We have not had a drop of rain here in my area of S.W. Ohio in 9 weeks coupled with 10 straight days of over 95 degree heat. All the lawns are completely brown. I'm worried my almost 3 acres of lawn is not going to make it. How long can lawn grasses survive with no water?
Grass & Drought
- Thread starter BXmark
- Start date
- Views: 1917
tc35dforme
Platinum Member
until it dies !!!
but seriously, most grasses are pretty drought tolerant. The browning is just the grass plant preserving the roots ( the life of the plant ). all of the available moisture is shunted to the roots and the plant all but goes dormant. the key is not to stress it.
my rule...if your gonna water you've gotta water all season because you spoil the grass into being water dependent with shallow weak roots. if you let nature do it, the grass will be more able to cope.
just stand-by, stay off the grass as much as possible and wait for some rain. you'll be surprized at how well it comes back...and how quickly !!!
but seriously, most grasses are pretty drought tolerant. The browning is just the grass plant preserving the roots ( the life of the plant ). all of the available moisture is shunted to the roots and the plant all but goes dormant. the key is not to stress it.
my rule...if your gonna water you've gotta water all season because you spoil the grass into being water dependent with shallow weak roots. if you let nature do it, the grass will be more able to cope.
just stand-by, stay off the grass as much as possible and wait for some rain. you'll be surprized at how well it comes back...and how quickly !!!
TerryinMD
Veteran Member
I agree with tc35dforme.
Just let it go and do not worry about it. There is not much you can do until you get some rain.
Also, try not to drive across it with heavy equipment or have any football games or the such - another kind of stress.
I do not know how high you mow your grass, but the higher the better. We mow ours at 3.5-4 inches. This does two things. Prevents weed seed from germinating and keeps more moisture in the ground. In your situation, your grass may have keep a little greener a little longer. Since you haven't had that much rain, it may not have made much difference in the long run.
Just think of all the fuel you've saved!!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Not much consolation to us tractor driving folks though..... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Terry
Just let it go and do not worry about it. There is not much you can do until you get some rain.
Also, try not to drive across it with heavy equipment or have any football games or the such - another kind of stress.
I do not know how high you mow your grass, but the higher the better. We mow ours at 3.5-4 inches. This does two things. Prevents weed seed from germinating and keeps more moisture in the ground. In your situation, your grass may have keep a little greener a little longer. Since you haven't had that much rain, it may not have made much difference in the long run.
Just think of all the fuel you've saved!!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Not much consolation to us tractor driving folks though..... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Terry
Mrwurm
Veteran Member
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My grass turns brown every summer. My kids drive motorcycles and gocarts and such. The grass gets trampled and then it blows away. I am often left with nothing but dirt (S.E. Mich). As soon as we get some rain, it all grows back. Amazing stuff /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
beenthere
Super Star Member
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Seems the worst that happens is that some weeds get a chance to enter into the world during this time of no competition. That is one reason I always plan (doesn't always happen tho ) to spray herbicide (2-4d) in the fall, after the rains come and the grass gets green again.
MReeter
Platinum Member
mark,sorry to hear of the drought and your poor lawn,if your grass is fairly new seeding,you might have some problems.If your lawn is established,and has a decent root system,it will be O.K...We have been very lucky and have had rain when we needed it.
I can recall the Summer of 80' when we had NO rain all season and 100+ temps. for 18 days straight,when the rain finally came,the grass greened up and started growing again.
I can recall the Summer of 80' when we had NO rain all season and 100+ temps. for 18 days straight,when the rain finally came,the grass greened up and started growing again.
MReeter
Platinum Member
RFischer
Silver Member
We live outside of Louisville, KY and haven't had rain in about the same amount of time. The Ohio Valley is is unusaually dry. I agree that you should let nature take it's course. If you water the grass will get shallow roots. If you don't the roots will go deeper. As soon as it rains it will green up again, and it will someday, right? I have 6 acres so all I'm doing is keeping the schrubs watered.
dlabrie
Gold Member
I picked a really bad year to start new lawns! I put in an above ground pool and had to do some major landscaping. We haven't had an inch of rain for 2 months!. I know I should be watering deeply, but I am affraid to run my well dry. So I give each section about 15 minutes/day on the sprinkler. It takes about 2 hours. I just don't want it to die. The seed is expensive.
