# Dormant Grass Vs. Dead Grass
Most lawn grasses are perennial. They grow rapidly throughout the warm season and turn dormant when weather cools. It may be difficult to tell if your grass is simply dormant or if it is dead because, in both circumstances, lawns turn brown and stop growing. Dormant grass will revive when given water and warm temperatures. Dead grass will not. Before planting new grass determine what caused your old grass' failure.
-
Cool Season Grass
-
Grasses are broken down into one of two categories: warm season grass or cool season grass. Cool season grasses, like perennial rye grass, Kentucky bluegrass and fescue, grow rapidly during early spring and less rapidly during hot summer weather. Cool season grasses grow dormant during extreme summer conditions. To ensure that the turf bounces back in fall and spring, keep watering the brown grass at a rate of 1/2 inch of irrigation every two weeks. This moisture won't green up the grass, but it will prevent permanent damage.
Warm Season Grass
-
Bermuda grass and zoysia grass are common warm season grasses grown along the United States' Gulf Coast and southeastern regions. Warm season grass grows rapidly during late spring and early summer but goes dormant in fall. The grass takes on a brown aspect during the first hard frost. Once temperatures are consistently within the 50 degree Fahrenheit range, the grass breaks dormancy. Irrigation helps grass return to its green color.
Ornamental Grasses
-
Ornamental grasses can be annual or perennial. Perennial ornamental grasses, like perennial lawn grasses, go dormant but return when weather warms. Annual grasses live for only one growing season before they die and must be replaced with new plants. Perennial ornamental grasses, like switchgrass and maidengrass, are trimmed back during the dormant season to discourage wildfires and also encourage new spring growth. Annual ornamental grasses, like pampas grass and lemon grass, must be replanted each year.
Considerations
-
Avoid inadvertently killing your grass by getting your soil tested prior to planting or reseeding. Soil test fertilizer recommendations help prevent incorrect fertilization. Overfertilization destroys grass, while underfertilizing causes a failure to thrive. When mowing grass never remove more than 1/3 of the living grass blade. Removing more than 1/3 destroys a blade's chance of recovery. Before you establish a lawn, choose a grass that is suitable for your climate and growing conditions. Zoysia grass, for instance, will not do well in northern shade but fescue will be fine.
-
