How to revive a dying or dormant lawn
Brown grass is a sign of insufficient nutrition. Photos | unsplash.com.
What you need to know:
- If you pull the grass and it comes out easily with its roots, it is most likely the grass is dead and cannot be revived. But if it stays firm, then you still have a chance to save it.
As the heat continues its onslaught, many homeowners are looking at their once luscious green lawns turn brown or completely die. Micheal Juuko, a landscape designer cautions against adapting any solutions, before establishing whether your grass in dormant or totally dead.
“One of the easiest tests to see if your grass is dead is by pulling a handful of the brown blades. When you pull the edges and the grass comes out easily including the grassroots, the grass is most likely dead and can no longer be revived but the dormant grass normally remains in the soil,” Juuko says.
He adds that if the blades stay firm in place or require extra effort to pull from the ground, it means that the grass is not dead but is simply dormant grass. Dormant grass can still be revived to give you a healthy lawn. If your grass is dead Juuko recommends removing it all and planting new grass.
There are different ways to revive dead grass, depending on the cause.
Water properly
Juuko says if you have realised that your grass has turned brown, especially during the drought season it means there is limited water in the soil and it therefore, needs regular irrigation/ watering.
“When your grass starts turning brown, it means it is not receiving enough nutrients from the soil. You can revive it by giving it about an inch of water a week using a lawn sprinkler or manual watering can,” he says
When you water, make sure you reach every spot of your lawn to avoid those dead patches.
“To avoid lawn disease and water wastage, it is important to water early in the morning before the sun’s heat dries off the water,” he says.
Restore your soil’s pH balance
Juuko says sometimes the grass turns brown due to an imbalance of the acidity or alkalinity in the soil, leading to an iron deficiency condition known as iron chlorosis.
A green lawn is every homeowner’s pride and can cause anxiety when it starts dying.
“This condition can lead to yellowing of grasses and in severe cases can lead to brown grass. Therefore, check soil pH level using a soil testing kit. If the soil test shows a pH level above seven it means that the soil is acidic. To revive dead grass, apply sulfur to your whole lawn,” he advises.
As a rule of thumb, when applying sulfur, the higher the pH level of the soil and the more clay soil it has, the more sulfur you need to apply to control the acidity. If you are buying sulfur from your local garden store, they can also advise you on how much to apply to your lawn.
Reduce foot traffic
Juuko says if your grass is not affected by drought, then foot traffic can be the problem. Frequently stepping on the grass could cause dormant grass to eventually die.
“Walking on the already dying grass can damage the root systems and impose unnecessary stress on the grass. Usually foot traffic leaves marks where people always pass,” he says.
Place warning signs stopping people from stepping on the grass, if not you put boundaries which are not easy to access so that you save the grass.
Manage the fertiliser burn
If you recently applied fertiliser on your lawn, the excess salt from the fertiliser could burn the grass, leading to brown patches. Monitor your lawn frequently to make sure that there is no negative reaction on your grass after applying your fertilisers.
“Too much fertisers normally cause a condition called fertiliser burn and this happens when the brown spots appear about two days after application,” he says.
If you notice such a change in appearance in your lawn, water the grass until the ground is fully soaked to leach the excess fertiliser out of the grassroots. Regular watering is also required for the next seven days to flush out any remaining fertiliser from the roots.
Remove weeds
Juuko says weeds are also a problem to lawns and can weaken the grass if they are not removed as early as possible. When your grass is coming out of its dormant state, it is also the best time to remove unwanted vegetation and weeds.
“Any additional and unwanted vegetation in your lawn can tap water and vital nutrients that would otherwise go to the grass. The easiest way to remove weeds is often is by manually digging up weeds,” he says.
