In Miami County, alone, we haven’t had measurable rain since July 24. Lawns are not only dry, but brown…even some of those with irrigation resources. The problem is, that it’s been dry for so long that it would hard to catch up with irrigation unless you have a pretty good proprietary well.
So a number of people are asking…”My lawn looks dead. And I just spent $2,500 to put it in last year? Is it going to come back from this, or have I lost the money I spent.”
There’s an old saying about questions, and that is there’s never a crazy question if you simply don’t know. And here are the facts about what you might not know about your brown lawn.
And the first fact is…that come October and November it will rain. Moreover, it’s going to turn cooler during the day, and especially during the nights. And when that happens most lawns with bluegrass and turf-type fescue blends will gradually come back from dormancy. Turf grass has a rhizome, or network, root system, and instead of dying it just lies there underground in a dormant state during short-term drought conditions. And that’s what we have now. But when the moisture does come back those roots are going to wake up and all will be fine.
In the meantime, no amount of feeding is going to help. There’s nothing to spray, because weeds are suffering at this point as much as the grass is. So just be patient, and remember this.
When the rains do come, it’s still a good idea to give your lawn a good feeding and fall aeration as the ground softens, even into December and January…any time until freezing weather sets in. That aeration allows for more moisture and oxygen to get to the roots sooner, and creates space for root expansion come spring. The nitrogen will turn to sugars which will help feed the roots and make them react quicker come March and April.
These are the facts about dry weather lawns, because…they’ve happened before, and they’ll happen again. Thankfully, someone noticed in the past and made some notes. We call it experience, and call Ever-Green for a free inspection if you need some additional confidence.
