When Does Grass Go Dormant
Central Florida- Early to mid-May.
When does grass go dormant. It will often stay in this dormant state throughout the winter months then green up again in spring. Dormant seeding involves putting down seed while the ground is not frozen yet cold enough so germination of the grass seed will not occur until next spring when the soils begin to warm. Usually thats late October or early November but some warm areas may push that date back to the beginning of December.
There are two main causes of dormancy. Without air the grass cannot continue to grow and may find itself dormant. Generally the cutoff point comes when temperatures drop below 50F during the day.
The grass does require some water but will generally receive enough rainfall to keep going. In many parts of the country natural grass lawns go dormant during the winter when the temperatures drop and then come back as the temperature rises in spring. When dormant if temperatures are above freezing Bermuda grass should be watered with half the amount of water required during the growing season.
However here in Southern California natural grass lawns usually thrive during the winter and go dormant during the hotter months of summer or during times of drought. Southern grasses can tolerate extremely warm temperatures and have a very low tolerance for cold weather. Its only when temps fall consistently below 80-degrees F or when soil temps are below 55-F that your grass will go dormant and turn brown.
When buying sod its worthwhile to discuss the upcoming season to find out if an unusual climate pattern is on the horizon. Does grass go dormant in heat. When grass goes dormant for the cold winter months it shuts down and turns brown in order to conserve water and nutrients.
The warm-season grass goes dormant in the winter because of its low tolerance resulting in a brown lawn. Most turfgrass plants can stay in a dormant state for at least 3 to 4 weeks without the grass dying. On the other hand warm-season grasses such as Bermuda grass and St.