For Lawn Care Services, Get Started Here.

Grass turning brown and yellow can be a major disappointment, especially when you are watering regularly and appropriately. In this blog we will go over the handful of reasons lawns turn yellow and brown in the Vancouver, WA, and Portland, OR, area and how to remedy them. 

 

Underwatering/Overwatering

Most yellowing is simply from improper irrigation. Simple adjustments to your irrigation coverage and duration can remedy this. For most summer climates, an inch a week of water will be sufficient to maintain green color assuming all else is up to snuff. To best know how to water your turf species, please consult this guide.

 

Dormant Turf

Yellow grass doesn’t necessarily mean your grass is dead or dying. It could just be dormant. This can happen do to extreme temperatures and/or drought. The easiest way to test this is to pull on the yellow blades of grass and see if the roots easily separate from the Earth. If the roots hold their ground, your grass is most likely dormant. 

Ways to remedy dormant grass include:

1. Water during the heat of the day to mitigate extreme temperatures.
2. Install a species of grass that can tolerate your home’s climate. 
3. Plant trees to provide shade for your turf.
4. Waiting for the heat to pass.

 

Turf Diseases

There are a countless amount of diseases that can cause your turf to die off. The most common ones include: Black Spot, Lawn Rust, Dollar Spot, Anthracnose and more. Many of the common

Turf diseases are caused by fungus, but can also be caused by bacteria or viruses. Diseases often occur from an imbalance in the turf’s health, such as bad pH, over or under watering, poor drainage, etc…

Learn more about proper Lawn Care from this blog here.

Preventing disease is the best ultimate solution. Once disease has begun you will need to consult a lawn care professional to determine the exact disease, it’s cause, and how to best treat it.

 

Pests

Bugs are a common culprit for brown lawns, and grubs are at the front of that 

Line. Insecticide treatments, proper watering and drainage, beneficial nematodes, and milky spore a few solutions for warding off grubs and other insects. To learn more about deterring landscape pests, check out our previous blog here. 

 

Nutrients

Feed Your Lawn and Balance the pH

Fertilizer and a proper pH (between 6.5-7.0) will go a long way in ensuring a happy and healthy lawn. We cover these and other lawn care practices in this blog here. 

 

Dead Grass

Your grass could be dead. In this case, your best bet is remove and reseed or patch install sod.