The lawn gets striping of different colorization from harmful fertilizing effects. It is a common phenomenon. How to fix lawn striping from fertilizer? Improper fertilization is mainly responsible for this issue. And you can fix it with a few steps.
Fertilizing is one of the essential parts of lawn maintenance. If you fertilize the lawn at the wrong time, wrong pattern, and the wrong quantity, it will badly affect your lawn.
Here, you will let you know the reason for this problem, how to prevent it, and the fixing steps for it.
How to Fix Lawn Striping from Fertilizer- A to Z Guide
Fertilization may seem an easy job, but there are some facts and points that must be maintained. If not, then specific problems arise, and the striping problem is one of them.
Some common mistakes in fertilization are responsible for the striping of grasses.
Symptom
The natural color of the grass is fresh dark green. When fertilizer is not evenly spread all over the lawn, discoloration appears.
This color change occurs as a stripe as the fertilization gets missed in a line. So, the lawn looks like having some strips of light green grass. These light green-colored grasses had less or no fertilizers.
Reason
Obviously, the uneven lawn fertilizer application is the main reason for the striping in the lawn.
Most fertilizer spreaders, including drop spreaders and broadcast spreaders, have an edge that is the point to hit the yard with fertilizer.
You have to align the spreaders; the edges are gapped or overlapped—the gap between the fertilizing lines or the overlapping causes over-application or uneven application of fertilizers. Thus, the striping of dark and light green grasses creates lines.
Fixing Steps
The most effective solution to the striping problem is the re-fertilization in a different pattern which can be perpendicular or crosswise to the original stripes.
You can overlap the broadcasting pattern to fall this pattern into the footsteps of the last strip.
If you are going to use granular fertilizer, you must use the broadcasting spreader as the drop spreader can be the reason for uneven fertilization again.
Whether the liquid fertilizer or the dry one you use, follow the steps below and apply the fertilizer correctly.
Step 1: At first, measure your lawn and determine how many square feet it is. Then find out how much fertilizer you have to purchase. If you do not know how to measure the amount of fertilizer per square feet, you can use the online tool. Many practical tools can help you to measure the quantity of fertilizer for your lawn.
Step 2: Now find out and note how many square feet can be fertilized by one bag of fertilizer. This is easy to find as you will get this idea from the packaging of the fertilizer. During fertilization, you have to maintain this measurement carefully.
Step 3: Now, set the spreader type depending on the fertilizer type. Some fertilize packaging provides instruction about it. Take enough fertilizer in your spreader so that it does not run out in the middle of the lawn.
Step 4: Apply fertilizer, maintaining a pattern. The crosswise pattern is the most effective pattern to act as the solution to fertilizer stripes in lawn. To make this pattern, you have to cross over the same place of the yard several times. It can cause excess fertilizer application.
So, take half of the total fertilizer first and apply it by crossing the lawn vertically. Now take the next half of the fertilizer and use it to cross the yard horizontally. It will reduce the chance of over-application, and fertilizer will cover the lawn from all angles.
Another fertilizer application process is to apply the fertilizer in rows. Run the spreader back and forth during application and make sure to overlap the application lines a bit. You should not overlap more as it can increase the chance of over-fertilizer application. Try not to make any gap between rows that can make missing fertilizer applied lines.
As fixing for the fertilizer striping, the crosswise application works better. After re-fertilizing, it takes three to four months to get the result and disappear the stripes.
Tips to Prevent Fertilizer Striping
Always remember these tips to avoid further stripping on lawn from fertilizers.
- The quantity of fertilizer should be precisely the requirement. Excess or low fertilizer can be harmful. Too much fertilizer can harm the grasses with its chemicals and excess salts.
- There are some general fertilizers to use all over the year. Try to avoid them because the same fertilizer can lack the luster results. This can be a hindrance to proper nutrition for the lawn grasses. So, seasonal fertilizer is more recommended. This will help in getting adequate nutrition and adoption to changing weather.
- Fertilizers with excess salts and chemicals can harm lawn grasses even if applied in the correct quantity. So, checking the ingredients of the fertilizer is a good practice.
- Do not let the lawn dry for long. Dry grasses can turn into striping.
A Helpful Tutorial You May Need!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why does my lawn stripe after fertilizing?
When the fertilizer is not applied evenly, the stripes occur naturally after fertilization. It appears mostly when you use the fertilizer in rows. There is the chance to have lines with missing fertilizer. The grasses from these lines got low fertilizer, lost their natural dark green color, and became lighter. Then it looks like stripes of light-colored grasses.
How to repair my lawn from fertilizer?
Fertilizer striping is the most common issue of lawn. From the fertilizer striping, you have to re-fertilize the yard in a cross-over pattern. Another problem is with fertilizer burn, and people want to know how to fix fertilizer burn. You have to water the affected areas slowly. By keeping soaked with a minimal amount of water, the burnt grass will repair within a week.
How do I prevent stripes on my lawn after fertilizing?
If you want to prevent the striping problem after fertilizing, you can apply fertilizer in crosswise lines. But overapplication in angles is possible as you will cross the same area multiple times. That is why you have to use half of the fertilizer vertically and the other half horizontally. It will help in the prevention of stripe formation.
Will fertilizer burn grass if not water?
Yes, it is possible. There are excess salts in most of the fertilizer. If you keep the lawn dry after fertilizing, these excess salts can burn the grasses of the yard. The watering nourishes the lawn grasses by the fertilizer ingredients; it also flushes out the extra salt. So, watering after fertilizing is essential to reduce the risk of fertilizer burn.
Final Words
Lawn striping is a big reason to destroy the beauty of your lawn. Fertilizer striping is annoying. You cannot stop fertilizing your lawn as the yard must need proper nutrition at different stages. Mistakes in fertilization are common. So, you have to learn how to fix lawn striping from fertilizer.
Re-fertilization in the right way is the ultimate solution to this problem. Following the steps, you can remove stripes and get the same beauty of the lawn back within a few months. So, learn the process.
You Can Also Read:
- 7 Cheapest Way To Fertilize Large Lawn You Shouldn’t Miss!
- How to Remove Sand from Lawn: Let’s Know All the Ways
- How To Lower pH In Centipede Grass Lawn With 5 Easy Steps
- Surprising Benefits of Letting Grass Grow Long In Your Lawn
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Enamorado del mundo del golf, Jack obtuvo una licenciatura en Administración de Campos de Golf en THE Ohio State University. ¡Esta trayectoria profesional le permitió trabajar en algunos de los campos de golf de más alto perfil del país! Debido a la pandemia, Jack comenzó Inside The Yard como un ajetreo secundario que rápidamente se convirtió en su ajetreo principal. Desde que comenzó la empresa, Jack se mudó a una granja en el centro de Arkansas, donde él y su esposa crían ganado y dos niñas pequeñas.
