Wintertime is often not viewed as a pleasant season. Even in Florida where winter never truly arrives, the winter can be colder, seemingly long-lasting, and less interesting. Everything in nature goes dormant in the winter. Animals hibernate. Even bees hibernate, and flowers and some trees go dormant.
Your grass isn’t an exception to this rule. Grass or sod can turn brown when it goes dormant, but that doesn’t mean that the grass is dead. There are some ways to tell if your lawn has died or if it is just dormant.
- Pull on a handful of grass. If it tugs, it is dormant; but if it rips out in your hand, it is dead.
- Look for patterns. If a whole solid strip of your lawn is brown, it could be dormant grass. If the brown is in patches that do not resemble strips, the grass is dead.
- Consider temperature changes. Some warm weather grasses go dormant in the winter, and some cold weather grasses go dormant in the spring.
Of course, if your grass has died, you’ll need to consider getting new sod down before the rainy season starts. If your grass is dead, there are no roots stopping the erosion of your yard when the rain hits. But if it’s the off season, can you plant new sod?
Actually, you can. Even the sod that you purchase to be planted into your yard could be dormant and brown, but it can still be installed sooner rather than later. With the proper care, irrigation, and soil maintenance, you can successfully install sod in your lawn, and it will turn into a beautiful green when the dormant period ends.
If you are needing to get your new lawn sodded by spring, contact us today for more information or to get started.