How to Repair Brown Patches in Your Lawn After Intense Summer Heat – So It Comes Back Stronger Next Year
Experts reveal 5 stages for restoring a lawn to its lush best after a tough summer
Even a healthy lawn can look worse for wear after a heatwave. Brown grass is often just a lawn going dormant, but it can be something worse. Understanding how to repair patches in grass starts with knowing what you are dealing with.
Brown dormant patches of lawn are healthy underground and can burst back into life when the temperatures drop and they get some moisture. Homeowners can nurture these lawns with regular watering, light mowing, and fertilizing once the temperatures drop (this SummerGuard Lawn Food at Amazon both feeds the lawn and protects against pests). Those with dead patches, however, usually need to rake them out and sow seed to start again.
If you want to repair brown patches in a lawn, you need to encourage them back into life, not stress them further and risk killing the grass. Patient and careful post-heatwave lawn care is crucial to healthy recovery. Here we reveal five important steps to repairing those unsightly brown patches in your lawn, without causing any extra harm to the grass.
Don’t Panic – Do a Tug Test
Before planning any course of action or restorative summer lawn care, there is one important question to answer – do you have dormant or dead grass? Brown patches don’t mean a lawn is dead. They can be a natural reaction to soaring temperatures as your grass saves resources during a heatwave.
During periods of drought, an established lawn may turn brown on the surface, but the roots remain alive underground, ready to spring back into life when the temperatures drop and rain returns.
Angelika Zaber, a lawn care specialist for Online Turf, suggests a quick and easy ‘tug test’ to tell if you are dealing with a dormant lawn or patches of dead grass.
‘Grab a handful of grass and pull it upwards. If you can feel some resistance and the turf stays anchored, you are dealing with a dormant lawn,’ she says. ‘If it pulls out easily, your lawn is likely dead.’
If your lawn is dormant, you can get on with repairing those patches of grass. If it is dead, you may need to clear the patches and replace or reseed them.
Water Smartly
A dormant lawn will start growing and green up again once the temperatures drop and it gets ample moisture.
Many homeowners may be under water restrictions, or hosepipe bans, that limit or prevent the use of lawn sprinklers. However, any water you can give the lawn will be a helping hand – even if it is via a watering can.
Matt J Adams, founder and lead gardener at The Relentless Gardener, says the key is to ‘water smarter, not harder’ and to give the lawn a thorough soak every few days rather than a more regular lighter sprinkle.
‘Deep watering encourages the roots to grow further into the soil, making the lawn better equipped to cope with the next dry spell,’ he advises. ‘Water early in the morning or later in the evening to minimise evaporation and avoid scorching the grass.’
Chris McIlroy, lawn expert at The Grass People, recommends: ‘You can also use a wetting agent to enhance efforts and to ensure water breaks through the tough turf.’
Lawn wetting agents, also known as soil surfactants, help water penetrate the grass. The moisture reaches deeper into the soil, and using such agents reduces how often you need to water the lawn.
A lawn wetting agent, such as this hydro holder soil wetting agent at Amazon, can be used on an entire lawn or to repair brown patches.
Shop Kit for Watering Lawns:
A lawn sprinkler with 16 nozzles for watering lawns and gardens up to 3,600 sq. ft. The watering range is adjustable and the sprinkler has a weighted base for stability.
This sprinkler has six spray types and can cover up to 80 feet in diameter. You simply insert the hose and place the sprinkler into your lawn.
An easy-to-use timer with leak-resistant brass inlets and outlets. It has two zones for different outlets and a simple dial to set and adjust the watering needs.
Adjust Your Mowing
To repair brown patches in a lawn, you do need to change your regular mowing habits. Continuing to head out with the lawn mower and cutting grass in hot weather as per normal can place further stress on it, potentially exacerbating the situation and turning dormant grass into dead grass.
It may mean not mowing at all. As the grass stops growing when temperatures hit 90°F, it may not make much of a difference. If you do intend to mow the lawn in a heatwave, though, do so in the cooler parts of the day and raise the mower height.
‘If the conditions are too dry, keeping your grass a little bit longer can help its moisture levels, says Chris McIlroy, who recommends leaving 10 days between mows if the lawn’s growth is stunted in summer.
He adds: ‘Set your mower blade to a higher setting to keep the grass a bit longer, which helps shade the soil and retain moisture.’
If your lawn isn’t too long and your clippings are less than an inch, you can leave grass clippings on the lawn rather than collecting them. Doing so shades the soil surface, retains moisture in the ground, and the clippings provide nutrients as they break down.
This battery lawn mower at The Home Depot is ideal for small yards and comes with a mulching plug so you can leave the clippings after mowing.
Feed Post-Drought
Drought and heat take their toll on lawns. They are often left exhausted of essential nutrients. Replenishing the soil levels is an important part of repairing brown patches in a lawn after a heatwave.
However, don’t rush to fertilize a lawn. Applying fertilizer to dry soil can do more harm than good – it can further stress the lawn and even burn the roots. It is better to wait a few weeks, once the worst of the heat has passed and rain has returned, to feed the lawn.
Matt J Adams recommends using liquid seaweed as a fertilizer to reduce stress and help the lawn recover from a heatwave.
‘Seaweed helps condition the soil, encourages stronger root growth, improves nutrient uptake and reduces stress caused by hot, dry weather,’ he explains. ‘Regular applications can also help futureproof your lawn against heatwaves by supporting a healthier root system and improving the grass's ability to retain moisture.
‘Healthier, greener grass is naturally more resilient to heat stress, stays greener for longer during dry spells and recovers more quickly once temperatures return to normal.’
This seaweed supplement for lawns at Amazon is safe for all types of grass and helps to reduce drought stress.
Fix Dead Patches
If your ‘tug test’ revealed dead patches in the lawn, wait until the weather cools to start renovating these sections.
Start by raking out the dead material and thatch – think of it like a light scarification of dead areas with a spring-tine rake (available at The Home Depot) to create a clear area for overseeding and fluff up the surface of the soil so the seed makes good contact.
Sow fresh grass seed over the soil surface (you can get drought-tolerant grass seed at Lowe’s). Take care to keep the area consistently moist for good germination, and continue to do so until the new grass is established.
Cover the seeded area with horticultural fleece or fine netting to stop birds from eating the grass seed, or add reflective objects or deterrents to scare them away.
Alternatively, you can replace dead patches by laying turf in early fall. The mild weather and regular rainfall make early fall a good time to lay turf. It gives the new grass time to grow strong roots before winter arrives.
August is a busy month in the gardening calendar. Aside from showing your lawn some TLC, it can be a great time to add some extra plants to your garden. Our guide to what to plant in August reveals heat-tolerant perennials, ornamental grasses, and late-blooming flowers you can add this month to bring structure and color to your future displays.
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Meet the Experts
Chris McIlroy is the technical product lead and in-house lawn seed expert for The Grass People - a grass seed company that champions high-quality lawn products and shares expert advice. Chris's expertise is focused on sowing, mowing and maintaining a perfect lawn, and how to overcome any lawn issues homeowners face.
Angelika Zaber is a Lawn Care Specialist working for Online Turf. She is dedicated to providing exceptional lawn care expertise and horticultural advice that encourages both novice and experienced gardeners to have healthy, vibrant lawns all year round.
Matt J Adams is the founder and lead gardener at The Relentless Gardener, a specialist in grass seed, lawn feed and plant nutrition products, on a mission to make gardening and lawn care easy and convenient for everyone.
