Dead Grass Vs. Dormant Grass (How Do You Tell?)

As the season’s change, so does the condition of your grass. Your once bright green lawn has turned into a dull brown. Laying new grass can be very expensive, so how do you tell if your grass is completely dead or just dormant until the spring arrives? Luckily there are ways for you to determine if you are dealing with dead or dormant grass to know if you should continue watering your lawn, even if it looks dead. So how do you tell?

Dead grass cannot come back to life again, no matter how much you water it. On the other hand, Dormant grass can be revived and turned into a luscious green lawn once again. Dormancy is the way grass protects itself from harsh sun, drought, or extremely cold weather conditions.

Watering a dormant lawn thoroughly for +/- 4 weeks will turn the brown grass back into healthy green grass (depending on weather conditions). This article will discuss effective ways for you to tell the difference between dead and dormant grass.

What Is The Difference Between Dead And Dormant Grass?

Dormant Grass

Dormant grass appears to be dead on the surface, but it is actually conserving water and energy to stay alive. Your lawn is sending vital resources to the crowns and roots of the grass during harsh temperatures or weather conditions instead of sending it to develop green grass on the surface.

Dead Grass 

Dead grass looks the same as dormant grass on the surface, but the roots are dead, and no amount of water or weather improvement will revive it. You will have to decide whether to seed or sod to create a new lawn.

4 Effective Ways To Tell The Difference Between Dead And Dormant Grass

Tug On The Grass

Grab a handful of brown grass and pull on it. If the grass comes out easily, then it is dead, and you won’t be able to revive it. You will need to replace the dead grass with sodding or seeding.

If you don’t want to run the risk of losing new grass again, you could install ground cover, mulch, or rocks to create a type of landscaping instead of a lawn. If you want to give the new lawn option a go, mow the lawn shorter than usual so the new seeds can reach the ground easier. 

Remove all the dead grass clippings and sprinkle healthy soil over the freshly mowed lawn. Spread the seeds over the entire area and add more soil amendments over their seeds. 

If you choose the sodding option, you will have to remove all of the dead grass first so that there is fresh, clean soil to lay the new grass sods on. Both methods require plenty of water and fertilizer to ensure that the grass can grow healthy and strong.

Look For Patches

If you spot distinct patches of dry, lifeless, brown grass in between green grass, it could be a sign that the grass is dead in those areas. If the entire lawn was brown, there is a chance that the grass is dormant. 

You need to assess these patches to determine if your grass is dead or if you have other problems such as diseases or pests. Pests and diseases can cause the same symptoms, making you think the grass is dead when it is just under attack.

Lawn grubs are one of the main causes of brown patches on your lawn because they eat the root system of the grass, causing it to die. To determine whether lawn grubs are the problem, you can try the following three tests:

• Cover the entire brown patch with a wet towel and leave it overnight. When you remove it in the morning and see grub worms, you have a lawn grub problem. 
• Mix a bucket of water and liquid soap and pour it along the edges of the brown patch. If you see any grub worms surface after about 10 minutes, you have a lawn grub problem.
• Cut a square foot block out of the center of the brown patch of grass. If you see five or more grub worms in that spot, then you have a lawn grub problem.

You can treat lawn grubs with granular pesticides or liquid pesticides. These are systemic pesticides that work their way through the entire root system of your grass. There are many preventative methods to try to keep grub worms from destroying your lawn.

Temperature Changes 

Weather conditions and temperature can affect the appearance of your lawn significantly. There are two kinds of grass, namely; 

• Warm-season grass – which goes dormant during winter
• Cool-season grass – which goes dormant during summer or prolonged periods of heat 

Both grass types will remain dormant until the right temperature returns, and your lawn will start to turn green again. You can mix these two types of grass to ensure that you have a green lawn all year round.

Watering

Work out a watering schedule for each week. Harsh heat and drought can cause your grass to go dormant, so if you see signs of life (green grass underneath your lawn), don’t stop watering the grass. 

You need to keep the deep, dormant roots alive even if the grass on the surface is dead. The brown, dead grass forms a protective blanket over deep roots, allowing water to remain in the soil to keep the dormant grass alive. 

Unfortunately, if there is no green grass anywhere, then your grass is dead, and you will need to start over.

Wrapping Up

It is difficult to spot the difference between dormant and dead grass, judging only by the appearance of the surface. Therefore, doing a thorough inspection is vital to make sure otherwise you will waste your time and money by watering and caring for a dead lawn. 

These simple steps are sure ways to tell the difference between dead and dormant grass, but if you are unsure, you can ask the advice of a garden professional to make 100% sure.