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Many home lawn problems are due to correctable causes. Here are some of the more common lawn care problems that either directly influence turf quality or are an underlying factor contributing to other problems like weeds or disease.

Overfertilizing: Fertilizer application errors may directly injure the grass or contribute to disease and other lawn problems. Errors may include fertilizing too much, too often, excessively in spring, or excessively in the shade.

Overwatering: Applying too much water, especially to sodded lawns on clay and/or compacted soils, contributes to poor rooting and thatch accumulation, leading to other problems.

Wrong Grass for the Site: Grass selection needs to match criteria of the site, including environmental factors and site use. Examples of problems include Kentucky bluegrass sod (intended for full sun) planted in shade or fine fescues (poor wear tolerance) planted on a heavily used site.

Poorly Prepared Soils: The importance of thoroughly preparing the site prior to seeding or sodding cannot be overemphasized. Amend clay soils and core aerate existing lawns with problem soils underneath.

Mowing Too Short: Simply raising the mowing height can improve the quality of many lawns and reduce problems such as crabgrass. Target a 2-1/2 to 3-inch mowing height.

Too Much Shade for Quality Lawn: Lawn care in shade calls for some modification of practices. Picture-perfect lawns in shade are not realistic, and some sites simply have too much shade for grasses to grow acceptably. Consider groundcovers as alternatives.