[Bulldoggish]

I revived a lawn that was badly neglected and sees a lot of foot traffic year round -at a large apartment property.
It had a lot of bare spots and the irrigation needed attention. It's about 1,500 sf.
Anyway, after repairing the irrigation and setting the box on a schedule, I used topsoil,seeded,and ammonium phosphate.
I fenced the area off for about a month and a half too.
It came back really nice, but I notice a couple of the same spots coming back a month after taking the fence down...
It gets water for 15 min. at 7am and then again at 10pm.
I don't know what type of grass it is but I'm assuming it's not a durable one.
Also, it has no shade source and is in Cottonwood AZ where it's HOT.
Any suggestions on what to do or use on it? I want to do something now before it's too late.

 

[bob22]

Might try:
http://www.outsidepride.com/resources/states/arizona.html#Best
Tells you what grass type is best for areas of AZ with other useful information. Zoysia is very durable to traffic if you can wait for it to spread.

 

[Bulldoggish]

Bob22,
Thanx! that's a great link.....I wonder if I slowly seed/fertilize if one of these grasses will take root..? Appreciate your help.

 

[mike-g]

I have always been told that you shouldn't water too much during the night because that is what can lead to a disease infested yard/plants. I am not sure if it is any different in the Arizona area. I usually wanter in the morning and the afternoon.

 

[bob22]

My experience with dead spots is poor soil. Try improving the soil in the dead spots with an amendment (more organic matter) and reseeding etc...

 

[sippinjoes]

I had spots in my zoysia grass before and found that "hot spots" can be caused all sorts of things. I ended up treating the yard for grubs, raking up thatch, even dug up a cinder block (probably main culprit), and then plug aerating. The lawn ended up filling in and looking great.

 

[user1007]

So many possibilities for bare spots including fungus, insects, pet stains, tenants tossing beverages, drying out, fertilizer burn, etc.

Do try to water early in the day so the lawn is not damp overnight. Bugs and spores love damp overnight lawns.

Mow with the setting as high as make sense.

Test at least the Ph of the bare spots.

Fertizlize regularly with an appropriate feed. If you have used only ammonium phosphate so far you have provided only a nitrogen source.