Why do I have brown patches on my lawn?
At first glance, the browning areas in your lawn may appear to be fungus, or brown patch. Here are a few ways to tell if it is actually drought:
Locate a brown patch, and pull on the grass. If it won’t pull easily from soil and is firmly rooted, it’s likely brown due to drought.
Push a screwdriver into soil in brown and green lawn areas. If the blade slips easily into green lawn and won’t penetrate brown, soil is dry. In rocky soil, dig a small hole to check soil moisture.
Look at the lawn as a whole. When drought is the culprit, brown patches appear randomly and in rough patterns. Lawn near a sprinkler head may be green, while lawn further away is brown. Grassy areas in shade remain greener when parts in full sun turn brown due to drought. Lawn in low spots will remain green while higher areas turn brown.
Learn early signs of drought stress. Footprints remain on grass after it’s walked on. Grass blades may also wilt.
After evaluating many lawns we have realized that these brown areas are heat patches. Please water these areas well. Do not soak or suturate them, but keep them as damp as possible. The brown areas will be mowed off as the turf continues to grow.
