Get matched with top lawn irrigation specialists in Black Rock, NM

First, you should figure out whether you have dormant or dead grass. Dead grass won’t come back, so you’ll have to reseed if you’re hoping for a lush lawn. However, grass can go dormant if it hasn’t received enough water or if temperatures are too cold. If it’s still decently warm outside, you can revive dormant grass by watering it. But if it’s mid-January in New England, for example, you’ll need to wait until the weather warms up again. If you want to keep grass green in winter, consider a grass like Kentucky bluegrass, which maintains its color year-round.

Even the most shade-tolerant turf grass needs at least three or four hours of full sunlight or a good amount of partial sunlight throughout the day. You might want to look at other gardening options for full shade, like plants that can survive in full shade, hardscaping, or structural architecture, to still get that yard of your dreams without compromising on your landscaping design. 

You may need to lay sod on the areas you dug up once you get the okay from the contractor. It will take about 30 to 45 days for the sod to take root. Consult a local sod installer to get an accurate estimate of the timeline of your specific yard-enhancement project.

You can reseed a lawn that has dead grass, but it is best to remove the dead patches before you begin. Removing the dead turf and testing the soil will help you determine what is killing the grass so you can make the necessary amendments to prevent the problem from recurring. Once you have made the appropriate adjustments, you can rake, fertilize, and reseed. If your lawn has many large dead patches, it may be more effective to remove all the existing grass, amend the soil, and start over from scratch.