As a defense mechanism to combat the challenges of winter, warm-season grasses will go dormant. Think of dormancy as your lawn taking a nap until the weather permits it to thrive once again in the spring.

When the temperature drops, so does the soil temp. This occurrence slows the growth of your grass which is why it goes dormant.

Your lawn will go dormant when temperatures drop below 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 6 degrees Celsius. This is when you’ll see changes above ground and grass will slow in growth and it will seem like your grass stopped growing. This typically occurs during late fall and early winter.

It can be hard to discern whether brown grass indicates a dead or dormant lawn. Dormant grass is typically brown in color, straw-like, and patchy. While you can’t prevent your warm-season turf from turning brown in the winter, a healthy lawn will green up nicely after winter dormancy.

A true defining characteristic of dormant grass is the live grass crowns that wouldn’t be present in dead grass. A good test to tell if your grass is dormant or dead is to gather a handful and give a small tug. If there is resistance, your grass is still alive. Dead grass will pull free from the ground. The live crown will enable the grass to green up and grow once again once temperatures warm up.

Unsynchronized dormancy is caused when temperatures fluctuate from warm to cold. This causes your lawn to be confused, unsure if it’s time to sleep or stay awake! Some parts of your yard will respond to the colder temperatures and turn brown and dormant, while other sections will respond to warmer temps and resist dormancy.

You don’t need to worry about unsynchronized dormancy, it isn’t uncommon and will resolve itself on its own. However, be aware of the difference between unsynchronized dormancy and disease or pest damage. Fungal diseases will appear in a circular pattern, overtaking an entire solid spot while insect disease will appear as a path of damaged turf.

Because winter is a resting period for your turf, here are a few things you can do to allow the best dormancy:

• Clear debris from the yard that could cause additional stress
• Eliminate leaves that could provide unnecessary moisture and disease
• Avoid traffic on the lawn that can encourage stress
• When lawn presents signs of wilt, water when temps are above freezing. It’s good to water every two to three weeks for 15 to 20 minutes when temperatures permit
• Pull any weeds that may pop up randomly

Taking care and paying attention to your yard during the winter months will help your turf green-up wonderfully in the spring! For information about emerging dormancy, check out our other blog.