Lawn Failure: Three Reasons for Your Unhealthy Lawn

There are many different causes for lawn failure. Different growing environments, proper maintenance, or even the amount of traffic on a lawn can lead to unhealthy growth. While many homeowners take pride in owning the prettiest grass in the neighborhood, sometimes, there are some issues you can not avoid or foresee. These issues can often lead to lawn failure if they are left untouched.

Lawn Failure Due to Poor Drainage

One of the most common reasons for lawn failure is poor drainage. This means that your lawn is unable to rid itself of the excess water. Poor drainage can lead to a buildup of moisture which is a great growing environment for all kinds of lawn diseases. Check out the Lawn Disease Triangle blog for more information! This can also create the perfect space for lawn moss to take up residence. Poor drainage can be caused by a few different things. Soil with a high clay content can mean that excess water has a harder time draining. Clayey soil also gets compacted quite quickly with heavy traffic and this can add to the drainage issues which can cause lawn failure.

One of the best ways to alleviate compaction and improve drainage is by aerating. The process of aerating removes ‘plugs’ of soil from the lawn. This creates opportunities for more airflow to the grass roots and improves drainage. Additionally, if your soil is particularly high in clay, consider topdressing with a sandier soil to offset the existing soil.

Low Quality Soil

Another common reason for lawn failure is soil quality. Without good, nutritious soil for your grass to thrive in, your lawn may begin to show signs of weakness. The roots of your grass needs access to the essential nutrients found in good soil. Without those, your grass will become sparse and make room for more weeds to take its place. In order to maintain a high quality soil, be sure to test the soil regularly to ensure you are giving your lawn the best chance of survival. Make any recommended adjustments and amendments to the soil to avoid more lawn failure in the future. 

Shaded Grass: Shedding Light on Lawn Failure

Growing grass in shaded areas can also lead to lawn failure. Though there are some types of grass that are more shade-tolerant, all grass requires at least four to six hours of sun per day. Attempting to grow grass in areas directly under trees or under some kind of overhang can create problems.

One way to avoid this is by pruning back the tree branches. This will allow more sunlight to penetrate down to the grass. In addition, pruning is also quite healthy for your trees. You must also keep in mind that grass that grows in shadier areas does not require the same amount of water that grass in full sun does. The sun evaporates the water on the ground and this evaporation rate dramatically drops as sun exposure drops. In order to avoid excess water, only water when your shaded grass needs it, and not as much as the sunnier grass. 

Though owning the best lawn on the street can be exciting, there are all kinds of reasons for lawn failure. You can do everything right and still run into issues you didn’t expect. However, with the great tips in this blog, you are sure to be able to combat some of the most common reasons for lawn failure in no time!