Why Is My Bermuda Grass Turning Brown?
Brown in January Is Fine. Brown in July Means Call Somebody.
Bermuda goes brown every winter. That is just what it does. It shuts down after the first hard frost and sits there looking dead until the soil warms back up in April, and there is nothing wrong with it.
So before you spend a dime, look at two things. When did it brown, and what shape is the brown.
Dormancy takes the whole yard at once, evenly. Everything else shows up as patches, circles, stripes or a line moving across the lawn. Those we can do something about. Here are the six we get called out for most around Olive Branch and Southaven.
Six Reasons Bermuda Goes Brown
Look at the shape first. Even and everywhere is one thing. Circles and hard edges are another.
Winter Dormancy
Whole yard, evenly, every year, first frost through April. Nothing to fix and nothing to buy.
It Needs Water
It goes gray-green before it goes brown, and your footprints stay in it after you walk across. High spots and the strip along the driveway go first. An inch a week in one or two long soakings beats a little bit every day.
You Scalped It
Cut it too low or let it get away from you and take too much off at once, and you are looking at brown stem where green leaf used to be. It shows up the same afternoon you mow, in your mower stripes.
Spring Dead Spot
Circles that stay brown in April while everything around them greens up. Pull the runners inside one and they come up dead. It is a root disease, and it comes back to the same spots year after year.
Grubs or Armyworms
Grub damage rolls up like carpet because there are no roots left holding it. Armyworms move a lot faster than that, a sharp line eating across the yard over two or three days. Both hit hardest July through September.
Fungus
Defined circles, or little bleached spots about the size of a silver dollar. Shows up in humid stretches after warm nights. It never looks like the even fade of dormancy.
What Fixes It
Fertilization & Weed Control
Eight treatments a year keeps it thick and fed so it bounces back from a rough summer instead of thinning out.
Grub & Lawn Insect Control
A preventative before the eggs hatch costs less and works better than trying to fix chewed-up roots in August.
Lawn Disease Control
Fungicide for brown patch, dollar spot and large patch, put down when the weather is setting up for it.
Why Choose Lawn Jox?
Free Service Calls
Our job is to make sure your lawn is beautiful all season long. If you think there is something wrong with your lawn, call us. The inspection is free.
Right Size Equipment
Lawn Jox started with push mowers and we still have them. We use the right sized equipment for the right job, optimizing our time and lowering your cost.
Professional, Uniformed Crews
Just like your lawn, we have standards with our appearance as well. All of our lawn care technicians are uniformed and professional.
Fully Licensed & Insured
As a fully licensed & insured lawn care company in the state of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas, we make sure your assets are protected while on your property.
Electronic Quotes & Invoicing
We save on paper and make it easy to pay. With our electronic system, you’ll receive quotes and invoices on your devices so you can accept bids and pay invoices all online.
No Contracts
Nothing to sign and no minimum term. Your program carries over each year so the spring pre-emergent is never missed, and you can stop any time by calling or texting the office.