Drought Stress Warning Signs: How to Recognize a Drought in Your Lawn

Summer in Florida is a magical time full of hot sand and cold drinks, sunshine and saltwater, and road trips and beach vacations. It sounds pretty amazing and stress-free; doesn’t it?

We hope your Florida summer is the utopia you dream it will be, because it can be quite the opposite for your grass or turf. That same beautifully hot weather that you love can cause serious damage to your lawn!

This damage is so common that it has a name—drought stress.

The health of your lawn is at stake when drought stress comes into play. More than hurting its health, though, drought stress can negatively affect your lawn’s color and the prevalence of weeds. In other words, the drastic impact drought stress can have on your lawn is no good!

Don’t worry, though. Despite Florida being a practically perpetual state of summer, you can save your lawn from the downfall of drought stress. By recognizing the signs early, you can nip potential problems in the bud, keeping your lawn happy and healthy.

Diagnosing Drought Stress

Over the decades, we’ve developed a few need-to-know tests that you can use to determine your lawn’s drought stress status. They’re easy, quick, and, most importantly, definitive, giving you the knowledge you need to remedy any issues in no time!

Color Test

It’s one thing for your grass to be brown and patchy; it’s an entirely different scenario when your lawn is noticeably grey instead of its normal bright green. If the color shade of your grass is just off, it could be suffering from drought stress. Unless you take action, it could turn brown and die sooner rather than later.

Catching a shift in your lawn’s color before it’s totally brown could be what saves it!

Crunch Test

If looking at your lawn yields no insights, we recommend you go for a walk—literally! As you stroll across your lawn, listen carefully. If you hear a significant crunch, your grass may very well be suffering from drought stress. Properly hydrated grass or turf should not crunch under your feet!

Footprint Test

So, you walked across your lawn. Maybe you heard a crunch, maybe you didn’t. Either way, take a moment to turn around, look at your path, and search for footprints. If you see prints clearly laid out in your grass, you are likely dealing with a drought problem.

This is a particularly effective test as it can identify drought stress before other indicators, such as patchy, dry, or brown grass become apparent.

Pull Test

Shallow roots are both an indicator of existing drought stress or susceptibility to drought should it occur. To test this aspect of your lawn, simply give a blade of grass a tug. If it comes loose easily and seems shallow, you might be dealing with drought stress!

Screwdriver Test

All you need is a screwdriver and a lawn to perform this simple test. Locate a brown patch in your lawn and push the screwdriver in deep. Then, do the same thing in a green patch.

If it’s easy to break into the soil of the green patch but not the brown patch, that is a sign that you’re probably dealing with drought damage!

Shade Test

Maybe you’ve performed all of the other tests and come away with mixed results. This final test should help you determine once and for all whether your lawn is suffering from drought stress or not.

Look at the shaded areas of your lawn. Is the grass healthy and green in those areas? What about in the areas of your lawn exposed to the sun? If there is an obvious difference between the two—with the sunny areas showing patches and brown spots—this is a definite sign of drought damage.

Treating Drought Stress

So, you’ve established that your grass is, in fact, drought damaged. Now what?

First things first, you need to evaluate the extent of the damage. Did you catch it early, or is the damage severe? Does it affect the entirety of your lawn or just certain areas?

Answering these questions will guide you as you work to remedy your drought stress.

Aerate the Soil

Compacted soil is more likely to experience drought stress. If your lawn is subjected to heavy traffic—whether it’s feet, mowers, animals, machinery, or anything else—then the soil has most likely been pressed down.

This drastically limits the amount of air that can reach the roots of your grass. Aerating your soil can be a lifesaver for drought-damaged grass.

Revamp Your Irrigation

There is a distinct possibility that revamping your irrigation tactics can aid in your lawn’s recovery and sustained health. For example, even if you water shallowly every day, you could be harming your grass by fostering shallow roots that cannot withstand drought.

Instead, consider watering less frequently but more deeply. Even better, work with a professional who can accurately diagnose any issues that exist and help you adjust accordingly. We also recommend that you read our definitive guide to Florida irrigation for a more generalized leg-up on irrigation know-how and strategies!

Partner with an Expert

The best way to ensure your drought stress problem disappears for good is to work with someone who knows what they’re doing. A reliable, knowledgeable irrigation partner can transform your lawn into the lush landscape you’ve always dreamed of.

Landcrafters has spent the last 20 years uncovering the ins and outs of Florida landscape—including droughts. With so much experience and a proven reputation for excellence, Landcrafters is a go-to irrigation expert in the Sunshine State!

We hope our drought guide equipped you to determine the health of your grass and make the right moves to fix any drought damage. There’s no need your grass needs to pay the price every time summer rolls around, and now it doesn’t have to!

If you need a little help reviving your grass, give us a call at (727)-201-3947 or visit our contact page. Our team of experts is always willing and able to address your drought stress woes or any other landscaping projects you may have!

For more landscaping insights, check out our free, regularly updated blog where we share tons of exciting information, tips, and tricks!