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A brown lawn can cause alarm bells to ring for any avid gardener, but it doesn’t need to cause panic – just because your lawn has gone brown it doesn’t mean that it is dead, in fact at this time of year it’s relatively common for your lawn to turn dormant (stop growing). But how do you know if your grass is dormant or dead?
Here Carlos Real, Lawn Care Expert and Managing Director of TotalLawn, reveals what to look out for, and how to revive your lawn.
If your grass is brown it’s a tell-tale sign that it’s not getting enough nutrients and water from the soil, but before you can solve the problem you must first address the issue. If the grass Is dormant, it can be salvageable, however, if your grass is dead then you have a bigger problem on your hands.”
When your grass is dormant, it’s very similar to when animals hibernate. Often, when the weather is too cold (or too hot), the grass plant will stop growing in order to protect itself – this is called dormancy. Although the grass plant is brown, there is still a part of the plant that is alive, it just means that it will need a little extra care to get back to being the luscious lawn you remember.”
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Carlos Real, lawn care expert reveals what to look out for, and how to revive your lawn (Image: GETTY)
As both dormant grass and dead grass is brown and appears lifeless, it can be difficult to tell the difference between dead and dormant grass. Dormant grass is usually all the same colour, whereas a patchy lawn is usually the biggest clue that parts of your grass have died.
“If your lawn is pink, white, black, or red, feels spongy to walk on, and sunshine makes matters worse, your lawn is dead. Another tell-tale sign that your lawn is dead is if you can easily pull up chunks of lawn, and a good soaking isn’t helping it to grow.”
Why has my grass died?
“There are plenty of factors that contribute to your lawn dying. The most common reasons are: too much fertiliser, not enough water, thatch, lawn diseases and drought. It’s important to investigate why your lawn has died in order to find the right solution.”
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If your grass is brown it’s a tell-tale sign that it’s not getting enough nutrients (Image: GETTY)
What do I need to do?
“To revive dormant grass, give it a good soaking, reseed any areas that aren’t growing, and limit foot traffic by keeping kids and pets off the lawn. It’s also best to avoid mowing for a short while, as any added stress could be the final straw.
If your grass is dead then the process will take much longer. However, if you follow these simple steps then you will have a luscious lawn in no time:
Remove any existing grass, weeds, or moss, from the area you plan to grow your lawn.
Create a 15 to 25cm base of good quality, free-draining topsoil. Use a rake to remove any clumps, creating a smooth, level finish. Apply a low-nitrogen, pre-seed fertiliser directly to the soil before seeding
Lawn care calendar: How and when to look after your lawn (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)
Sow the seeds – you want to scatter them as evenly as possible; we’d recommend 50 grams per metre squared for a new lawn. For small areas, you can distribute by hand, but for larger areas you’ll need a spreader. Try keeping your grass seeds around half an inch apart.
Water the seeds and keep them moist for the next two to three weeks. Once you’ve watered your seeds, cover them with a net or a layer of fresh soil to protect them from birds and other insects.
How can I prevent these problems in the future?
Lawn care is a job all-year round. To prevent your lawn from dying, then you will need to make sure you are looking after it, consistently, throughout the whole year.
This includes mowing, watering, feeding with the right fertiliser, aerating and scarifying. The more you care for your lawn, the more you will get in return.
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