Thanks plant pauper, but I'm not seeing moss blackening. The blades of grass have shrivelled and died as far as I can tell. As Hazel suggests, I can only assume I applied too much and too unevenly, but it's weird how it only affected the older more established area of the lawn. It had happened within a few hours of application.
And if it was too strong a dose, I feel the box should say something like "Apply sparingly as over-applying can lead to areas of healthy lawn becoming scorched and blackened", because that's what happened. I thought at worst I would be wasting some expensive product rather than burning my lawn away with caustic chemicals.
Thanks for the benefit of your experience Hazel. It's probably obvious I'm pretty new to gardening generally. Patience is something I'm having to learn!
It's important to apply these products when the ground is damp. If the ground's very dry it can be an issue as it just scorches a lot of growth - the stuff you want as well as the stuff you don't. Over application is the main reason for it happening though.
I'd get a hose on it and see if you can revive it a bit. Grass is tough and even dead looking bits will often revive after some moisture. If any areas don't come away, you can reseed them after scratching the surface up and putting a little fresh soil/compost down with the seed.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Two months ago I applied 4 in I using a spreader. Large areas of the lawn were already taken over with moss and clover. As with many others, large areas of the lawn turned black and patchy which was quite alarming. On the advice of my local garden centre I raked out as much of the dead moss as possible ( which was back breaking! ) and then reseeded in a mix of top soil and light sand. However despite lots of sun and rain the new seed just hasn't taken some weeks later which I can't understand. I wonder if the soil needs to recover from the 4 in I before re-seeding is attempted ? I can't see any advice on the product regarding re-seeding . Any comments please ?
Grass seed does best when sown in April or September when moisture levels and temperatures are usually at their most favourable for good germination. Rake the bare areas to loosen the soil then scatter on some decent compost if you need to make things level then sow the grass seed on that.
The RHS offers this comprehensive advice on repairing damaged lawns, including re-sowing.
Did you push a fork down a few cm deep all over the areas you tried to re-seed? If not, the seed is probably sitting in an unsuitable place, or has been eaten by birds. Also, how soon did you do this after the patches appeared? As already said, you need to wait a month or so before re-seeding. You also need to ensure the seed is kept moist at all times - the occasional rain shower isn't enough.
If you used 3 big bags on that small lawn I think you may have to kiss goodbye to everything and start again. I only use about half a bag on our lawn which is roughly 100 feet by 20 feet.
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Thanks plant pauper, but I'm not seeing moss blackening. The blades of grass have shrivelled and died as far as I can tell. As Hazel suggests, I can only assume I applied too much and too unevenly, but it's weird how it only affected the older more established area of the lawn. It had happened within a few hours of application.
And if it was too strong a dose, I feel the box should say something like "Apply sparingly as over-applying can lead to areas of healthy lawn becoming scorched and blackened", because that's what happened. I thought at worst I would be wasting some expensive product rather than burning my lawn away with caustic chemicals.
Thanks for the benefit of your experience Hazel. It's probably obvious I'm pretty new to gardening generally. Patience is something I'm having to learn!
It's important to apply these products when the ground is damp. If the ground's very dry it can be an issue as it just scorches a lot of growth - the stuff you want as well as the stuff you don't. Over application is the main reason for it happening though.
I'd get a hose on it and see if you can revive it a bit. Grass is tough and even dead looking bits will often revive after some moisture. If any areas don't come away, you can reseed them after scratching the surface up and putting a little fresh soil/compost down with the seed.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Oh dear, we did that once, the lawn recovered ok, just water it regularly and sow some seed in autumn.
Two months ago I applied 4 in I using a spreader. Large areas of the lawn were already taken over with moss and clover. As with many others, large areas of the lawn turned black and patchy which was quite alarming. On the advice of my local garden centre I raked out as much of the dead moss as possible ( which was back breaking! ) and then reseeded in a mix of top soil and light sand. However despite lots of sun and rain the new seed just hasn't taken some weeks later which I can't understand. I wonder if the soil needs to recover from the 4 in I before re-seeding is attempted ? I can't see any advice on the product regarding re-seeding . Any comments please ?
Grass seed does best when sown in April or September when moisture levels and temperatures are usually at their most favourable for good germination. Rake the bare areas to loosen the soil then scatter on some decent compost if you need to make things level then sow the grass seed on that.
The RHS offers this comprehensive advice on repairing damaged lawns, including re-sowing.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=438
Did you push a fork down a few cm deep all over the areas you tried to re-seed? If not, the seed is probably sitting in an unsuitable place, or has been eaten by birds. Also, how soon did you do this after the patches appeared? As already said, you need to wait a month or so before re-seeding. You also need to ensure the seed is kept moist at all times - the occasional rain shower isn't enough.
Last edited: 23 July 2016 13:50:55
my big mistake 3big bags aaaahhhh
If you used 3 big bags on that small lawn I think you may have to kiss goodbye to everything and start again. I only use about half a bag on our lawn which is roughly 100 feet by 20 feet.