Ask any homeowner and they’ll tell you: a healthy, lush lawn doesn’t happen by chance. It’s a task that demands an ongoing investment of time, effort, and money to ensure a beautiful landscape for your property.
So when you look out of your window or porch only to be met with patchy, uneven grass, the frustration is more than justified. You can’t help but wonder, what went wrong?
This is where today’s guide comes in! I’ll be going through all the possible culprits behind uneven grass growth to help you pinpoint and fix the issue for an attractive carpet of green.
Reason #1: Watering Too Much
All lawn owners know that grass needs water, but not many know how much watering is required for healthy, uniform growth.
Although watering is the main stimulant for lawn growth, too much of this good thing can be harmful.
Watering your grass too much can lead to patchy growth. It’s not only because of grass drowning due to the more likely drainage problems but also because the chances of watering certain spots more than others are significantly higher.
Besides uneven grass growth, excessive watering can cause your lawn to develop depressions. Soon enough, you’ll have to deal with a swampy, bumpy yard.
How To Fix
If all the above sounds familiar, the first step to fixing it is to stop watering at your current frequency. You can tell that your grass needs water when it doesn’t spring back up immediately after you step on it.
The next step is to stick to a watering schedule, ideally by setting up the timer on a lawn sprinkler system.
If your grass needs plenty of water, try to do 3-4 short waterings instead of 1-2 heavy ones. This should minimize drainage problems.
Additionally, aim to schedule watering your grass in the morning rather than at night to allow your lawn time to dry during the day. The lack of sun and lower temperature at night causes the grass to stay wet, stimulating uneven growth and the spread of fungal diseases.
Reason #2: Poor Soil Aeration
Soil compaction may be the reason you’ve ended up with uneven grass growth.
When the soil is too dense, it won’t contain as much water and oxygen. It also makes the bottom of the grass too difficult to reach, which results in insufficient and irregular distribution of nutrients.
Several factors can lead to compacted soil with a hard, dry top layer. A lot of foot traffic, driving cars over the lawn often, and placing a free-standing pool are a few examples.
It’s also possible that your soil is too clayey or you didn’t prepare it properly before laying down grass seed.
How To Fix
Start by checking if compacted soil is indeed the problem.
Dig up the lawn parts that are falling behind and water the now grassless areas. You’ll know aeration is the issue if grass begins to grow again.
From there, you can try resolving compacted soil conditions by reducing foot traffic, switching from clay soil, and/or spiking your lawn using a garden fork, aerating shoes, or a rolling lawn aerator.
Reason #3: Multiple Types of Grass
Different kinds of grass have varying growth rates. Besides growing in different sizes, some types of grass thrive in warm weather while others do better in cold temperatures.
If your lawn is showing patchy growth, it may be because it contains more than one species of grass without you realizing it. Another possibility is that you’ve sown grass seeds at different times, so they didn’t germinate simultaneously.
For example, mixing Kentucky bluegrass with perennial ryegrass or using Centipedegrass alongside fescues will result in an uneven growth pattern.
How To Fix
In this case, using only one type of grass is the way to go.
If you want to grow multiple kinds of grass, divide your lawn into clear sections and dedicate each region to a single species for improved aesthetics.
Reason #4: Different Types of Soil
Not only different types of grass can result in an uneven lawn, but so can different types of soil.
The sort of minerals present and their amounts vary from one soil type to another. Also, different types of soil vary in drainage rates and aeration levels.
The grass you’re using may not be compatible with the soil you’ve got in your yard, so its growth pattern is naturally disturbed.
How To Fix
You need to make sure you’re using a type of soil that fulfills the soil requirements of the type of grass you’re using.
Utilizing methods like applying fertilizer or aerating the lawn can standardize the grass’s reaction to the soil, but there is a significant likelihood that you may need to replace the topsoil in your yard
Reason #5: Uneven Fertilizer Application
Many lawn owners unintentionally make the mistake of applying more fertilizer to certain areas of their lawn than others, especially if using fertilizer pellets.
This means that some portions of the grass are getting more food than other spots, causing a variation in growth rates and you are left with an uneven yard.
How To Fix
When fertilizing your lawn, you should evenly target all of its parts. Consider investing in a spreader or sprayer to get the job done.
Reason #6: Faulty Lawn Mowing
Various mistakes can happen when you’re mowing your lawn, any of which can be the culprit behind the uneven grass growth you’re witnessing.
For one, you may be mowing the grass too often and too short.
That’s right, there’s a limit to the length you should cut your lawn. If you go overboard, your grass won’t be able to soak up enough energy and nutrients necessary for growth from the sun and atmosphere.
The problem may also be your technique. If you’re mowing your lawn in the same direction every time, it could result in uneven growth.
Additionally, if the blades on your lawn mower are worn out, they can lead to choppy, uneven patches of grass.
How To Fix
When it comes to lawn mowing frequency, the length of the grass is what truly matters. You can measure the average length by plucking a few grass blades or measure the average height of the lawn as a whole.
Ideally, you should wait until the grass is around 3 1/2 inches long. You want to cut about 1/3 of the grass’s height each mowing session to achieve the optimal lawn height of 2 1/2 to 3 inches.
After mowing the lawn, you can relax for the following week or so. The waiting period differs according to the growth rate, which varies depending on your location, grass type, fertilizer, and so on.
Aside from the mowing frequency, make sure you alternate the direction of your mowing every session. Additionally, sharpen the lawn mower’s blades every 3 or 4 months to produce a clean and uniform cut.
Reason #7: Presence of Weeds
If some areas of your lawn look thicker than others, you should take a double-take because there may be more to it than just grass.
Weeds can attack lawns and make their way between grass blades, creating a dense appearance. Common examples of grass weeds include crabgrass, pigweed, purslane, chickweed, lambsquarters, and creeping charlie.
How To Fix
You can manually remove weeds from your lawn if the infestation is too heavy. Otherwise, you should apply a selective herbicide to target the unwanted weeds and leave your grass intact.
Reason #8: A Lawn Disease
Your lawn can fall victim to plant diseases, especially fungal infections, which cause the grass to appear patchy and discolored.
Mold and other diseases can pass to your grass through excessive watering, heavy rain, insects, and other plants.
How To Fix
The treatment depends on the sort of disease you’re up against. Be sure to pinpoint its cause first to address it as effectively as possible.
Reason #9: Excessive Shade
Sunlight is vital for healthy grass growth. Areas of your lawn that are subject to shade more than others can get excessively deprived of this major food source, so they end up growing slower.
How To Fix
Determine what’s causing too much shade in specific parts of the lawn. If it’s something you can trim or remove, such as a tree or a movable item, deal with it accordingly.
If it’s something you can’t move, like the wall of your house or a street post, try applying extra fertilizer to the affected area.
Reason #10: Pet’s Urine
If you let your dog or cat pee on the lawn, they’ll probably come back to the same spot every time nature calls.
Too much pet urine can stunt grass growth or even kill it. To avoid this scenario, you can invest in a urine-neutralizing spray or train your pet to relieve themselves elsewhere.
Wrapping Up
If your lawn is experiencing uneven grass growth and you’re sure it’s not because of uneven ground, then you need to do some investigation to identify the issue and resolve it effectively.
Patchy growth can be the result of excessive watering, uneven distribution of fertilizer, too much shade, improper mowing, problematic grass/soil type, disease, weeds, compacted soil, or pet urine.
