Is your lawn looking like one of the images below?
You’re not alone!
There’s no doubt that we’ve had a hot summer with lots of sunshine and fun! All that summer sunshine has created drought stressed lawns for many of our customers, and our Lawn Technicians are seeing the after effects firsthand out in the field. We are receiving many calls from customers whose lawns became dried out and stressed during the Summer drought we experienced in July. After the recent rainfall, the lawns are beginning to green up and come back to life again! The problem? Many customers are seeing brown spots mixed in with their newly greening lawn and it’s causing them to PANIC!
Am I going to have to re-seed my lawn?
The answer to all of these questions is definitely NO! There are several different reasons you may be seeings these conditions in your lawn right now, and none of them have anything to do with your lawn dying off from the drought, or from Lawn Technicians fertilizing during these times. MSU Extension has a great article going into detail about why you might be seeing these unsightly brown spots: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/is-my-lawn-dead.
Dormant Lawns During Extreme Heat
Lawns have a way of protecting themselves by going dormant during extreme heat. It’s a survival trait that is completely normal and expected during times like this. When things start to green up, other areas in the lawn may be slower to recover due a variety of different reasons. Your lawn is not dead, it’s just taking its time coming back to life!
Causes of Slow Drought Recovery
- Different grasses respond differently to the drought. Many times there are mixed strands of grass in a lawn and each type may recover from going dormant at a different rate.
- Insect damage and other diseases go undetected during dormancy. Because the lawn has gone brown during dormancy, other problems that also cause brown spots in your lawn are being disguised by the surround drought stresses turf. Insect damage, dolor spot, and more are common causes that can create the brown spots that you are seeing.
- Foot traffic damage can also cause problems on drought stressed lawns. If there has been a lot of activity on your turf during a time when it has gone dormant, you may be seeing signs of that as well after your lawn starts to come back to life.
The Bottom Line: Don’t PANIC!
If you are seeing brown spots or slowly recovering lawns after drought, there is hope! Our Lawn Technicians are always monitoring this for you and can provide solutions if necessary. As always, be sure to COMMUNICATE any concerns you have with us. To learn more about our Lawn Care Program, click here!
Our Technical Support Team is available to answer questions at (800) 570-3313.
