Caring for brown lawns

Delaware lawns got a welcome deluge of rain this week, but the heat and drought of the last month and half has taken a toll on the region’s grass.

Local experts say the burnt brown lawns likely will linger until the weather turns cooler, but if homeowners know how their lawns work, they can make sure they ride out the hot summer.

1. Water

Grass needs about an inch of rain per week to stay green, but it needs to be more than just a trickle over the course of seven days.

“It’s much better to have one inch at one time, not a quarter-inch four times a week,” said Steve Wrede, owner of All Seasons Garden Center and Nursery in Dover “The one inch allows the to water soak down in the grass root deeper. You’re hoping for that one nice rain on Friday that last five or six hours.”

But when the region has months as hot and dry as Delaware had in June, those who want a green lawn have to make sure they’re doing the most good with their watering.

“The best time to water is going to be very early morning,” Wrede said. “You’re not competing with the sun and evaporation at that point, that’s the efficient part.

“Watering during the daytime is very inefficient, and water in the evening tends to leave the grass wet all night long and promotes fungus.”

2. Type of grass

Though it may not have seemed like it lately, Delaware’s coastal climate is actually on the cooler side. Therefore, it’s important to plant a lawn that suits the region.

Bill Cooper, grounds superintendent for the city of Dover, says the best grass for this area is tall fescue, a cool-season variety.

Kentucky bluegrass also does well in Delaware’s long stretches of mild spring and late summer weather.

Hot weather grasses will thrive in the height of summer with good watering, but they’re best reserved for golf courses.

“In this area you’ll see Bermuda and zoysia grass, they’re for hot southern climates; they like the heat,” said Greg Armstrong, greenskeeper at Garrison’s Lake Golf Club near Smyrna. “In this region you’ll see some home lawns with that, but most of time it’s going to be northern grasses, bluegrass, tall fescue.”

3. Dormancy

Last month’s stretch of heat and drought has left many lawns looking brown all over, but homeowners shouldn’t fear their grass has been wiped out.

“Most hardy grass will be brown on yellow this time of year. They typically don’t die in dry weather, they just go dormant and they will be revived when we get a good rain,” Wrede said.

However, a dormant lawn can give weeds a chance to grab a foothold.

“Weeds look for opportunity; weeds like it hot and dry and they find these bare spots to germinate,” Wrede said. “It’s going to be a competition at this point, but we don’t recommend that you do any type of reseeding until we get some cooler weather.”

4. Feeding

Fertilizing should only be done in the spring and summer, when cool-season grasses are most active and can make the best use of the food.

“I wouldn’t fertilize in the summer time,” Armstrong said. “If the lawn is brown and dormant, don’t do anything to it.”

Wrede agrees, and explained that a dormant lawn in hot, dry weather is a lot like an animal in hibernation.

“Your grass is under stress, most plants such as grass live off of stored food in times of stress,” he said. “Feeding your lawn this time of year is basically a waste of money.”

5. Soil test

Even though most lawn work, aside from watering, needs to wait until the summer fades, homeowners can find out now what their lawns can benefit from.

Maggie Moor-Orth, an agriculture extension agent at Delaware State University, recommends a comprehensive soil test.

“I would tell folks to go ahead and get a soil sample done now, that way if they need to amend the soil or overseed they’ll be ready,” she said. “You’re looking for pH, and grass wants about 7.0, about neutral. [The test] will let them know if they need to lime it if it’s too acidic.”

Moor-Orth said the easiest way to get a soil test is through an extension office, either at DSU or the University of Delaware.

Tests cost about $10 and can be performed by the homeowner then sent to the extension lab. Results are usually available in 10 days, she said.

Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com