Brown Grass After Winter? Fertilizing Too Soon Could Make It Worse – Here's What to Do Instead
It can be perfectly normal, so don’t make any rash decisions that’ll do more harm than good
The sight of brown grass towards the end of winter may be unsettling, but there is no need to panic. It is usually a normal part of a grass’s natural life cycle, and you'd best wait rather than do something you’ll regret. Rushing to fertilize the lawn too quickly can do more harm than good. Here, lawn experts reveal a better course of action.
Brown patches in your lawn don’t mean your grass is dead. Most of the time, it just means it has gone dormant for winter. Some signs will be more concerning (which we’ll reveal later), but most often the grass will start growing again and regain its color once the temperatures warm in spring.
What you don’t want to do is rush your lawn care, trying to get rid of the brown patches. Fertilizing the lawn too soon comes with many drawbacks; it can harm the grass and your local environment. I chatted to some lawn care professionals about brown grass in late winter. This includes what and what not to do at this time of year, so you have a beautiful, lush lawn come summer.
Is It Normal for Grass to Turn Brown in Winter?
The sight of brown grass in late winter is perfectly normal and shouldn't cause you any concern. It is usually a case of the grass going into hibernation, entering dormancy for winter once temperatures drop below around 40°F.
By entering dormancy, grass saves essential plant nutrients. It preserves its food stores in the roots, where it needs them most in winter, and this sees the top growth discolor. But it is a natural way to survive the tough winter conditions.
‘Saving these resources helps it to green back up as warmer temperatures and rain return,’ explains Theresa Smith, senior vice president at NaturaLawn of America. ‘Because of this, there’s no need to panic about normal browning of the lawn during colder months of the year.’
Professor Mike Goatley, a specialist in turfgrass science at Virginia Tech, admits that many homeowners may see more brown grass in late winter this year due to the severe winter colds and snow many people have experienced in recent months.
‘However, brown grass in the winter is always in place, even for those managing cool-season turfgrasses such as tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, or fine fescue that we often perceive to be green year-round,’ adds the turf expert.
Brown grass in late winter turns more concerning if accompanied by other symptoms, such as disease, waterlogging, or a darker brown or black color. The simplest way to tell whether your grass is dormant or dead is a tug test. Simply grab a handful of blades and pull.
‘If it is firmly holding in, the roots are intact, and it's simply dormant and will begin to come back as the weather warms up,’ claims Craig Elworthy, founder at Lawnbright. ‘If it comes out easily, you may be dealing with dead patches.’
The Dangers of Rushing to Fertilize Brown Grass in Late Winter
When you aspire to a green, thick lawn come summer, the sight of brown grass in late winter may be demoralizing. And there may be a temptation to fertilize a lawn early to get ahead of the season and encourage the grass to green up quicker.
However, adding feed too early is a lawn care mistake that won’t be a miracle cure for brown grass, but can make the situation worse down the line, as it affects the soil’s nutrient levels or is just lost without offering any benefit to the grass.
‘Applying feed while the soil is still cold can do more harm than good,’ claims Peter Chaloner, managing director of Cobra Garden Machinery. ‘Grass isn’t actively growing at low temperatures, so nutrients may not be absorbed efficiently and can instead leach away.’
‘In some cases, early feeding can even encourage soft, weak growth that’s more susceptible to frost damage or disease,’ he continues.
‘If too much fast-release fertilizer is applied in the spring, it can lead to excessive top growth at the expense of root growth,’ adds Theresa Smith. ‘This predisposes a lawn to a variety of spring-time diseases.’
Not only does fertilizing too early stress the grass and weaken your lawn, but it is also a waste of money. Any product you put on doesn’t repair patches in the grass, but runs off rather than being used by the lawn.
What to Do About Brown Grass in Late Winter – Expert Recommendations
The best thing to do about brown grass in late winter is to wait and see if it improves once spring arrives and the temperatures increase.
The best time to fertilize a lawn in the spring is once it starts actively growing and the temperatures reach at least 55°F (you can check the soil temperature with this 4-in-1 soil meter at Amazon that measures moisture, pH, sunlight, and temperature).
This stage of spring lawn care is often late March or early April, depending on your US hardiness zone, and Mike Goatley recommends starting other maintenance tasks before feeding.
He adds: ‘Refrain from applying nitrogen fertilizers to promote color and growth on either warm or cool-season turfgrasses until you initiate a regular mowing program.’
As well as waiting until after you start mowing the lawn in spring, it is also beneficial to aerate the lawn before fertilizing to help any nutrients penetrate deep down into the lawn.
If the lawn stays brown a few weeks after spring arrives, it might be time to investigate the cause. This begins with the tug test to check if the grass is dead or if the roots are still healthy.
‘If recovery doesn’t happen naturally as growth resumes, light scarification to remove debris, followed by aeration and overseeding, usually does the trick,’ recommends Peter Chaloner.
‘Ensuring the lawn receives appropriate nutrition once active growth begins will also help it thicken up and restore color.'
The best fertilizers for grass in spring are slow-release granular products to provide nutrients to the lawn over several months. An example of such a product is this Scotts turf builder lawn food, available on Amazon.
FAQs
Will Grass Come Back After It Turns Brown?
Brown grass can recover and turn green again. If it is dormant over winter, it should come back once the temperatures rise. If it is stressed and brown during the season, it may be conserving energy during a heatwave. In this scenario, aerate the lawn, water deeply, and stop mowing to reduce the stress. This should help it recover.
Why Has My Grass Died Over Winter?
Grass often dies over winter due to waterlogging, but frost damage, pests, or disease can also kill a lawn. Aerating in spring helps to fix a waterlogged lawn, and homeowners should rake away any dead grass and overseed the lawn once the ground warms to fill in any bare patches before moss and weeds take over.
A good option for spring is a weed-and-feed product. These offer the combination of killing weeds and providing nutrients for the lawn, and spring is the perfect time, as the weeds are starting to grow and the grass is waking up for the new season.
Putting down weed and feed in spring (this Scott's weed and feed, available at Amazon, kills over 50 lawn weeds, including dandelions and clover) targets weeds that may blemish a summer lawn, and gives the grass essential nutrients to grow strong roots and shoots for the season ahead.
Shop Lawn Fertilizers
This general-purpose lawn food has an NPK of 29-0-5. It quickly greens a lawn and feeds it for up to three months.
A lawn fertilizer suitable for lawns in sun and shade. It is ideal for thickening and greening thinner and weaker lawns.
A lawn food to promote faster greening in spring and continuous feeding for eight weeks. It can be applied any time the lawn is actively growing.
Meet the Experts
Michael Goatley is Virginia Tech's Turfgrass Extension Specialist in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He previously served on the faculty of the Plant and Soil Sciences Department of Mississippi State for 15 years. His current responsibilities include developing turfgrass management outreach programs and research across the state.
Peter is the Managing Director of Cobra, one of the UK's leading brands of garden machinery, and Henton & Chattell, one of the largest garden machinery distributors in the country. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Peter is a passionate enthusiast when it comes to lawn care and seasonal gardening tasks. He takes great pride in maintaining his own lawn and garden to perfection and is knowledgeable about various techniques and tools that can be used to achieve the best results.
Theresa Smith is senior vice president of NaturaLawn of America (NLA), oversees all aspects of NLA's business operations, including corporate strategy, business vendor management, marketing and more. She first started with the family business as a marketing coordinator and quickly became passionate about their mission to be environmentally responsible.
Craig is the Founder at Lawnbright, a lawn care subscription service featuring all natural products that are safe for kids and pets. Craig advises on lawn care, natural lawns and other similar topics.
