Why Is the Grass in Your Lawn Turning Brown?

A lush, green lawn is an excellent complement to your home’scurb appeal and a comfortable base for outdoor activities. When your grassstarts turning brown, you might feel concerned and wonder what you didwrong. 

Grass can begin turning brown for a wide range of reasons,some of which are outside your control. Understanding the cause of this symptomis the first step in mitigating it, and Tatum Lawn Care LLC is here to help. 

Common Reasons Grass Turns Brown 

Maintaining a green, vibrant, healthy lawn isn’t always an easy process. Many factors can impactthe appearance and health of your lawn. These are just a few common reasonsyour grass might be turning brown. 

Lawn Drought Stress

Drought is one of the most prevalent reasons lawns turnbrown each year. Grass, like many plants, requires adequate water to stay lush,green, and healthy. When the area goes through periods of drought, your lawnwon’t receive enough water from rainfall, causing it to turn brown anddie. 

Take a look at your neighbors’ lawns to see whether theirgrass is also looking a little brown. If so, drought is probably to blame. Youcan begin watering your lawn manually with a hose or sprinkler to revitalize ituntil more consistent rainfall occurs. 

Mowing Height Issues

Mowing your grass as short as possible might seem like asmart idea. It allows you to go longer between mowing jobs and creates a cleanappearance for your lawn. But it could also be the source of your grass turningbrown. 

Mowing too short is considered "scalping" youryard. It places stress on the grass, exposes the crown of the blade, and makesit more challenging for the plant to fight off diseases. Instead, aim to onlyremove one-third of the blade’s length throughout each mowing session. 

Fungal Lawn Diseases

While less common, grass sometimes turns brown due to fungaldiseases that either discolor or kill the plant. For example, the fungusRhizoctonia solani creates brown, circular patches of dead or dying grass.Dollar spot fungus produces small, straw-colored spots that sometimes expandover time, and red thread fungus creates reddish-pink patches.

All of these fungi thrive in humid conditions and requireprofessional treatment to kill. 

Soil Compaction

Compacted soil, or soil that is packed overly tight,restricts air, water, and nutrients from reaching the grassroots. This can leadthe grass to turn brown and stop growing. 

The main way to reverse soil compaction is through aeration,which involves removing small plugs of soil to create channels for air andwater to penetrate the grass roots. You can also prevent future compactionproblems by watering the soil deeply and decreasing foot traffic on your lawn,if possible. 

Overfertilization Damage

You might be particularly confused if your lawn startedturning brown after you fertilized it. But overfertilization can actually harmyour lawn, causing "fertilizer burn" that creates yellow or brownpatches.

Overfertilization delivers excess nitrogen and soluble saltsto the soil, drawing moisture from the grass and leading to dehydration. Youcan help mitigate the damage by delaying mowing until the grass has started torecover and flushing the soil with water to dilute any excess fertilizer. 

Insect Infestation 

Several types of insects can harm the grass and cause it toturn brown, such as chinch bugs, armyworms, and grubs. These bugs feed on thegrass and create brown, patchy areas. 

Dormancy

Finally, some grass species turn brown and go dormant in thewinter months or during periods of stress. These species typically turn greenand lush again once the growing conditions are more favorable. If this is arecurring problem, dormancy might be to blame. 

Seek Professional Lawn Care AssistanceFrom Tatum Lawn Care LLC

Why is your grass turning brown? Tatum Lawn Care LLC cananswer this question and provide lawn care tips and services to restore your yard. Contact us today at509-765-4000 for a free estimate.