Thick, carpet like lawns are every homeowners dream, but achieving a healthy lawn during summer heat can be a challenge. Dedicated mowing and watering can help keep landscaping looking fresh, but even the most vigilant homeowners often find trouble spots or bare patches in their yards.
As lawn service experts, we’ve seen it all and can help trouble shoot lawn issues to keep your lawn in top shape.
Here are four common lawn problems and how to resolve them.
- Problem: The grass grows, but it’s full of dandelions and other weeds.
Solution: Michigan has many different kinds of weeds that commonly crop up in lawns, golf courses, and athletic fields. The solution is to spray your lawn with herbicide in both the spring and the fall. A lawn service professional will have access to products that aren’t for sale over the counter. They can provide weed control that’s specifically designed to eradicate the weeds rooting in your yard both early and late in the season.
Problem: The lawn has bare patches that won’t grow.
Solution: Take a look at your yard and the sunlight your lawn gets. If the bare patches fall in a really shady area, like next to a building or under a tree, it’s important to plant these areas with more shade tolerant ground cover. If your lawn is getting plenty of sunlight and still won’t grow, it may be time to reseed these spots. Aerate these patches with a rake and then sprinkle seed. Block the newly seeded area off from foot traffic and keep the ground well watered. This should help the grass take root, but in particularly sunny or sloped sections, it may be necessary to use specialized seeding or fertilizer to prevent seeds from drying out before they take route. A lot depends on your land, but even on the sunniest, most steep plots, focused attention can help grass take root.
Problem: My yard has large swaths of brown covering it.
Solution: If your lawn develops brown spots in large areas, then you may need help with pest control. Bugs and grubs lay eggs in the grass and damage healthy lawns. A bug guard or lawn service can spray infested areas to help control grubs. The pests in your area may vary depending on season and surrounding land. To learn more about what you have growing in your yard, dig up a patch of grass and soil and bring the sample to a bug guard company who can help discuss treatment options.
Problem: My grass has patches or rings of unhealthy areas.
Solution: Sometimes grass develops orange pustules, brown splotches, or green but dead areas. These spots may be caused by fungus and poor drainage. Grass shouldn’t dry out, but it also needs to have good drainage, free of roots and other decaying matter. Fungus patches, sometimes, called fairy rings, can be replaced by digging at least a foot below the affected area and adding new topsoil. There are also chemicals and fungicides available to professionals that focus on fairy rings. Local lawn service experts can often eradicate these patches. Afterwards, healthy fertilization can support new, uninfected grass growth.
These four common lawn issues can be solved and once the lawn is healthy, it’s important to maintain that growth. Professionals recommend that homeowners fertilize their fields and lawns every six to eight weeks to preserve their success. Speak to a lawn service company to learn more about common yard issues in your area and find solutions to your landscaping problems.
Troubleshooting lawn issues can be a challenge, but a healthy lawn is worth the work. A dense, green looks good, but it also prevents water run off and absorbs rain fall to protect the rest of the property. Well designed and maintained landscaping increases a homes property value by as much as 20%. Homeowners who are consistent with their lawn care see their efforts paid back exponentially.
Is your lawn care issue not mentioned here? Share with us what you’re seeing in your grass and what you’ve tried so far to promote better growth.