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GLT's Grow: Dormant ... Or Just Dead?

Lucy Meskill
/
Flicker via Creative Commons
Looks dead. Isn't dead. This is grass dormancy.

When the heat is on and the rains are not, lawns can shut down. But does dormancy mean death for your grass?

  • A brown lawn does not necessarily mean a dead lawn. Deep in the summer heat, your grass can demonstrate its superpower: dormancy. When you grass detects a lack of water, it can protect itself by going dormant. Nobody likes stress and heat, and that includes your turf.
  • Lawns also go dormant in winter, but it's most alarming in the summer when we crave lush, green grass.
  • No need to fear the dormancy. Just let your lawn do its thing.
  • Cool season grasses need to have their season, so don't fight the dormancy. BUT you don't stop watering your lawn. Water enough to keep the turf alive, about 5 inches down.
  • Keep up the weeding.

GLT's Grow is your source for sage gardening advice and down-to-earth tips. Host Patrick Murphy and co-host Laura Kennedy are ready to take on all your gardening questions, so submit yours today.

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Reporter, content producer and former All Things Considered host, Laura Kennedy is a native of the Midwest who occasionally affects an English accent just for the heck of it. Related to two U.S. presidents, Kennedy appalled her family by going into show business.