If grass turns brown, it means there isn’t enough water or nutrients in the soil, or the grass has lost its ability to take them in. There’s no need to panic if you see your lawn turning brown. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between live and dead grass during the hot months of summer when grass generally becomes dormant. In order to determine if an organism is truly extinct or only dormant, knowing the difference between the two is essential. An expert grass mowing company lists down the difference between dead and dormant.
Without regular irrigation and fertilization, grass goes dormant. When temperatures climb above their ideal range, cool-season grasses become dormant to conserve water for use during dry periods. When the temperature drops too low in the winter, warm-season grass goes dormant. Dormancy is a defense mechanism, so an organism won’t perish if you leave it for too long.
Telling the Difference Between Death and Dormancy
Grass that has gone dormant frequently has an appearance not dissimilar to that of dead grass. A simple test performed in one’s own backyard can reliably differentiate between the two. Raise your hand and yank on some grass firmly. It doesn’t take much work to pull dead grass out of the ground. If grass resists being pulled up, it is probably only dormant. Another indicator is the recognition of green spaces as distinct from brown ones. There’s nothing you can do to get the grass to grow back.
Dying Grass and Its Causes
You can tell if your lawn is dead or just hibernating by the patterns of browning grass. The presence of numerous little brown patches or brown spots in a ring may be an indication of fading grass. A brown lawn, on the other hand, is a sign that the grass is dormant. Your lawn’s demise is an emergency that necessitates immediate attention to the root cause.
If you’re in the Knoxville, TN area and could use some help from a grass mowing company, give JV Lawn Care a ring. Get in touch with me at (865) 298-4695 immediately to arrange a consultation.