Discolored Grass? Here Are Possible Causes and How Lawn Care Services Can Help in Dublin and Upper Arlington, OH
When your lawn in the Dublin or Upper Arlington, OH, area has patches of discolored grass, you may need to recruit the help of professional lawn care services. You may be unsure about what’s causing the discoloration, so we will provide some possibilities for why your lawn is experiencing these symptoms.
Missing Nutrients
When the soil lacks certain nutrients, it can result in patchy yellow spots throughout your lawn or even the entire lawn having a pale green or yellow appearance. Nitrogen and iron tend to be the most common nutrient deficiencies.
If your lawn has turned yellow-green in color and growth has slowed down, it likely has a nitrogen deficiency. This deficiency could result from heavy rain washing away the nutrients in the soil. On the other hand, if you are noticing spots on your lawn that look bleached or yellow, this could be caused by iron deficiency. While rarer than the other deficiencies, a phosphorus deficiency can cause the grass to turn a purplish color, making the lawn look darker in some areas.
Underwatering or Drought
While you can’t control the lack of rain, you can be proactive about ensuring your lawn is well-watered to avoid symptoms of drought. If you notice large brown spots or a dull-gray appearance throughout your lawn, it is likely caused by a lack of water. A lawn can go dormant during a drought; if this occurs, the lawn should be watered every couple of weeks to ensure its survival. Although, it’s likely that it won’t turn green again during the season.
Seasonal Changes
When the weather begins to get colder and winter approaches, your grass will go dormant. The grass will turn a different color when it goes dormant, but the specific color depends upon the variety of grass. Most commonly, dormant grass turns brown, but in some species of grass, it can turn a dark purple color when under stress caused by cold weather. Dormant grass will begin to turn green again when the weather has warmed up, and the soil has enough water and nutrients for growth.
Fungus Growth
If you’re wondering why your lawn looks rusty, this reddish-orange hue could be a result of fungus growth on the lawn. This generally occurs when the soil is dry, but the humidity is high in the late summer or early fall. The great news is that rust is purely a cosmetic concern; simply mowing your lawn and ensuring it is well-fertilized should rid the grass of rust. It is often advised not to water the grass in the evenings to prevent this fungus. In addition, having your lawn aerated can be helpful since rust is more common in lawns with hard and compacted soil.
Other fungus growth can result in patches of brown grass or even a circular ring of brown grass where the inside of the circle is still green. The treatment for these fungal conditions often requires fungicide application. Hiring lawn care technicians to treat your lawn is often your best bet to resolve any lawn care issues efficiently.
Related: Services Needed for Lawn Care Near Me in the Worthington and Bexley, OH Areas
About the Author
In 2017, David C. Ludolph II and Kody G. Kavanagh joined forces to create PropertyWorx—one of Central Ohio’s leading full-service property solutions companies. With combined experience of over 50 years, we pride ourselves on taking both residential and commercial properties to the next level, by providing home and business owners with all they need to update, transform, and tend to their properties.
