Common Reasons Why Lawns Develop Brown Spots
Brown grass usually indicates that, in one way or another, the grass is not getting the water or nutrients that it needs to thrive.
Here is a list of the most common reason for brown patches in your lawn:
- Pests & Disease
- Forgotten Toys and Tools
Below Ill go over each common reason why your lawn is turning brown in spots, and share my best advice to address the underlying issues that have caused your ugly, brown-spotted lawn.
How To Get Grass Green
Here are some of the best tips you can find to get your grass green. Many of them come down to having the best lawn care rather than carrying out one watering now and again and thinking that is sufficient for a lawn, and it will stop brown patch in your grass.
- Keep your lawn well aerated you can also top-dress and incorporate some organic matter into your soil. The best times can be in fall when the weather begins to cool, and rain may arrive.
- Fertilize in the spring and the fall. Make sure not to use rights reserved fertilizer too often especially if you think, it will get rid of a brown patch or the brown spots dotted around your lawn.
- Avoid using fertilizer in dry conditions or if your grass is under stress.
- Be sure to water in the early morning. This can be one of the best ways to stop fungus in lawn, because the damp conditions that cause this come with watering too late in the day. Water deeply so it reaches the roots ready for the day ahead.
- When moving in the summer, raise your cutting height to around three inches or more on the best ride-on mowers. Once you have taller grass, it can help shade roots and stop water evaporation.
- Carry out a soil test to make sure your garden isnt lacking anything in the way of nutrients, or the pH levels are not too far in either direction.
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Why Is My Grass Dying In Patches
If your grass is dying in patches, its likely due to a combination of factors including poor drainage, insufficient light, and compaction. If you have clay soil, that can also be a factor. Here are some things you can do to improve the situation:
Aerate your lawn to improve drainage and reduce compaction. Apply a top dressing of compost or other organic matter to help improve the soil. Make sure your lawn is getting enough sunlight by trimming trees and shrubs as needed.
Water deeply and regularly during dry periods.
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Neave Can Get You Green Again
At Neave Lawn Care, were green grass experts. When we plant a lawn, we use three different types of seed. Each type of grass seed reacts differently to different stresses, so by planting three types, we give you a better chance of always having some green grass.
The only way to tell exactly why grass is brown is by taking a close look. Part of our comprehensive lawn care service is a complete lawn analysis, which allows us to better understand your propertys needs.
The best part? Its free!
If youre in the Hudson Valley, call us at 463-0592. If youre in Westchester County, call 271-7996 from Connecticut, dial 212-4800. Or, fill out our simple web form, and well contact you about setting up your free consultation.
The lawn analysis will include analyzing the health and condition of all outdoor plant life on your property. This will include the grass, soil, planters, shrubs, trees and any other organic plant life you wish to have examined. During the lawn analysis with Neave Lawn Care, youll also have the time to ask as many questions as youd like. Well answer them all.
Well use this time to offer some advice and solutions for you, and we can easily work these in to your lawn care service package.
Professional Lawn Services In Minnesota
Are you looking for a professional lawn service company in the Twin Cities area to help you feed and maintain a gorgeous green lawn all season long? Look no further than Green & Black!
We use superior mowing and fertilization practices to transform your commercial or personal propertys turf from blotchy to beautiful. Our experienced Green & Black lawn specialists have the state-of-the-art equipment and know-how to provide a personalized, full-service lawn renovation plan to nourish your soil, kill existing weeds and maintain irrigation systems to treat your grass from root to tip.
If youre ready to have the best-looking lawn on the street, dont hesitate to contact us online.
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Drought Stress & Dormancy
The grass may enter dormancy during extreme heat or drought dress, thus turning brown.
Many types of turf grasses enter a state of dormancy when the temperature is high, and there is a shortage of water. Theres nothing to worry about your grass will bounce back as the weather cools down and the rain starts falling again.
Warm-season grasses and some cool-season grasses go dormant in the winter. Some areas of your lawn may begin to turn brown before others if it is located in a transition zone and is composed of many different kinds of grass.
You will probably notice that your grass is beginning to wilt before it becomes brown if the problem is caused by heat stress or drought. Also, browning will often occur across the entire lawn rather than in isolated places.
How To Make Your Lawn Immune To Drought & Heat?
Increase the mowing height to 3 inches or more in the summer. The higher grass will provide shade for the roots and lessen water evaporation. Similarly, you must water your lawn sparingly yet deeply.
It will maintain your grass drought resistance and promote the development of deep roots. You may also need to adjust a sprinkler head to ensure that the sprinkler is reaching all areas of the lawn.
Drought: A Common Cause Of Brown Spots
It is customary for grass to turn brown when there is not enough moisture in the soil. If your lawn is turning brown in spots after a long stretch with high heat and little rain , drought is probably the cause.
Has your grass died?
Probably not. Usually grass that doesnt get enough water simply goes dormant to protect itself, and will green up again when watered regularly.
Solution
If this is your situation your grass will come right back to its lush green color after it has had a good watering.
You can always wait for temperatures to cool and rain to arrive, but if the brown spots in your lawn are bothering you, get an oscillating sprinkler water your lawn. Most turf-grass does best with about an inch of water per week.
Also, when watering your lawn, make sure that your sprinkler is reaching all the spots on your lawn. This may be another reason why you have dormant grass in hot weather.
You might believe you are being diligent in watering your grass, but have actually been missing spots that then become dormant.
This might be why you notice that your lawn is turning brown in spots due to drought.
When you water your lawn, try to do so early in the day so that your grass has a chance to absorb the water before the heat evaporates it.
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Can You Fertilize Grass When It Is Brown
Can You Use Fertilizer for Brown Grass? It may be tempting to use fertilizer to help revive dried-up grass, but actually, if your grass is brown because of heat sensitivity, being frozen or being unwatered or if it is stressed because of something else, like a pest or disease, then fertilizing will not help.
Making A Proper Diagnosis
At the end of the day, properly diagnosing the brown or dead spots in your lawn may be difficult without prior experience and training in lawn care. Even knowing some of the symptoms to look for, its important to note that many times one problem can easily mimic another. Plus, as mentioned, its quite common for a lawn to have more problem than oneoccurring simultaneously.
Thats why its incredibly beneficial to have a knowledgeable lawn care company in Allentown, Lansdale, or Collegeville, PA perform an evaluation of your lawn. They should be able to tell you exactly whats going on, and what can be done to fix itwhether its something to do on your own or with the help of a pro.
The last thing that you want to do is try to fix the problem and make it worse. If you really want to fix the brown or dead patches in your lawn, you need to make sure youre educated on whats really wrong.
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Ps: We Know This Sod Watering Stuff Is Confusing
Give your sod enough water, but not too much water. We can hear you banging your head against your irrigation controller way over here. Watering new sod is confusing. Thats why we give you really detailed instructions for watering new sod in our sod care guide. Really detailed instructions. Youll know what times to water, for how long, and even which of your irrigation heads to use for what amount of time.The instructions for watering new sod vary, depending on what type of grass, what time of year your sod is installed, and if it’s planted in sun or shade.Our instructions for new sod lawn care will answer all your questions.
What Type Of Grass Is Used In Golf Course Roughs
Tall fescue, a low-maintenance grass, has become a favorite grass type for golf course roughs. Kentucky bluegrass is also a popular grass for this area. Before choosing, gold courses will consider their climate whether theyre based in the Pacific Northwest or in warm climates like Florida coastal regions, theyll choose a grass thats known to thrive in that region.
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Grub Or Insect Damage
Grubs are notorious for eating grass roots, turning them brown as it dies. Unlike beneficial insects that can be found in grass, grubs are definitely a problem for your healthy lawn. Milky spore powder is an effective grub control measure. Your professional lawn care company may also recommend other problems to deal with your pest problem. Once you get rid of the pests, you can try to repair bare patches or brown spots. You may need to remove dead patches of grass and add grass seed to the areas or plant new sod.
Can Grass Recover From Brown Patch Disease
Your turf can recover from the brown patch, so theres good news there. The bad news? Its possible that you wont notice an improvement in look until the active growth season.
Brown Patch can grow over a period of several months. So, fungicides will be required if you want to get rid of the brown patch fast.
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Causes Of Brown Patch
Brown spots shouldnt ruin your chance at having the lawn you want. In order to identify whats at play on your turf and figure out the best plan of attack for treating any discolored areas on the lawn, you must first pinpoint what could be causing the issue. Take a look at the top three culprits behind brown spots below:
1. Turf Disease
There is a long list of turf diseases that can turn an otherwise green lawn off color. These diseases are caused by fungi that live in the thatch and soil, often activated by high moisture, humidity, or mowing the lawn when it is wet. Brown patch, dollar spot, leaf blight, and necrotic ring can all cause areas of the lawn to turn brown. Although these diseases may sound serious, the majority will disappear on their own with improved environmental conditions. In some cases, an application of fungicide may be required. If you arent sure if turf disease is affecting your lawn, its best to contact your Weed Man team for verification. We will provide you with a proper diagnosis and advise you on next steps.
2. Shade
3. Insect Damage
Too Much Fertilizer & Water
Overwatering and over-fertilizing both can result in the formation of brown spots on a lawn.
Many homeowners unintentionally cause brown spots on their lawns by providing too much fertilizer. For instance, fertilizers are an excellent way to ensure that your lawn receives all the necessary nutrients.
However, the plant will begin to turn brown if there is excessive fertilizer. In a similar vein, having an abundance of water can also be a challenge.
When sprinklers are left on for too long after daily watering, this can cause the soil to become too saturated. If you continue to overwater in this manner, the grass will die from suffocation, and its roots will not develop properly.
All in all, both of these things have the potential to induce a chemical burn or a change in pH in your soil, either of which will result in the death of the grass in the affected area.
How To Fix The Overfertilization & Overwatering Issue In Your Yard?
Depending on the weather, lawns should ideally receive 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water every week. Additionally, avoid overfeeding your grass by fertilizing more frequently than is advised, and avoid fertilizing on hot days.
You should particularly pay attention to how frequently you fertilize, what kind of fertilizer youre using, and how often you water in order to spot these problems.
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Too Much Fertilizer Water Or Both
Many homeowners inadvertently cause brown spots on their lawn by providing too much of a good thing. For example, fertilizers are great for providing your grass with the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium it needs to thrive, and watering your lawn is essential for maintaining health. However, too much fertilizer, too much water, or too much of both can actually cause browning.
Identifying these issues will really require that you pay attention to how often you fertilize, which fertilizer youre applying, and how often youre watering. Symptoms of these issues will look a lot like other problems, including large patches of browning or your entire yard slowly dying off.
How to Fix the Issue
To fix these issues, youll first want to ensure you get your lawn on a proper fertilization and watering schedule. Read the instructions on the fertilizer and make sure youre applying it accordingly. Some slow-release fertilizers should only be put down once per year, while others need reapplication every eight weeks or so. Additionally, you should aim to water your lawn deeply once every two weeks rather than do shallow waterings regularly. You can safely do a deep watering once a week if you live in a hot or dry climate.
Sporadic Brown Spots + Digging = Grubs
- Signs of grubs: In late summer or early fall, look for brown spots in your lawn that look dug up. You can easily pull back these sections of grass and find grubs. The digging is from birds and other animals looking for grubs.
- What time of year to treat for grubs:Apply grub treatment in summer to get rid of the next generation of adult grubs and their eggs.
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Can Brown Grass Become Green Again
Grass turning brown may become green again if you can fix the problem thats causing it to experience brown spots. Good lawn care such as proper watering, adequate fertilization, sharp mower blades, and soil aeration can help you green up your grass. Prevent your lawn from turning brown by watching for signs of pests and lawn diseases.
Why Is My Lawn Turning Brown And Dying
As the weather gets hotter and dryer, you may notice your lawn turning brown. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about! There are a few reasons why this happens:
1. The hot weather dries out the grass, causing it to turn brown. This is especially common if you live in an area with little rainfall. To help prevent this, make sure to water your lawn regularly .
2. The sun can also scorch the grass, causing it to turn brown. Again, this is more common in hot, sunny climates. To protect your lawn from the sun, try to mow early in the morning or late in the evening when the sun isnt as strong.
You can also apply a layer of mulch to help keep the ground moist and cool.
3. Another reason for browning grass is over-fertilization. When you fertilize your lawn, youre essentially giving it a shot of energy which can cause it to grow too quickly.
The new growth is then more susceptible to stress and disease both of which can cause the grass to turn brown and die back. So if you do fertilize your lawn, be sure to follow the directions on the package carefully!
4. Finally, some types of grass simply go dormant in hot weather meaning they stop growing and turn brown until cooler temperatures return in autumn.
If this is the case with your lawn, theres no need to worry it will green up again when fall arrives!
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Why Does My Lawn Turn Brown In The Summer
As summer starts to wind down and fall is right around the corner, you may have noticed that your once-green lawn suddenly looks brown and drab. Unfortunately, this is completely normal and most lawns suffer during the hot and humid summer months. From increased foot traffic to an increase in lawn diseases, the summer season can be extremely tough on grass. The experts at Tailor Made Lawns discuss the potential reasons your lawn could be brown, and how to repair it!
