Dormant Grass During the Summer Months

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again. Time for your beautiful green grass that you worked so hard on to turn brown, crispy and ugly. As an avid grass watcher and nurturer, I have to confess that it’s a bit nerve racking to watch something like this unfold.

I suppose I don’t care. True, I get to mow the lawn less and I already overseed the entire lawn every Autumn, but I think it’s the plants I am worried about. Our Rhododendrons are looking a bit stressed. I know grass will most likely come back just fine. I have seen nice green shoots grow out of the tips of brown crispy grass before, so I am sure it will happen again. I have been watering the Rhododendrons, so I have my fingers crossed that they will be okay. I read that Rhododendrons are quite drought tolerant if they are established. I believe established means more than a few years old.

I am going to post some photos of the dormant grass I am talking about. The grass in the photos consists of Fine Fescue, Ryegrass, Bluegrass and other types of Fescue. As you can see, some looks just fine, while other areas look terrible. From what I can tell, the Fine Fescue gets hit the hardest in the heat. Not one of my favorite types of grass.