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How to repair lawn that has died off?

Hello Brain Trust! Hope you all had a great start to the year! May this year you all are never short of RATs (pun intended)! Can any expert in the group help us rectify this issue? There is a small patch of grass which has died off (or in the process of stepping away from us). Is there any possible solution? We tried to put some off the shelf fertilizer in - but of no use. There is a similar activity in our backyard too. Any inputs will be super helpful!

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Comments

MitchellMc

Hi @mukeshkaura,

That strikes me as a very peculiar die-off pattern. I'd be keen to hear about the exact products you've used on this lawn from when it was all lush and perfect until now. I suspect this results from using a spray that's not suitable for this lawn. The very defined line along your concrete is almost a sure sign that something was sprayed, and I see no reason why the lawn would die off in an almost perfect line like that.

Did you mow really short and then have some scorching days and forget to water? Potentially, the grass has died off in some areas and survived in others. The most suspicious thing here is how lush and green the remaining sections are. Usually, when a lawn is dying off, you'll have a mix of dead, dying and unhealthy lawn, not lush green and totally dead.

I'm tipping this is the result of chemicals, possibly a non-selective weedkiller like Round-Up, but I'm sure @Adam_W will have some thoughts as well.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about what's been applied to this lawn.

Mitchell

mukeshkaura

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/18062#Comment_18062

Thanks so much Mitch - and sorry for the delay in getting back to you!

Here is something I could find out (with my detective skills)

We did went away on a few days which were scorching hot
Attached, the photo which we have used to treat it
The above photo is before it got mowed

I cant thank enough of your and everyone's Weed and feed.png support on this group

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/71831#Comment_71831

Hello @mukeshkaura

I just want to confirm the sequence of events that happened. You mowed the lawn and then you sprayed it with Weed 'n' Feed, then you went on your vacation for a few days and the weather in your area at the time was scorching hot. The Buffalo Pro works approximately for three weeks+ so hopefully after the chemicals have gone out of the soil the turf will make a recovery.

Buffalo Pro works by killing the weeds as they are germinating, but it will also kill your delicate grass shoots. There is the possibility that some of the grass that was cut very short could have been affected by the chemicals in the Weed 'n' Feed. As my colleague mentioned it is a very peculiar die-off pattern.

In order to repair the damage, I suggest aerating the damaged part of the turf and seeding it with Grass Seeds the same type as your turf. If the three weeks after spraying has not passed, hold off on seeding and add an extra week just to be sure that all the chemicals have washed out of your area.

Let me tag our experienced members @Adam_W and @BradN for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Adam_W

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/99225#Comment_99225

Hi @mukeshkaura
Concur with what has been said - that is chemical damage.
I just checked the specs on that product & I suspect the answer to your question is there in the precautions;

DO NOT apply to lawn if soil is dry, conditions are very hot (greater than 30°C)...
DO NOT mow or fertilise for 7 days before or after application...

Additionally, the product may have been over applied per square metre.

My recommendation would be to keep it trimmed (but not too short) to keep the remaining grass dense & tidy.

Invest in a steel-tine leaf rake and use this to gently start raking out the dead material. This way you can see how much is in-fact dead and you can decide on the next step.

It may be that you can fill the gaps back up using seed but you'll want to be doing this reasonably soon as in many areas you won't have much luck getting seed to start & survive through the cooler months.
I'd also be applying a seaweed hose-on, just make sure it is NOT fortified with fertiliser, seaweed only, to help the soil recover too.

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