How To Revive St Augustine Grass? Reasons & Solution

Are you noticing brown dead spots on your lawn? Is the St. Augustine grasses are losing their appealing color?  This may happen when the lawn is deprived of proper care and maintenance.

The major reasons behind the color damage and dead spots are Use of excessive fertilizer, pest infestation and turf diseases. Getting nervous about what to do? Don’t worry we have the solution.

The easiest and best way to control the grass death and revive them again in their evergreen charm enough water, grub control and natural fertilizer for St. Augustine grass are the perfect combo. But you have to learn, how to use them and when? Let’s learn how to revive St. Augustine grass?

What Can Cause St. Augustine Grass To Die?

Before learning the process of reviving you must know the actual reason behind the dead spots of your grasses. Then you can implement the suitable prevention for that problem.

Few reasons responsible for the death of St. Augustine grass in your lawn:

1. Various Seasonal Diseases:

Brown patches attacked usually in warm and humid weather condition during fall and spring. The soil fail to grab the roots and the brown patch spreads very rapidly during this time.

In the time of hot burning summer another disease come forward to destroy your lawn known as gray leaf disease.

The grasses turned into brown and gray because of this and finally they die. Whenever you see these symptoms you must take actions quickly otherwise the turf will have invaded and your whole lawn grasses will end up with rotten.

2. Use of Chemical Fertilizer:

If you use excess chemical fertilizers of pest control medicines then as a result you St. Augustine grasses can be dead because of the reactions. To grow faster and increase density the lawn owners use many kinds of fertilizers for instant benefits but eventually they are very harmful in the long run.

Applying too nitrogen can damage your lawn soil and after few years the whole lawn could be barren as desert and you will e unable to grow any grass or plants there.

3. Insect Invasion: 

Many kinds of pests like grub worms and caterpillars may attack on your lawn and destroy the whole lawn. If you failed to identify them in the beginning then your whole lawn may need to be disinfected and it can cause you huge amount of money as well time. 

4. Summer Drought:

If you left your lawn without enough watering then in summer your lawn will be burned and there will be cracks everywhere. If you depend on rain then it will be a foolish activity.

You must water your grasses every now and then to prevent your lawn from drought stress. Without proper watering the St. Augustine grasses will turn pale and die after few weeks. So to revive the grasses water your turf regularly.

5. Low Soil Quality:

The St. Augustine turfs are a very sensitive grass that needs proper care and quality soil with necessary nutrients. The thin layered soil surface is not suitable for the turf grasses. The small gravels or rocks are also a hinder for St. Augustine grass growth.

So you should test the soil of your lawn if the turf grasses are dying without any visible reason. The poor the quality of the soil the chance of dying of the grass is higher.

Can Dead St Augustine Grass Come Back To Life?

Actually the answer of this question is pretty uncertain because it depends on the damage level and time you already have wasted. But in most cases if you have enough time to revive then of course the St. Augustine grasses can be back to life with proper remedies we have created and described below.

How To Revive St Augustine Grass?

The St Augustine grasses which seem to be dead and spotted within five weeks can be saved if they are spotted timely. But the reviving process depends on the problems responsible for the death of the plants.

Below the effective process of bringing back dead St. Augustine grass are given:

1. Adequate Water Supply:

As we have discussed above that hot summer can bring two types of problems in your lawn, they are brown patches and draughts respectively.

Because of the humid and hot weather the St. Augustine grasses turned gray and might start dying. To prevent the grass from changing color you must water the lawn at least three times a week.

The extended hot times may cause extreme draughts to your soil too that may cause the turf dried and eventually dead. So you have to ensure the sufficient amount of water to deeply drench your turfs according to their need.

The normal water requirement of St. Augustine grasses are ¾ inch of water above the soil surface two times each week or after every three days.

But for bringing back or reviving the grass from death you have to ensure ½ inch water three times in a week until they turn green from brown again. However, if the plan doesn’t work for some reason you need to till the soil and plant the St. Augustine again.

2. Soil Quality Needs To Be Improved:

If you find out there are no pests or any kinds of external symptoms killing your St. Augustine grasses then it is because of the poor soil quality. So, you have to improve the quality of the soil of your lawn by ensuring that the kind of soil you are using is the perfect one for your St. Augustine grass.

The best types are well-aerated soil that likely to be the best for the St. Augustine grass and they are not that much hard to prepare. Make sure you are addressing soil compaction and deep thatch in the yard.

Through well researched we have developed some tips to improve your soil quality:

  • At first test the soil of your lawn to assure there are enough layers of soil surface to extend the roots of St Augustine grass. If not work on that for healthy grass.
  • Also test the nutrients facts and composition of soils to know what is missing. There must be at least 5% of organic materials to revive the grass in case they got dead.
  • Make the topsoil a little higher and ensure enough watering three times a week for healthy soil and best possible results.
  • Finally, make sure the clay soil is well aerated otherwise it can damage the grasses during droughts.

3. Thatch The Lawn Again:

To prevent slow death of St Augustine grass due to suffocation you should notice that the thatch accumulation is thick or in right density. The insects or pesticides loves the thick density of thatch as they can hide and produce eggs easily. Thus the lawn may lead to rotten roots of and silently to the death.

So, if you want to prevent your lawn to save from those deadly agents then dethatch is the best possible solution. Thus your lawn will get nutrient supplement while feeding. Aerate your lawn if you think the plants are suffocating, to ensure enough breathing for the grass roots.

4. Plant The Grass Again:

In some cases instead of trying all the possible ways of reviving the St Augustine grasses the result may not be pleasant. The spots are visible to the gardener when it is almost dead inside.

So sometimes it is too late to take action. In such condition it is wise to clear the whole lawn and reseed it again as a fresh start. 

Therefore, try to remove the dead spots first and fill them with new seeds and if it is ok then leave the rest which are still alive and fresh. Water the new area regularly as well as feed them to have fast growth and green grass.

Conclusion

Reviving St Augustine grass is not a very tricky process instead a little enthusiasm and hard work can bring your smile back.

If you don’t want to face such situation then take care of your lawn regularly by watering and feeding them with proper nutrients. Don’t forget to follow the instructions given above for a healthy and green lawn.