Most seasons in Northeast, cool-season lawns go dormant in midsummer. Growth slows to a crawl or stops completely, and the grass sometimes turns brown. When temperatures cool down and rains return in late summer or early fall, the grass usually turns green and starts growing again.
But with this year’s record-breaking heat and drought, the rains are returning and in some places the grass is not. That’s because even tough, well-established turfgrasses can only take so much, explains Frank Rossi, turf specialist in Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture.
If your grass has died or is so weakened that weeds have taken over, now is a good time to reseed bare spots or renovate large areas of your lawn he adds. (See videos below.) The same cool temperatures and increased rainfall that fuels fall regrowth will also help your new seedings get off to a good start.
In wet seasons, grass will grow just about anywhere. But dry seasons show us where our lawns are weakest, Rossi points out. Focus your efforts on those weak spots and areas where weeds have run roughshod over the grass.
“Consider using tall fescue when you renovate,” says Rossi. “It roots deeper, and is more drought-tolerant and resistant to insects than other grasses.” Tall fescue also establishes quickly, performs well with less fertilizer than traditional turfgrasses, and tolerates traffic and shade. But because it’s a bunch grass, it does require regular overseeding and because of its fine texture is shouldn’t be mixed in with other established turfgrasses, cautions Rossi.
Renovation also provides an opportunity to fix some of the underlying problems that may be limiting the health of your lawn – poor soil, bad drainage, low light and uneven irrigation, to name a few. Remedies might include adding organic matter, regrading to improve drainage, pruning or removing trees to improve light penetration or checking irrigation systems to make sure they are delivering water uniformly.
Frank demonstrates renovation in the video below. For more details see Lawn renovation and establishment at the Cornell Gardening Resources website.
And if you just have small spots that need repair, late summer/early fall is a good time to do that as well.