Is my Grass Dead or Dormant?
If the grass is dead
- This quite often happens quite quickly over days rather than weeks
- Dead grass occurs primarily from chemicals or disease
- Dead grass occasionally occurs due to extended periods of heat and drought which means that dormant grass then becomes dead grass
If the grass is dormant:
- In the UK this will occur during periods of heat and/or drought only
- The severity across the lawn will increase with sunny areas being the brownest whilst shady or damp areas will retain green for longer
The Tug and Water Test
If the grass is dead the roots will have died as well, so if you tug on a handful of grass it should come away from lawn without too much of a problem. This doesn’t always work on lawns that have just died because the roots are still intact.
The water test consists of watering one spot every other day for 8 days. Runoff may occur to begin with so try and increase the watering so that on the fourth watering the sprinkler runs for a good hour. After a further week if the lawn is dormant it’ll be greening up nicely. If it’s dead, it’ll stay dead unfortunately.
My Lawn Often goes Dormant before my Neighbours
Old lawns will suffer the worst due to compaction which limits the amount of water the soil can hold.
New lawns may also suffer in the first year until the roots get to a good depth. New lawns can easily die in these circumstances.
How do I bring my Lawn back to Life?
Well, if it’s dead you don’t! If the cause is chemical or disease just renovate that area. However, if death is as a result of extended drought, then consider this an indication that the problem lies with the soil (more than likely compaction and age) and it would be advisable to create a new lawn from scratch.
If the lawn is dormant and has passed the tug test and maybe even the water test then all it needs is program of watering to really get it back to its former glory as quickly and completely as possible. This is not as straight forward as just turning the sprinkler on so please keep reading the next two pages.
Help for a Dry Lawn
More Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & Problems
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![Leaves on the Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsLeaf fall can kill grass, cause lawn diseases, increase moss and worm casts. Clear the leaves frequently before they harm your lawn
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![Using Winter & Iron Lawn Fertilisers]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsWinter lawns can look pretty awful but don’t need to be. With a little knowledge and planning you can have a fantastic lawn all year round.
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![Frost, Freezing and Snow]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsDuring winter take care in frost conditions or when snow is heavy as you can damage the grass and cause a snow mould attack
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![Winter Grass & Lawn Poblems]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsPrevention is better than cure but if your winter lawn care falls short then here are the ways to improve a poorly winter lawn
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![Winter Lawn Damage]()
During winter several things can go wrong with your lawn from grass thinning a little, complete loss of grass in some areas to an invasion of moss and strange coloured patches in the lawn.
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![Early Spring Lawn Care Treatments]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsSpring is a busy time for lawns and gardens as plants and grass start growing. We’ll cover everything that is needed starting with early spring.
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![Spring Lawn Repair]()
After a dismal winter your lawn can be in a terrible state. Help is at hand here!
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![May 2019 Lawn Diary]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsBy end of April and into May the lawn should be growing well so you can complete your lawn care and grass maintenance plans for the spring ready for the summer.
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![Flooded Lawns]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsHow to repair your lawn if it gets flooded or just becomes water logged from excessive rainfall
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![How to Stop my Lawn Drying Out]()
If your lawn dries and the grass turns brown in summer then improving lawn care and using a wetting agent can reduce the severity or stop it completely.
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![Improving Drought Tolerance in Lawns]()
With the right preparation you can affect how long your lawn stays green during dry conditions. See how to retain the green in your grass in summer for longer.
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![My Lawn is Dry]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsGrass in a healthy lawn is very resilient and can survive short periods of drought but after that things can deteriorate rapidly so learn how to drought proof your lawn.
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![How to Revive a Hard Dry Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsThe process can be as simple as just adding water but the benefits of the following watering program have proven to speed and improve the recovery whilst saving time and water
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![Repairing Burnt Summer Lawns]()
How to revive and repair burnt summer lawns and grass after a long period with little or no rain
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![Summer Lawn Care]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsIn summer consideration needs to be given to heat and drought so keeping the lawn correctly fertilised, cut and aerated will help the lawn stay greener longer.
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![When to use a Wetting Agent on the Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsWetting agents improve rain and water uptake in the lawn. It helps water to penetrate and spread, improving availability to the grass and reducing total water usage.
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![Autumn Lawn Care]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsAs autumn approaches the weather starts cooling and getting wetter; the ideal time for feeding and weeding plus any maintenance and repairs before winter.
