How to repair a damaged lawn

Summary: Repairing a lawn, Lawn care, Lawn fertiliser, Seeding a lawn and Taking care of a lawn.

Damaged or dead grass is quite common in lawns and there are many causes. Grass can struggle to grow if there are too many weeds or not enough sunlight. It can also suffer from disease.

Damaged grass can show symptoms of discolouration, lack of growth and even dead patches. This will affect the overall appearance of the lawn.

Lawn care

  • You will need to find the cause of the problem. It could be that the grass is not getting enough sunlight. Cut back any overbearing shrubs or trees.
  • Remove the dead patch by digging around it. You will need to dig about 2 inches into the ground.
  • Replace the damaged patch with healthy grass from another area of the lawn. If you are unable to add turf from another area, fill the cleared area with soil, rake smooth and sprinkle grass seed. Using grass seed will take longer for the area to bed itself in with the existing grass.
  • Remove any weeds or unwanted plant life, this can be done by hand or using weed killer.
  • Loosely spread soil in any areas where the grass is looking bare or where weeds used to be and sow with grass seed.
  • Water twice a day any areas where grass seed has been spread or new lawn has been put down. Water the grass daily until the new grass is growing well.
  • Use fertiliser on the lawn to help the grass stay healthy. Fertiliser can invigorate even the most stressed lawns.
  • Water the lawn in times of drought. It does not take long for grass to start to struggle; several days of watering can bring the lawn back to life.

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