Causes And Fixes For Yellow Grass

There’s nothing worse than a lovely green lawn that is spoilt by patches of yellow grass. Continue reading to find out the common causes on why your lawn turns yellow and how to cure it.

Causes and fixes for yellow grass

If the tips of your grass have turned yellow, but the rest of the grass blade is green, then there is probably a quick and easy solution. All you may need to do is replace the blade on your lawn mower. If the blade on your lawn mower is dull or blunt, it may be tearing the grass and fraying the edges. This dries out the tips of the grass, which causes it to turn yellow. 

If the entire grass blade is yellow – then there may be a number of other reasons for this.

1. The lawn could be lacking the required nutrients specifically iron or nitrogen.

To remedy this you can add a fertiliser to your lawn that is rich in these vital components and it should regain its colour in a few days. Remember to always follow the instructions on the packet. Too much nitrogen will also turn the grass yellow. This is the reason why dog urine damages your lawn too. If you have a dog you should encourage them to use areas of the garden that do not have grass and that you do not mind them using.

2. Spilt petrol can also turn your lawn yellow

If you use a petrol lawn mower then you should fill it up, off the grass. If you do spill petrol on the lawn, then it is advisable to clean the spillage up as quickly as possible and flood the area with water to dilute the fuel. Then add an absorbent product to collect the fuel, and dispose of this as instructed. You may need to dig this area of the lawn up and reseed in order to get a green lawn once again.

3.Prolonged periods of heat may cause the grass to dry out & lose it's colour

This could happen in only a couple of days depending on your grass. This could be a sign that your lawns root structure is quite shallow. To get the colour back into your lawn, you could water your lawn, however to tackle the cause of the problem and reduce the likelihood of it happening again you will need to encourage your grass to root deeply. To do this, water thoroughly and less frequently. By watering frequently but adding little water, the roots never grow downwards looking for additional water, therefore are susceptible to drying out during hot conditions.

4. If you cut the grass too short then it may turn yellow

The grass ends up not having enough moisture, therefore turning yellow, and you will often be able to recognise this as it will happen soon after cutting the lawn. Allow your grass to grow longer and provide it with sufficient water to grow. Next time you cut your lawn, raise the cutting height of your lawn mower. If you seem to get patches of yellow or brown grass after cutting, it may be because you are cutting the lawn too short (also called scalping) in these areas. This is normally caused by the lawn being uneven. To prevent this you can increase the cutting height of your lawn mower when cutting these areas or consider flattening the lawn for a neater finish.

5. If the grass has turned yellow around children's play equipment

...swings or other areas of the garden that gets a lot of use, it’s probably caused by soil compaction. This is where the soil particles have become too close to allow oxygen and water to circulate, which is essential for healthy grass growth. To relieve compaction you need to aerate your lawn. This can be done using an aerator or by plunging a garden fork into the ground in regular intervals.