Does grass spread on its own? If you are a new grass gardener worrying about what to do regarding the bare spots on the lawn, then this is one question you need to find out the answer to.
This article contains not only the answer to this question but also some cool tips you can try to speed up the spreading of grass on its own. Give it a thorough read, and let us know if you have any questions!
Does Grass Spread On Its Own?
Yes, grass has the ability to grow and spread on its own. Different varieties of grass have different methods and rates of spreading. Grass types that grow via stolons and rhizomes generally spread faster and fill in bare spots faster than grass types that grow in bunches.
– How Grass Generally Spreads
One way by which some types of grass spread is through tillers. Tillers grow at the parts where the roots and shoots meet each other. Grasses growing upwards through tillers spread more slowly than grasses with a lateral growth habit.
Stolons are stems that grow above the ground horizontally. It has several nodes along its length from where new plants grow. Grass types that grow by stolons, such as St. Augustine and Buffalo, spread much faster.
Some grasses spread through underground stems called rhizomes that also grow horizontally, just like stolons. Kentucky bluegrass is a popular grass that grows and covers over damaged patches by this method. There are a few grass varieties like Zoysia that utilize both stolons and rhizomes to grow and spread.
Lastly, some grass types utilize the most inefficient means of growth through multiple tillers from a single root. Such grass thickens in a particular area over time but takes a long time to grow laterally.
– Improve Soil to Spread Grass on Its Own
Grass grows and spreads healthily when grown in soil that fulfills all its needs. Before planting grass, you must conduct soil testing to see how best to improve it. Soil testing kits are available online at very reasonable prices.
Once tested, you can send the reports to over to be read by experts online. You can ask a local laboratory or nursery whether they carry out soil testing or not.
Soil testing will tell you which essential nutrients are missing in your lawn so you can add them separately.
You will also need to determine the soil’s pH and whether it needs to be changed. In case of too acidic soil, you must mix lime with the top few inches of the soil. In alkaline soil, adding organic matter to the lawn soil will help decrease the pH.
– Fertilize Grass Regularly
Fast grass growth primarily depends on whether the soil contains adequate nutrients to sustain it. Regular fertilizing is such an important aspect of fruitful lawn care.
Generally, it is recommended that you start feeding grass four to six weeks after seed germination. However, in the case of overseeding, starting with a quick starter fertilizer a couple of weeks after germination helps kickstart healthy root growth.
If you have established grass using sod, plugs, or sprigs, then wait at least six weeks before fertilizing. If you have conducted soil testing, you can use a fertilizer rich in nutrients your soil currently lacks.
Otherwise, it is best to go for a well-balanced or nitrogen-rich fertilizer. You must always double-dilute the fertilizer before using it on the grass. It is recommended to water your lawn before each feed to decrease any chance of chemical burns.
– Overseeding Helps With Spread
Overseeding is when seeds are sowed into a lawn where the grass grows. Each new grass seed grows to increase the thickness of the existing grass. All the spaces present previously between the older grass blades will be filled in by the newer blades.
Overseeding is probably one of the best methods to spread your lawngrass. The best time to overseed for cool-season grasses is during fall and springtime. As for the warn-season grasses, the ideal time to overseed them is late spring.
It is also possible to overseed the lawn with seeds of a variety other than the grass already planted there. This way, one grass helps to overcome the deficiencies of the other grass. Just take care that the two grass types overseeded are compatible with each other.
– Carry Out Regular Weed Control
Keeping the weeds out is important if you want your grass to spread and thicken. Weeds compete with grass for everything, including nutrients, shade, and water. They will also eat most of the nutrients you try to give the grass through fertilizers.
If your lawn has already been well established with grass, then a pre-emergent herbicide should be applied. This type of herbicide works best when applied before the appearance of weeds in early spring. Go for a non-selective formula; otherwise, it will kill the grass.
If weeds have already begun sprouting up, a post-emergent herbicide must be applied to the lawn. When the weeds dry out a few days later, you must also pull them out by hand. Invest some money in the best-quality herbicide that you can find.
– Frequent Mowing Helps With Grass Spread
If you want your grass to spread on its own, mowing must be an integral part of your lawn care routine. First, you need to educate yourself on the ideal blade height for the grass growing on the lawn.
Mow only when the grass needs mowing, and don’t cut off more than one-third the height of grass blades in one go. This would put unnecessary stress on the grass. If it has been growing for a long time, cutting grass should be done in steps.
Don’t trim the grass with mower blades that are not sharp. Such a mower does not mow grass properly and gives your lawn a rough appearance.
– Water Your Lawn Properly
Grass spreads better over bare spots and beyond the lawn boundary when irrigated properly. When the seeds are germinating, watering frequently but with only a small amount of water several times a day will help the grass establish quickly.
Once the grass establishes itself, you need to establish a watering regime according to the particular needs of the grass type in question. Most grass types need about one inch of water every seven days to grow into a healthy lawn.
Because water is scarce, you better go for drought-tolerant seed mixtures. These specially made grass types will live without water for upto three weeks straight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find out some important questions that are being answered below regarding grasses.
– Will Grass Regrow On Its Own?
Grass will regrow on its own if it has undergone dormancy and not if it has died. Cold season grasses go dormant when the weather gets hot, and warm season grasses go dormant during winters.
They will turn uniformly brown for the entirety of their dormancy period. When the temperature again becomes conducive, they will turn green by themselves and start to regrow.
If the grass has died, it will turn brown in patches that will easily uproot by hand. Once dead, the grass will not regrow on its own, and you will have to clear it off and then reseed or install sod.
– Is Grass Self-seeding?
Grass can seed itself if it is allowed to grow tall enough to produce stems and flowers. Most lawn grasses that are mowed frequently do not get to produce any flowers and so do not seed themselves.
A few grass varieties, however, produce seeds from side shoots and will seed themselves even when mowed to a short height.
– How Do You Keep Grass From Spreading?
Plant a grass type that does not have the potential to spread, such as bunch grass. Use a non-specific post-emergent herbicide on the edges of the grass to keep it from spreading out of a designated boundary.
After the grass blades die from herbicide use, you should also pull the roots from the soil. If long grass blades are cut more than one-third of their height in one go, this also kills grass. You can kill the grass by this method in an area where you don’t want it to grow.
It would probably be better to preemptively stop the spread of grass in a particular area. Set a boundary beyond which you do not want your grass to grow. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide outside this boundary before the growth season of that grass begins.
Conclusion
You have now made it to the end of this guide about spreading lawn grass by itself, and it is now time for recapitulation.
- Except for the scutch and bunch type of grass, all other grass types have the potential to spread by themselves.
- Grass types that grow using stolons and rhizomes naturally spread faster than other grass varieties.
- It would help your grass to grow and spread more if its soil is well prepared and fertilized with nutrients.
- Some other things you can do to help your grass blades grow are to water, mow, and de-weed the lawn professionally.
Ultimately, we would like to conclude with the message that all grass types need regular care to keep it spreading on their own. Use the care tips in this guide to help grow your grass as carpet thick as possible.
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