How Long Does It Take for Damaged Grass to Grow Back?

Factors like foot traffic, heat, and extreme weather conditions can wreak havoc on your lawn, leaving it discolored or even lifeless. The stress from these elements can turn your grass yellow, brown, or die off completely, creating unsightly patches in your yard.

While truly dead grass cannot be revived, damaged grass with intact roots can regrow with proper maintenance. It's a matter of providing the right conditions for regrowth and being patient as your lawn recovers. The timeline for the recovery process varies depending on factors like the extent of damage, grass type, weather conditions, soil quality, and the restoration methods employed.

For example, you can wait for the grass to grow back on its own, which may take several weeks to months, or speed up the process by laying sod or introducing grass plugs, which can provide instant coverage and accelerate the establishment of a healthy lawn.

How to Recover Grass From Damage

Now that we're well into spring, it's a great time to step back and assess the damage caused by the previous seasons to outline the steps to recovery.

Address the Underlying Issue

The first step to revitalizing your damaged grass is to determine the root cause of its decline. Factors like the weather, pest infestation, diseases, and your maintenance practices or the lack thereof could all have contributed to the deterioration of your lawn's health.

Some issues that may have contributed to the damage include over or underwatering, scalping from mowing too frequently or too short, soil compaction, and thatch buildup. Once you've identified the underlying issue, you can take targeted steps to restore your grass to its former health.

Water Your Lawn

Proper watering is essential for reviving stressed grass by providing adequate moisture to the soil and facilitating new growth. However, it's crucial to water wisely to prevent overwatering, which can lead to issues like root rot and fungal diseases, and underwatering, which can be equally harmful to your grass.

Most warm-season grass varieties, like Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine, thrive with 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. Watering deeply but less often can ensure the water reaches the root zone to encourage deeper root growth. It's advisable to water early in the morning to reduce evaporation loss and avoid watering in the evening, which can increase the risk of fungal growth. Adjust your watering schedule based on the weather, such as rainfall or drought, to ensure your lawn gets enough moisture for optimal recovery.

Mow at Proper Intervals and the Correct Height

If you're dealing with dead grass despite proper maintenance, you're probably cutting too often and too short. It's generally recommended to mow your lawn just often enough so that you're not removing more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.

For most warm-season grasses, a height of about 2 to 2.5 inches is ideal for maintaining healthy growth. This height allows the grass to develop a strong root system, recover from damage, and withstand environmental stress.

Aerating and Dethatching

In addition to these, aerating and dethatching are practices that can help in recovering damaged grass. Core aerating involves removing soil plugs from the ground to allow air, water, and nutrients to better penetrate the roots. This process helps relieve soil compaction, allowing the roots to grow deeper and stronger.

Dethatching, on the other hand, involves removing the layer of organic material that can accumulate on the soil surface. This layer, called thatch, can act as a barrier that keeps the essential elements from reaching the roots. Both aerating and dethatching should be done at the appropriate times and frequencies based on your grass type and the extent of damage.

Is the Grass Dead? How to Restore Lawn with Grass Plugs

If you've caught the damage early on, your grass can likely recover with consistent maintenance. Alternatively, if you don't see any signs of new growth despite diagnosing the problem accurately and initiating the steps for regrowth, your grass may be completely dead, and it's time to consider starting over with new grass.

Grass plugs emerge as a practical alternative to traditional sod, particularly when the damage is limited to small sections across your lawn. They provide the benefit of mature roots that facilitate faster establishment than seeds, filling in bare patches and restoring your lawn to its lush appearance in no time.

One Last Thing Before You Go

While grass plugs already provide a faster solution than reseeding, you can further accelerate the growth of your new grass by using NutriPod®.

A slow-release fertilizer, NutriPod® consists of granules encased in dissolvable pods, which are placed in the planting holes before inserting the grass plugs. This fertilizer releases essential nutrients gradually and steadily, ensuring the roots can easily access them. This accelerates growth up to two times faster and provides long-lasting effects for up to 45 days.

In general, your lawn may recover from minor damage, such as discoloration or thinning, within a few weeks to a month. More severe damage, such as large patches of dead grass, may take several months to fully bounce back. 

Whether it takes a few weeks to several months, with patience, the right approach, and consistent efforts, you will be rewarded with a denser, healthier lawn than before.

Visit the NutriPod® website to discover a wide range of fertilizer and complete lawn care solutions.