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michelle_olen

Dead grass // How do I recover?

6 years ago

We used Weed n Feed to kill some weeds — it ended up killing the grass and no weeds. We live in PA. Any tips on how to get this grass recovered?

Comment (1)

  • 6 years ago

    /Lecture This is one reason why we don't like Weed and Feed /lecture


    Water heavily. Fortunately, it looks like nature may do that for us this week since we have storms rolling through. The herbicide and, probably, excess nitrogen in those areas has to flush out of the soil thoroughly before anything can be done, and that's probably going to require six inches of water or more.

    Some grass may recover. Time will tell on that one, but from the strawlike look, I doubt that much will. Let the dead stuff rot, this is the wrong time to seed anything new, so you'll need to wait anyway. Soil and air temperatures are too hot to germinate grass seed.


    Around August 1, kill any weeds in those spots with RoundUp. Remaining grasses can be left in place, so some strategic spraying or painting of weed leaves may need to be done.


    Around August 15th or so, plant grass seed in those areas. That date is going to vary a bit, and the date I gave is the earliest. It'll be the day after the first evening you're out and notice that that evening is just a tiny bit cooler and that summer is ending. It won't be later than August 25th anywhere in Pennsylvania. I know because I live in Pennsylvania.

    If lots of dead grasses still remain, that's OK as long as you can get the seed in there and can see some soil. Scatter it in.

    Water three times daily if you can. Twice will do, but three times is better. If twice is the best you can manage, I'd recommend covering the seed with a quarter inch of peat moss or compost (it'll help even if you water three times per day).

    Fescues sprout in 7-14 days, rye faster than that, and bluegrasses take up to 28 days, so don't stop watering.

    After it's done, back off to daily or every other day (that looks like a low spot, generally, so every other day will probably be fine). Feed gently at this point, preferably with Milorganite at bag rate or another organic, although a half-strength synthetic fertilizer would be just fine.

    2 weeks later, back off to every third day watering if it's not raining. By now it's October and cooling down, so check the soil. If it's staying wet, water less.

    Two weeks after that, it's getting colder still (probably, you know our weather). Every fourth or fifth day is almost certainly OK by now. Feed again. Milorganite or a synthetic are still fine, but I'd avoid other organics as they'll be too slow this late in the season.

    Two weeks later, November first or so, discontinue watering. It's cold out there. Unless it's a severe dry spell, the new grass won't need it so just keep an eye on it.

    Around November 15th-25th, at last mow, fertilize your lawn with winterizer as normal, including the new patches.