Yard recovery this fall
Given the very long and hot summer we have had, many lawns have areas of drought stress and/or dormant grass. Just like winter dormancy, summer dormancy involves a loss of green color.
The question is: What are appropriate strategies for water management when extended drying conditions arrive?
First, consider the health of the turf prior to the drought. Even irrigated turf grass growth will slow (possibly accompanied by some color loss) under extreme drought duress, but remember, most grasses are adapted to these types of conditions and they almost always survive. What condition was your lawn before moisture stress arrived? If you are fortunate enough to have great soil and overall good growing conditions that produce a reasonably healthy lawn, then a suitable management strategy is simply to keep off the lawn and wait for more rain and cooler temperatures. These yards can expect a quick rebound in greening when the heat and drought finally fades. Established turfgrasses are amazingly persistent under low moisture conditions and require less water to survive than trees and most other ornamental landscape plants. However, the Front Range of Colorado seldom provides for such ideal soil conditions. Because of this, the question for most homeowners is ‟what if my turf was already struggling or I have poor soil before the drought arrived? ”
For this situation, extra water during the drought is key to keeping the turf healthy enough to withstand the drought. Turf with a very weak root system and/or poor soil does not have the ability to withstand extreme moisture duress. The standard rule of thumb is to apply 1” of water per week which is suitable for most yards to maintain a level of health to be able to pull out of semi dormancy, but during extreme drying periods, even this amount of water is likely not enough. If yards didn’t get enough water over this long hot summer some areas may be slow to recover and others may need some spot seeding or sodding.
How do you know if the turf is going to recover?
Within a few days of steady cooler weather and/or rainfall, brush away the tops of the brown leaves and look deeper, past the brown/dormant tips. Recovery will be indicated by seeing two things:
- Emergence of green tissue at the base of brown leaves on the surface.
- New leaves emerging from the growing points of the plant.
Note: This can be done by lightly pulling the grass apart and looking for the new growth.
This leads into the most important question: What can you do for the rest of the summer to help your lawn?
First and foremost, keep mowing heights high (3+”) and stay off the turf as much as possible. Even foot traffic over a drought stressed area can badly damage grass trying to hang on. If you lose grass (and in this climate, that is always a possibility) be prepared for reestablishment this fall by reviewing and choosing a blend suited for your area and your yard. Do understand that if you want to seed or sod some spots, daily watering will be needed for three to four weeks. Just make sure you are able to do this required watering before putting forth the money, time, and effort for such a project.
We can help you recover your yard, click here to send us an estimate request, or call us at 303.232.0666.