At first glance, it may seem impossible to tell the difference between dormant and dead grass. In truth, it is nearly impossible to do so visually. There are, however, a few observations that can be made under the surface that will help you determine if your lawn is made up of or has patches of dormant sod vs dead sod.
The Difference Between Dormant and Dead Grass? (The Short Answer)
The main difference between dormant and dead grass is that while dormant grass is still capable of greening up, dead grass will only decay. Shortly after a clump of grass has died, if the entire lawn is dormant, there is no visible difference. Weeks later, the roots of the dead grass will decay and it will be possible to tell the difference.
What Does Dead Grass Look Like?
Dead grass looks brown and unhealthy. At first, it is indistinguishable from dormant grass. As it begins to decay the differences will set in. Dead grass will seem just a bit dryer or thinner to the touch than dormant grass. In cases of dormancy caused by hot weather where you have not stopped irrigating your yard, you may also notice that the dead grass becomes either slimy or brittle, depending on your soil type and drainage.
After this stage, the roots of the dead grass will begin to decay. Dead vs dormant grass roots will be short and thin. This is when you can begin testing to see if you have dead grass without trying to green up your lawn.
What Does Dormant Grass Look Like?
Dormant grass looks brown and may be a little on the “crispy” side. It may even appear to stiffen up as it remains dormant, depending on the type of grass you have. Dormant grass may look just like dead grass at first, but the key difference between dead grass vs dormant grass is that dormant grass will not decay. It may stop growing and take in fewer resources, but it remains alive and growing.
However, the health of your lawn before it went dormant, as well as how long the period of dormancy has lasted and the resources your lawn has had access to during this time, will determine how different your dormant grass looks from dead grass.
Dead grass vs. Dormant Grass: Differences You Will Be Able to See
At first glance, dead and dormant grass will look the same. After a few weeks to a month, depending on climate, soil type, and the health of your lawn, you may notice that the dead grass is shorter than the dormant grass by a few millimeters. Most of us, however, still won’t be able to see these differences.
If there is no real way to tell the difference between dormant vs dead grass on the surface level until major levels of decay have set it or the lawn has begun to green up, what can you look at? Inspecting the root system of grass that may be dead or dormant is the fastest way to tell what the true condition of your grass is. You can find details on how to do this in the following section.
2 Quick Tests to Tell If Your Grass is Dead or Dormant
If you suspect your lawn is dead or if you suspect that patches of your lawn are dead, there are two things you can do to confirm these suspicions.
Encourage Your Lawn to Green Up (When It’s Safe to Do So)
The definitive method is to green up your entire lawn and see what stays brown. In many cases, it will be impractical to do this. You do not want to force your lawn to green up during a time when it’s either too cold or too hot for your grass type to survive outside of dormancy. You cannot rush the greening-up process. Plus, exactly how long it takes dormant grass to turn green can vary according to numerous factors.
Try to Pull the Grass Up by the Roots
How do you know if you have dead or dormant grass? Check the roots. If getting the entire lawn to green up isn’t an option, you can try to pull up some grass and inspect the roots. Remember that this test cannot be done if the ground is frozen and it should not be done following a day of rain. If it has rained, wait for 2 consecutive days of dry weather and then attempt this test.
First, select a patch of grass that you suspect is dead and a patch that should be alive. Gently tug on the patch that is alive with just enough force to feel resistance. It should feel firmly rooted in the ground. Next, attempt the same thing with the “dead” patch. If the grass pulls up easily, it has been dead long enough that the roots have begun to decay.
When attempting this test, keep in mind that almost all grass can be uprooted easily if the soil is too loose or wet. If the lawn was unhealthy or your sod’s roots were short to begin with, it may also come up easily. Rocky soils may also lead to loose or poor root systems, meaning this test is not always 100% reliable. Long periods of dormancy will also lead to stunted, spindly roots if not enough moisture is available.
If any of these factors are present, you may wish to use the test I talk about below to see the difference between dormant grass vs dead grass.
One Not-So-Quick Test to Tell If Your Lawn Contains Dead vs Dormant Grass
There is only one definitive way to tell if your lawn is dead or dying if the right conditions to bring it out of dormancy are weeks or months away. The test is simple, but it can take a few weeks. If it’s the middle of summer or winter, you likely have the time and peace of mind is always worth a little patience.
All you need to do is pot up a small 3×3 inch section of grass and place it near a warm, sunny window indoors. Keep it watered just like you would a spring lawn. If it’s doing well after 1 to 2 weeks and fully greens up, your lawn will be just fine in the area where this sample was taken from. If, after 2 full weeks, the sample is still dry and brown you know for sure that you have dead grass in this section.
If the sample is a mix of green and brown after 2 months, your lawn may be stressed and dying but still has a chance at recovery once the period of dormancy has passed. In cases like this, you may need to re-evaluate your watering or feeding plan to help support the current needs of your lawn. Even during a period of dormancy, a lawn can still use both water and fertilizer, though it will need less of each.
Leave a Reply