Brown patches on lawns can be a sign of disease, and there are several ways to deal with discoloured grass but it’s important to identify the cause before starting any treatment.
Getting your lawn ready for the summer can be a bit of a slog, but the hard work doesn’t stop when the sun comes out. If you want a lush lawn, it’s just as important to look after your grass throughout the summer and into the colder months. Even with the best will in the world, problems can still crop up.
If you notice that your grass has turned brown in patches, it’s a sure sign that it needs a bit of TLC, and there could be a number of reasons why this is happening. But according to gardening experts, there are only a few likely culprits as we move from summer into autumn.
Phil Catron, who founded NaturaLawn of America, says that during the summer, it’s usually either drought or too much rain that causes damage to lawns.
He told Martha Stewart that fungal infections often occur in “warm, humid weather”, which can leave lawns vulnerable to diseases that attack the roots.
These issues often show up as brown patches on the lawn, and there are three common diseases that cause this, reports the Express.
Brown patch disease results in irregular areas of discoloured grass blades that become more noticeable when the lawn gets waterlogged. Summer patch, on the other hand, causes the grass to die off or become thin, starting off yellow before turning an unattractive shade of brown.
Then there’s Pythium blight, also known as “grease spot” or “cottony blight”, which can wreak havoc on your lawn during warm, damp weather.
This disease can create sunken, brownish areas throughout lawns, along with a slimy film on grass blades. Concerning the most effective remedy, Phil noted that there’s no single cure.
However, he urged gardeners to think about improving air flow and soil drainage as a brilliant first step. He warned against over-fertilising and suggested using fungicides.
A local gardening expert can determine the fungus type and recommend the most appropriate fungicide. Phil said: “Keep an eye on lawn conditions and be proactive about addressing any signs of disease to minimise damage and improve recovery chances.”
In cases where brown patches are fungal, it’s vital to tackle the problem as swiftly as possible. If the infection goes untreated, the grass could die.
Advice from the Royal Horticultural Society suggests repairing damaged or bare lawn sections gradually. Affected areas can be treated with fungicide and reseeded or patched.
Simply use a piece of turf dug up from another area of the lawn, or new turf if available. The RHS explained: “The latter gives instant results, but sowing seed may be easier and cheaper if you have no spare turf to use as a patch.”
It’s possible that the reason for brown patches on your lawn is non-fungal. Lucie Bradley, gardening expert from Easy Garden Irrigation, told David Wilson Homes that cat and dog urine can destroy grass due to the high nitrogen content.
“This can act as a fertiliser in small amounts but can burn when concentrated and create dead patches on the lawn”, Lucie explained. While you can reseed and patch areas affected by pet urine, the.