A restoration allows you to improve your lawn without removing the existing turf. While restoring your lawn is not nearly as labor intensive as removing all of your turf and starting over, it will still require several weekends of work.
In most parts of North America, the best time to begin restoration is late summer or in fall, although adjusting pH and dethatching can be done in the spring to prepare for an autumn restoration. You will see some improvement in a restored lawn during the season in which you begin, but you will need two or three growing seasons to see dramatic change.
If your lawn suffers from acute soil compaction, rampant weeds, heavy thatch, or nutrient and organic matter deficiencies, you may have to remove your existing turf and replant your lawn. That’s a big job, but, like a new roof, your new lawn will last a long time. There are four ways to replant a lawn: by applying seed, planting sprigs, planting plugs, or laying sod.
Seeds are applied to soil from which all the turf has been removed.
Sprigs are typically planted by machine over large areas; in small areas, they can be planted by hand. Sprigs consist of cut-up lengths of underground or aboveground runners, called rhizomes or stolons, on which there are typically two to four joints, or nodes, from which the new grass blades emerge. Sprigs can be broadcast and then pressed into the soil or planted in shallow furrows.
Plugs—round or square pieces of sod that measure about 2 inches across—are planted in holes evenly spaced throughout the site. After several months, the grass plants from the plugs spread and fill in the gaps.
Sod is available in carpetlike sheets that are usually about 3/4 inch thick, 1 1/2 feet wide, and about 6 feet long. Pieces should be laid perpendicular to a slope in a staggered pattern, as you would lay bricks.
If you need to replant, choosing the right grass for your yard can make the difference between having a low-maintenance, environmentally friendly lawn and one that is susceptible to disease, pests, and weed invasion, and that requires a lot of upkeep. The type of seed, sprigs, plugs, or sod you choose for either a new or restored lawn should depend on several factors.
1) What do you want your lawn to look like? Grasses vary in color, leaf width, habit (characteristic appearance), and density of growth.
2) How much time and money are you realistically willing to spend tending your lawn? Higher maintenance grasses mean a higher cost and time commitment.
3) Your seed choice will be affected by your site's growing conditions—the amount of sun and shade your site gets, the soil type and its level of fertility and dryness or wetness, and your climate.
4) Consider how your lawn will be used—for decorative landscaping, for erosion control, as a play area.
After considering these issues, read the other pertinent articles in the Lawns & Ground Covers section to learn more about variations in different grasses’ growth and appearance.
