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P3892-D_Drought_Lawns_AS_1023pdf / 0.73MB
Publication ID: 3892-D
It is normal for your lawn to lose its color and go brown during periods of drought. This is called drought-induced dormancy. Your lawn is simply waiting until it receives adequate rainfall, at which time it will resume growing again. If the drought continues for months, supplemental irrigation may be needed to reduce the chance of seeing dead grass.
If you are following these practices, you’re doing the best you can for your lawn. Even the drought-tolerant, warm-season grasses grown throughout Louisiana have a limit for what they’re willing to tolerate prior to entering dormancy. Although it is not 100% guaranteed, your lawn will more than likely bounce right back after a few timely rains.
If you’re nervous about your grass actually being dead rather than dormant, you can remove a few plugs of the grass in question and put them in a pot of soil. Give it plenty of water and a bright window and see if anything greens up after a few days.
Turfgrass plugs growing in a container. Photo by Eric DeBoer
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture