Lawn Survival During The Drought

Courtesy PR Extension Office

“MSU Extension Custer County Tara Andrews shared the following information recently and I thought it was relevant for our area,” said Powder River Extension Agent Mary Rumph. “My lawn is certainly suffering from the lack of rainfall; irrigating helps, but it just isn’t the same!”

“After this long hot and dry summer many lawns are looking brown and crispy! Maintaining a lush green yard during the drought we’ve experienced takes a lot of watering or irrigation. Many people have cut back on watering and irrigation due to lack of water or the cost of water,” said Andrews.

“In a normal year there is nothing wrong with a lawn going dormant in the summer. The grass turns brown and then rests in the heat. Then in September as the temperatures cool down our lawns turn green again. But this has been a particularly long and severe drought and many lawns were stressed after the summer of 2020.

One of the most common lawn grasses in Eastern Montana is Kentucky Bluegrass. Bluegrass is resilient because of its ability to go dormant.

Some of the things we can do to help our lawn survive this drought include: Staying off the dormant yard as much as you can. This includes mowing because we do not want to damage the crowns or the leaves of the grass plant damage. Do not apply herbicide now. Although weeds are more noticeable in brown lawns it will be better if you can wait to late September. Some herbicides can hurt drought stressed lawns. It is also a good time to pause in fertilization. If your lawn is dormant wait until the end of September when it cools off to fertilize your yard. Select a fertilizer that contains potash, such as 30-0-10. Potash helps turf to cope with drought stress.

If you can water during a drought it is much more effective to water deeply less-frequently than watering lightly many times during the week. When you do water, it is best to do it between sunrise and 8 am, so the grass will dry quickly in the sun and you lose less water to evaporation.

Mowing grass higher in the summer, especially during a drought, is very important. Grasses produce deeper roots when they to grow to taller heights, enabling them to access water that is deeper in the soil profile. Taller grass is also better at shading the soil surface, keeping it cooler and helping it to conserve soil moisture.

If your lawn has suffered moderate damage (at least 50% of the lawn is still desirable grasses) you may need to over-seed. To over-seed you will need to mow the lawn a shorter than normal (1 1/2 inches). In the patches you need to seed loosen the dirt using a stiff rake, just enough to allow seed to be planted through the existing grass.

There are a few varieties of grass that do well in our area. Kentucky Bluegrass is a fine textured grass that spreads by rhizomes. It has a nice dark green color but is not as resistant to insects and disease as Tall Fescue. It also shows signs of stress earlier than other types of grass. Fine or Red Fescue also spreads by rhizomes but needs to have shade to grow.

Hopefully next year will bring more moisture, less heat for our home lawns and for farmers and ranchers,” concluded Andrews.