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Understanding the Impact of Heat on Your Lawn: The Difference Between Dormant and Dead Grass
As the summer heat blazes in Red Deer and Calgary, many residents are noticing their lawns turning yellow and assuming the worst – that their grass is dead. However, this is a common misconception. In most cases, the grass isn’t dead; it’s dormant. Understanding the difference between a dormant lawn and a dead one is crucial for proper lawn care. Let’s explore how heat affects your grass, the importance of watering, and the natural resilience of grass.
How Heat Affects Your Grass
Grass, like all plants, responds to environmental stressors. High temperatures and prolonged periods without rain can cause grass to enter a state of dormancy. This is a survival mechanism that allows the grass to conserve energy and water until conditions improve.
During dormancy, grass will turn yellow or brown, giving the appearance of being dead. However, this color change is a natural response to drought stress, and the grass will remain alive at its roots.
The Importance of Watering Your Lawn
Water is essential for maintaining a healthy lawn, especially during hot weather. Proper watering helps grass stay green and healthy by:
- Providing Essential Moisture: Grass needs water to perform photosynthesis, the process by which it creates energy from sunlight.
- Cooling the Grass: Watering your lawn can help cool the grass, reducing heat stress.
- Maintaining Soil Health: Regular watering helps maintain the moisture levels in the soil, which is essential for root health.
Check out our blog for watering tips, “Lawn Watering Guidelines: Tips and Signs of Over and Underwatering“.
What Happens If You Don’t Water Your Lawn?
If you don’t water your lawn during a heatwave, the grass will enter dormancy. While dormant grass is not dead, it does require some care to ensure it can recover once the heat subsides. Here’s what happens when grass goes dormant:
- Reduced Growth: Dormant grass will stop growing, focusing its energy on survival rather than expansion.
- Color Change: The grass will turn yellow or brown as it conserves water and nutrients.
- Root Preservation: While the visible part of the grass appears dead, the roots remain alive and ready to regrow once conditions improve.
The Resilience of Grass
Grass is incredibly resilient and can recover from dormancy with proper care. Here’s what you can do to help your lawn bounce back:
- Water Deeply and Infrequently: When watering, ensure you water deeply to encourage deep root growth. Watering infrequently but thoroughly is more effective than shallow, frequent watering.
- Reduce Foot Traffic: Minimize foot traffic on dormant grass to prevent damage.
- Fertilize Appropriately: Once the weather cools down, apply a balanced fertilizer to support recovery and growth.
Recognizing Dormant vs Dead Grass
While dormant grass will recover, dead grass will not. Here are signs to identify if your grass is dormant or dead:
- Dormant Grass:
- Turns brown uniformly.
- Grass blades are dry but not brittle.
- Roots remain alive and will revive with water and cooler temperatures.
- Dead Grass:
- Roots: Roots are dry and decayed.
- Irregular Patches: May have irregular patches of green and brown.
- No Green at the Base: Check the base of the grass blades. If there’s no green at all, the grass may be dead.
- Brittle and Breaks Easily: Dead grass is usually brittle and breaks easily when handled.
- No Response to Watering: If the grass doesn’t show any signs of green or growth after consistent watering, it may be dead.
In conclusion, while the intense heat in Red Deer and Calgary may cause your lawn to appear dead, it’s likely just dormant. Understanding the signs of dormancy and taking appropriate steps to care for your lawn will ensure it recovers and thrives once the weather cools down. Remember, grass is a resilient plant, and with the right care, your lawn will be green and lush again in no time.
The best thing you can do right now is water your lawn. It is more likely your lawn is dry rather than dead.
If you have any questions or concerns about your lawn, please feel free to contact our team of lawn care professionals in Calgary or Red Deer and they’d be happy to help answer any questions that you may have.
Sources:
For more detailed information on lawn care during extreme heat, consider visiting the following sources:
- University of Minnesota Extension, Recover, restore and maintain your lawn after drought
- University of Minnesota Extension, Mid-summer lawn care
- Utah State University, Is Your Lawn Dead or Dormant
- Penn State Extension, Lawn Management through the Seasons
- The Lawn Institute
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