure if it’s due to the lawn having a fungus issue and needing to be aerated, or if it’s just dry or if it’s grubs? At the moment due to the heat I try to water twice a week, but have only just realised I may be adding to the problem. Please see below photos for reference.
This was the condition of the grass in July 2023. Was very nice and lush.
The below photos I took 2 days ago of different sections in the yard.
Any feedback and tips would be greatly appreciated! I’m not sure if I’m being paranoid. Thanks!
Hello @ebonyrt
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your lawn.
A few things come to mind such as birds or pets digging in the lawn, soil compaction or seasonal change. I suggest having a quick look at this guide - How to detect lawn problems by @Adam_W. I propose doing a bit of an investigation on the dry and browning spots of your lawn.
Have a look if the lawn has been clawed or pulled away, it's a definite sign that an animal has been digging into it. Check for compaction, the soil would be hard and compressed. If you see that it is compacted, I suggest using an aerating tool such as the Saxon Lawn Aerator Sandals or similar and walk around the compacted area and the rest of your lawn.
Another possible reason could be that your soil is running low on nutrients and needs to be fertilized. I suggest Seasol 2L Buffalo Lawn Fertiliser. I also recommend having a look at this discussion - How to repair brown patches on buffalo lawn? by @NateZheng.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you so much for your prompt response! I will start with your suggestions and see how I go. 
Hi there.
i had buffalo turf laid down 7 weeks ago (early February). For the first 2 weeks I watered (maybe overwatered?) the turf and it looked great! I went overseas for the past 5 weeks during which time my friend was quite good at watering the turf. He mowed it for the first time in my absence.
As you can see a huge patch looks like it’s dying. Another patch has brown patches and then finally another patch has a large brown portion with weeds coming through.
Google suggested I could literally have every problem from underwatered to overwatered to infection/disease to premature mowing etc. I don’t know which it is. Any idea how to find out and how to fix it?
Apologies for the slow reply @Samiyo. One of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts will be happy to assist as soon as possible.
It might help them to know where you are based and what the weather has been like recently.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're pleased to have you join us.
Jason
Hi @Samiyo,
I'm so sorry for the delay in my reply.
Your lawn is not looking very healthy and, unfortunately, looks like it is dying off. You're right that it is exceptionally difficult to diagnose a reason for this, and it really revolves around the care you have provided. What sort of preparation did you do to the soil before the turf was laid down? Have you applied any fertilisers? How often was the lawn being watered? How has the weather been there? How is the drainage in that area, and does the soil stay wet after being watered for long periods of time? Why did you need to replace the lawn, was it because the previous lawn died off?
At this point, the only advice I could provide would be to apply some Seasol and water only when the soil begins to dry out. We'll just need to keep our fingers crossed that it comes back for you.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Hi @Samiyo,
Do you have any idea how often your friend was watering the turf? We haven't had many really hot days recently in Sydney. If the grass was watered daily during the last five weeks and the soil is not draining well and remains wet, that could cause the die-back. I'd recommend only watering if the soil is drying out as if it always remains wet/moist, the roots will begin to rot.
Mitchell
Hi guys,
we have just moved to WA and we have put buffalo grass in our backyard. It was in January, really hot days (we have no experience gardening and only later on we realized "what a mistake doing it in January!"). Well, the grass didn't do so well... lots died quite quickly... for a couple of months now I've been trying to "revive" the grass using soil fertilizers and lawn kill weeds (every 3-4 weeks I apply). I have also been aerating the soil every 2-3 weeks.
Some parts of the grass have improved considerably but others didn't.
My question here is, is this the way to go or should I get rid of it and start again??
im attaching a photo of how the grass looks like now so you can see "the size of the damage".
Any help will be much appreciated! Thank you guys!!
