Understanding the signs of drought stress in your lawn is crucial for protecting its health and appeal. From the blades folding down the middle to the graying color, these cues serve as warning signs to your yard’s irrigation requirements and overall health.

By recognizing these indicators, you can take steps to ensure your lawn bounces back quickly and remains lush and green, even during dry spells. Below are some hints to what your lawn is trying to tell you, empowering you to make informed decisions about watering and care to keep your lawn thriving throughout the seasons.

1. Blade Folding
   
   St. Augustine grass has a midvein that acts as a “spine” for each individual blade, allowing it to open and close as needed. Healthy, well-watered grass will appear almost completely flat and totally open.

When your lawn begins to dry out, the blades will close in half upon itself, to reduce its exposure to the sun and conserve it’s water. This will also give the grass a “hazy” look, as the backs of the blades are not as deep a green as the enclosed fronts.

Monitoring these subtle changes in blade position can provide valuable insight into your lawn's hydration needs and help you adjust your watering schedule accordingly, ensuring your St. Augustine turf remains vibrant and healthy.

2. Slow “Spring Back”
   
   Although Zoysia grass does not thrive under heavy traffic, healthy turf should return itself to the upright position quickly after being walked upon.

If your footprints last more than 10 seconds in the turf, this is the second sign of drought stress.

This delayed "spring back" indicates that the grass is not receiving adequate moisture, causing it to lose resilience and struggle to recover from pressure. By observing this aspect of your lawn's behavior, you can identify potential drought stress early on and take action to address it before it negatively impacts the overall health of your turf.

3. Audible Crunching
   One of the later signs in drought stress is an audible “crunch” when the turf is stepped on. Grass may still be green when this happens, so it may not be noticeable by just looking at it. Turf with ample water is softer and cushions better, but drier grass will crunch and crackle as it’s stepped on.

This audible cue is a clear indication that the grass is under significant stress due to lack of moisture, even if its green appearance might suggest otherwise. By paying attention to this auditory signals, you can detect drought stress early and take proactive measures to increase the sprinkler time so it has the water needs to thrive.

4. Browning-out and thinning
   As drought stress persists, the consequences become increasingly severe for your turf - depending upon your turf type. The next phases involve browning-out, thinning, and ultimately, the death of your lawn.

Browning-out occurs as the grass loses its vibrant green color, signaling distress, and goes dormant. Without sufficient moisture to keep it healthy and support growth, the turf ultimately dies, leaving behind patches and eventually, bare soil. 

In the growing season, it's crucial to ensure your lawn stays well-watered. This practice promotes deeper root growth, improves it’s appeal, and reduces the likelihood of lawn-damaging pests. 

After you have noticed the drought stress, the next step is to either conduct your own sprinkler system audit or to hire a local irrigation contractor. This will ensure your coverage is thorough, filters are cleaned, pressure is correct, water use is efficient, and time settings are enough. 

Many homeowners make the simple mistake of thinking if their yard is dry, they just need to add some additional days or times to the system - without ensuring the coverage and operation is correct.

Being mindful of these warning indicators of drought stress and implementing changes are key to maintaining the health and longevity of your Zoysia or St. Augustine lawn.

Get more info here:
Vlog: Zoysia vs. St. Augustine Watering Need Differences
Vlog: The Third Basic Need of A Lawn: Water
Blog: 5 Lawn Tips in times of Drought

Our trained irrigation technicians are ready to help! Contact us now at (352) 378-5296 or (904) 913-5296 or fill out our form at the top of the page, we would love to help!

As winter fades away and the warmth of spring emerges, it's time to prepare your lawn for the season ahead. Here in North Florida, spring brings not only blooming flowers, but also some challenges for maintaining a healthy, appealing, and lush lawn. 

After going through over 20 years of watching lawns react to spring, we're here to share the top five lawn care tips that are specific to North Florida to help improve your lawn’s curb appeal.

1. Weed Invasion Defense:
With the onset of spring, the warmer temperatures create the perfect environment for weeds to thrive. To combat this, a combination of pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control is essential for your turf.

We also emphasize the importance of addressing weeds in mulch beds, as they can quickly spread and detract from your landscape's curb appeal.

The key for weed control, if you’re going to DIY it, is to learn the fundamentals before getting started. Every year, we average about 1-2 calls a week from a homeowner who says, “I bought something at the home improvement store, used it on my lawn, and now it’s all dying. What happened?!?”
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The common denominator in each of these calls is one or a combination of the following:

• Used a product for the wrong type of grass (for example, they used a weed control product made for Bahia or Centipede on St. Augustine grass)
• Used a product made for 10,000 sq ft of grass on 3,000 sq ft of grass. (basically overusing the product because they didn’t measure their lawn or didn’t read the label)
• Used a combination of products that singularly would work fine, however when applied together on the lawn had an adverse effect.

The lesson from these other DIY mistakes is to learn the fundamentals before starting; which are to know your type (or types) of predominant turfgrasses, know the measurements of your lawn and rates for product you're applying, and lastly, know your products timelines of effectiveness. 

2. Spring Irrigation Tune-Up:
As temperatures rise, North Florida experiences a dry spell that catches many homeowners off guard. Often, irrigation systems have been reduced or turned off during the winter months, leading to drought stress on lawns when temperatures increase in March.

Many homeowners also neglect servicing their sprinkler system, using the ‘set it and forget it’ mentality - not adjusting for seasonal changes or servicing it to ensure it’s covering properly.

Regular servicing and seasonal checkups are crucial to ensure your irrigation system is functioning efficiently and preventing dry patches in your yard. 

Without the proper amount of moisture in your lawn, fertilizer and weed control will have a negative effect on your turf’s health. 

3. Preventing Pests:
Springtime brings the awakening of pests that can wreak havoc on your lawn if left unchecked. Chinch bugs, Mole Crickets, and other landscape pests can cause a lot of St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bermuda grass damage quickly if left to a reactive approach to landscape pest control.

Whether you DIY or want to partner with a local north florida pest control service such as ours, it is vital during the growing season to protect your lawn. If you choose the DIY route, be sure to use preventive measures rather than relying solely on contact products after you have an infestation.

Integrated Pest Management practices such as proper mowing height and irrigation management play a major part in preventing lawn insect damage. 

4. Soil and Lawn Nutrition:
Proper fertilization is key to promoting lush, healthy growth in your lawn. By timing fertilizer applications correctly in the spring, you can provide your turf with the essential nutrients it needs to thrive.

The result? A vibrant, dark green lawn that enhances your outdoor space.

If your home is new construction (within the past 3-5 years) or fertilization isn’t offering the results you desire, you might consider topdressing to boost your soil nutrition. Soil’s pH and poor quality can make fertilizer wasted due to the turf’s inability to take up nutrients.

Topdressing with quality soil makes a major difference for lawns suffering through that.

5. Bed Definition:
Don't overlook the importance of well-defined bed edges and crisp bed lines to give your landscape great curb appeal. Tidying up your landscape with defined beds and fresh mulch not only improves the health of the landscape long-term, but also elevates your curb appeal immediately.

The contrast from a green lawn to defined dark mulch beds gives attention to detail that makes your landscape stand out and make a lasting impression.

As you prepare your lawn for the spring season, remember that investing in professional lawn care services can save you time, effort, and frustration. The Master’s is dedicated to helping you achieve a healthy, beautiful lawn that you can enjoy year-round.

For personalized advice and assistance, our lawn and pest control professionals are ready to help! Contact us now at (352) 378-5296 or (904) 913-5296 or fill out our form at the top of the page, we would love to help!