Crunchy cereal? Yes! Crunchy lawn? Not so much…
Crunchy lawn 2021
The University of Minnesota Extension says Kentucky bluegrass, which is what most lawns are, can start turning brown after about 7 days without water. The grass is going into dormancy to survive the drought. Some leaf tissue will die, but the base and roots of the grass are still alive and will green up when water returns. HOWEVER, it can take 2 to 4 weeks for the top growth to green up after getting sufficient rainfall or watered by you. That is about ½” to 1” of water each week. Patience is a virtue!
Ahhh, rain!
The possible “silver lining” is that Kentucky bluegrass recovers relatively fast compared to other turfgrasses. While we had some rainfall, it’s still not enough. The best time to water is between 4am and 8am. The U of MN Extension has an article called “Water Wisely” which has some good tips about watering garden beds and lawns. Check out this LEARN article from our experts on Water Conservation. And here’s a link to our sprinklers. Gertens offers a number of grass seed mixes to suit your needs.
Tall and fine fescues can remain green for at least 28 days without water in Minnesota. Tall fescue is known for its heat and drought tolerance.
Among the fine fescues, hard fescues have excellent drought tolerance. Chewings fescues and slender creeping red fescues have good to excellent drought tolerance. And strong creeping red fescues have good drought tolerance.
Good information if your lawn turns crunchy and needs to be replaced…
Here are some tips for now, limit traffic on your lawn, don’t mow… the lawn mower is heavy and will damage it further, do NOT fertilize until we have more significant rainfall. When your lawn starts coming back, keep the height at 3 to 4 inches. And here’s why:
The taller blades of grass help shade the roots from the burning sun.
There’s always the possibility that your lawn is toast… then check out this article on Lawn Repair.
I suddenly want some Cap’N Crunch cereal,
