I over fertilized my lawn and it looks dead?

Question

It looks wilted. I planted new seed 4 weeks prior and it was growing tremendously to the point where I had to cut it 2 times in eight days.

Answer 1

Did you use the weed/feed type of fertilizer that is really high in nitrogen? I did it with my lawn, and caused a lot of dead spots.

Use a normal grass fertilizer, and as long as the grass gets enough water, and is not cut very low, it should look good.

You should cut your lawn no more than once a week, and no shorter than 7cm to have a healthy lawn.

Answer 2

Yellow blades of grass are NOT a result of irrigating in the morning, day OR night!   I am curious to know what type of fertilizer you used.  Hopefully, it didn't contain any other chemicals like 2,4d.  Precautionary Use statements would say that you shouldn't apply chemicals to your lawn until 6-8 weeks after seeding.  

The other cause could be from fertilizing the lawn but then not watering it in well enough.  I'm sure your lawn will come back from any ill-effects.  

Question: if your lawn is growing SOO fast, why did you fertilize it?  and in the middle of July?  

(you could justify it if the lawn was loosing it's dark green color, but the old adage applies:  if it's not broke, don't fix it)

Fertility inputs should be considered by aesthetics and not a calendar date.

Answer 3

leave it alone~ no more fertilizer

Answer 4

lots of water!!!

Answer 5

Why did you fertilize??  Did you think it was growing too fast so you wanted to make it grow faster?  

There's a good chance you killed it, but try watering well hoping the nitrogen will get leached out before it does any more damage.  Fertilizers are salts and the wilting you are seeing is salt damage killing the roots.  Most, but not all, can be washed out with intense irrigation.  

Of course it would help to know what your used as it if it will leach out and also if there were any secondary chemicals in there.

Cool season lawns like bluegrass, ryes and fescues should not be fertilized in the summer's heat.  They want their fertilizer in cooler seasons.  Bermudagrass and the like need summer fertilizing.

Cutting every four days is normal for a well growing lawn.  

Remember, plants make their own food. You don't need to "feed" them often.  They gather mineral nutrients from the soil to make their food; carbohydrates which in turn are turned into plant parts and plant chemicals.  Fertilizing is only supplementing what the soil gives the plants naturally.

Answer 6

Water once in morning, now that your lawn is established. Bright yellow blades= overwatering, or watering after dark. Please don't fertilize just after mowing~ wait 3 days after, apply and water it in the morning hours. Fertilizer will burn fresh cut blades of grass~ Please make sure to sharpen your mower blade once a year, as a dull blade will tear the grass, not cut it~

Answer 7

Well the only chance you have is to water it very very heavily and keep watering to wash the nitrogen out.  If you don't wash all the fertilizer out then it will just burn your lawn and it will die.  It may be too late already.  From now on when you start fertilizing the lawn dilute dilute dilute.  As long as you gradually up the dose of fertilizer to lawns you can eventually use that much fertilizer without it hurting it.