Lawn grasses are often weakened and killed during the winter. Some spots never green-up in the spring. Winter kill can be due to disease, poor growing conditions, weather or improper care during the prior year. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell what killed the grass. All we can do is examine how we are growing the grass to see if we can improve our care.
Lawn grasses can be very sensitive to certain practices during green-up.
Zoysia and centipede are especially susceptible to poor care during this time. Herbicide treatments during green-up may damage centipede lawns that are weak. Things that weaken centipede lawns are over-fertilization, improper mowing height and improper watering. The proper mowing height for centipede is a half-inch to one inch. Consider delaying herbicide treatments on weak centipede until the grass is fully greened up.