Burned-out grass

lawn.fertilizer.burn.jpgA burned-out patch of lawn from excess lawn fertilizer -- in this case, spilled.

Q: I used Scott's weed killer and fertilizer on my lawn two weeks ago. Now I have three spots in my yard which are burned out due to my not spreading the fertilizer properly. Should I take out the dead grass and reseed or will new grass grow through the bad areas?

A: Sounds like a case of nitrogen overload alright.

The best thing to do is water heavily. That'll leach and dilute the product to get the root-zone nitrogen levels down to a tolerable amount.

Sometimes a fertilizer burn will just kill the top growth but not the roots. With water and a little time, new blades will push up.

I'd give it two or three weeks to see if you get any greening. If not, give the brown grass a tug and see if sections are pulling up like carpet (a sign that the roots have died).

If you're getting nothing in a few weeks, you'll have to repair the dead patches. You can do that in summer or wait until around Labor Day, when the weather is a little more conducive to getting new grass seed to germinate.

Another option is to make an immediate repair by replacing the dead patches with cut sections of sod. Either way, keep the new patches well watered through the heat of summer.

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