Dead Lawn

Draught will very quickly ( a few days) turn a cool season lawn brown and looking dead. And once cool season grasses go brown - they are dead. This is not the case with warm season grasses which tend to turn colour and never actually go brown, unless in cases of severe drought. So just because you have a brown lawn which looks brown and dead to the naked eye it is not necessarily a dead lawn. 

Warm season grasses can go into a dormant state in the middle of summer if starved of water. A trained eye will determine whether the lawn is dead or dormant. In this brown dormant state, the "dead lawn" will survive for about 6 weeks. During this time it is essential to keep heavy traffic off the lawn. Once watered again, the dead lawn should revive and turn green within 10 - 14 days. 

If drought is not the cause then suspect lawn pests or grubs maybe at work.

Another possibility for a dead lawn is the use of the wrong concentration weed killer, or the wrong type of lawn weed killer.

As opposed to brown patches, it is rare to have a completely dead lawn (unless the lawn in made up of entirely cool season grasses) and for the entire lawn to die. So it must be assumed that there is something environmentally common that is affecting the lawn. The wrong mowing height coupled with early fertilizsation could be the culprit. 

Also the wrong mowing height coupled with a cold spell, or drought could also do considerable damage. For example a warm period in the spring  coupled with scarafing and fertilizing will encourage new growth. Then a sudden cold spell could kill off the grass and produce a dead lawn. This scenario is not likely near the coast in the Mediterranean, but could happen at higher altitudes inland.

Warm season grasses can go brown in the Winter, especially after frost or a cold period. The entire lawn may not necessarily look dead but certainly the more exposed areas. Consider overseeding with a cool season grass to provide a green lawn through the Winter.

Cool season grasses will, within a few weeks of high temperatures, die off when the weather turns in the spring and the daytime temperatures exceed 20 degrees. Consider plugging  with a warm season grass to provide a green lawn through the Summer.

The wrong fertiliser can cause serious damage to the lawn. Always read the guidelines supplied with the product.
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