Once spring arrives in Idaho Falls, you can’t wait to get outside.
Warm breeze! Tulips! Brown grass!
Wait a minute. Brown grass isn’t part of the spring plan. Why isn’t it green?
Did your grass die over the winter? Or is it dormant?
Let’s learn more about dead grass vs dormant grass in Idaho Falls, including:
Dead vs dormant grass: how can you tell?
Try this - grab hold of a couple clumps of grass and tug on them. Does it pull right up, with no root system holding it in? Uh oh. It’s probably dead. But dormant grass here in Boise will still have a solid root system and resist your tug.
Read on to learn more.
A dormant lawn is different than a dead lawn. When your lawn is dormant, it’s just resting. It looks dead, but deep down, the crown of the grass is still alive.
Here in Idaho, grass goes dormant in the winter. Tucked under the snow, it takes a break from the hard work of growing and being green.
Dormancy is nature’s way for grass to protect itself from the cold conditions of winter. When it’s dormant, your grass sleeps, using the resources stored in the crown the way a hibernating bear lives on the fat it stored up for the winter.
It gives you a break, too. No need for Boise and Idaho Falls lawn care
chores while your lawn is dormant.
Your grass will grow again in the spring when the soil warms up.
At what temperature does grass go dormant? Idaho’s cool-season grasses (more on this in a bit) go dormant when temperatures are consistently below 45–55 degrees and the soil temperatures drop to 50.
(Your grass can also go dormant in the dry heat of summer if it doesn’t get consistent water. It stops growing to hold on to the moisture and nutrients it has left and tough out the challenging conditions.)
During dormancy, grass conserves water and energy by sending resources to its roots instead of its blades. It isn’t actively growing.
Dead grass isn’t actively growing, either. But if you’re waiting for it to grow and return to life, you better pack a snack. You’ll be waiting a long time. Dead grass is permanently dead. Cue the organ music.
Well, it looks dead.
Dead grass is completely brown or a little grayish. It’s dry and brittle. Press on it, and it will crumble. There are no signs of life and you shouldn't wait on it to return in spring.
It depends on the type of grass.
Here in Idaho, the cooler climate means that your grass is cool-season. This type of grass is hardy in winter but still holds up well in the summer heat.
You likely have Kentucky Bluegrass or Perennial Ryegrass — both cool-season grasses popular here in Boise and Idaho Falls.
Kentucky Bluegrass can be easily identified when actively growing by looking for the "boat" shape. It has a pointy tip, and the blade will be folded like a boat.
It will also have a rib running down the middle of the blade. It almost looks like a crease. It can also produce a purplish-blue seed head.
Perennial Ryegrass can look similar to Kentucky Bluegrass. The difference? It has several veins running down the middle of the blade instead of that crease-like rib.
Or, you might have a blend of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Rye. Blends are popular here, too. Pros with lawn care services in Boise and Idaho Falls will tell you that grass seed blends are great.
Unlike a single-variety grass seed, blends give you the benefits of more than one variety or species. Different grass types have their own claim to fame, so a blend lets you take advantage of several great grass traits.
Blends are also more likely to withstand diseases than single-species lawns, because of their genetic diversity.
Mix 80 percent Kentucky Bluegrass and 20 percent Perennial Ryegrass when you want the best grass for Idaho.
When it’s dormant, Kentucky bluegrass is brown or yellowish.
But the crown (where new roots and shoots grow) is still alive.
Dormant perennial ryegrass looks brown and lifeless in the winter, but it may have some faded green patches.
If you have a blend of grasses, some may go dormant at different times, causing a patchy appearance.
No fancy science is needed here to identify dormant grass.
Just grab hold of a couple of clumps of grass and tug. Does it pull right up, with no root system holding it in? Bad news. It’s probably dead.
But dormant grass here in Boise will still have a solid root system and resist your tug.
Grass that’s gone dormant during the winter will green up and spring back to life on its own once the temperature rises in spring and it gets water. You don’t have to do anything special to revive it.
But your grass has been sleeping all winter. Think about how you feel when waking up after a long sleep.
Do you love being jostled out of your peaceful slumber by rambunctious kids jumping on your chest? An insistent cat pawing your face and meowing for its breakfast at 6 am? A jarring phone call from your boss saying she needs you to come in today, after all, on your precious day off?
Gentle would be better, right? So go easy on your drowsy grass as it’s coming out of its winter nap. Give it a chance to stretch and yawn.
Here’s how to go easy on your lawn as it wakes up:
Here’s a great excuse to put off spring lawn mowing. If you mow your tender lawn too soon, you can damage your grass, making it susceptible to disease.
The same goes for raking. Save this part of your Boise and Idaho Falls lawn care chores until your squishy spring lawn dries out.
Not until spring. And water it gradually.
Yes, your dormant grass appreciates a drink when it wakes up, kind of like how you reach for a sip in the morning from your nightstand water bottle.
Don’t go overboard, though. Start your lawn watering for about 45 minutes three times a week in the morning and you’ll notice your dormant grass start to green up again.
Resist the urge to water every day. Water deeper, longer, and not as often. That encourages deeper, stronger roots, which means greener, healthier grass.
When a brown lawn looks dead, people seem to think it’s OK to walk all over it. No biggie, right?
But too much foot traffic on your fragile lawn when it’s dormant can kill it. Use the sidewalks and driveway, and give your lawn a break.
When you wake up after a long, luxurious sleep, you could probably go for a big stack of pancakes or at least a 3-egg white omelet. So your lawn must be starving, right? It's time for a big dose of fertilizer!
Not so fast. Yes, your lawn is hungry, and fertilizing is a huge part of lawn care in Boise and Idaho Falls, but make sure it’s awake and ready to absorb those nutrients. Wait for some signs of green life before you fertilize.
Plan for mid-to-late April once the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees.
Then, keep it up! Fertilize again in mid-May, around the end of June, and early to mid-August for a well-fed, thriving lawn.
Once your lawn starts to grow again, go ahead and mow.
Pro tip: Make sure you have sharp mower blades. A dull mower blade rips the top off a blade of grass, leaving a jagged edge that invites damaging pests and disease.
A sharp blade makes a nice, clean cut, which helps the grass to heal faster and grow thicker.
Yes, your lawn takes a nice long nap in the winter (admit it — you’ve done it, too), but for the rest of the year, it’s wide awake, hungry, thirsty, and needs attention. Not unlike a needy toddler.
Let us make it easy with Boise and Idaho Falls lawn care services that cover all your lawn’s essential needs.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy green lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will return your lawn to its beautiful green again. You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break.
Welcome to one premium six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green. Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control are all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds.
Choose a professional lawn care service in the Idaho Falls or Boise, ID area that bundles your yard’s most-needed treatments into one convenient, no-fuss plan that tells you the cost upfront.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then, you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
Image Sources | Brown Grass 1, Brown Grass 2, Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Rye