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You might’ve noticed your lawn looks significantly greener when the summer comes to an end. There are many reasons grass turns either brown or green. It can be frustrating seeing your neighbor’s lawn look wonderful all year long, while your grass only stays good during winter or summer. How could this be?
Winter makes your lawn greener if you have Kentucky bluegrass, bentgrass, fine fescue, or annual and perennial ryegrass. These grasses are known as cold season grass. A warm-season grass, such as Bermuda or St. Augustine, typically goes dormant and brown during the winter.
Throughout this post, we’ll cover various types of cold-weather grass you can plant to keep your lawn looking great. We’ll also show you why warm-season grasses go dormant, when both types grow, and how you can keep your lawn vibrantly green.
Which Grass Grows During Winter?
| Type of Grass | Grass Zone Name | Temperature Range |
| – Kentucky bluegrass – Bentgrass – Annual ryegrass – Perennial ryegrass – Creeping fescue – Fine fescue – Tall fescue | Cold Zone | 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit |
| All grasses listed for warm and cold zones | Transition Zone | 65 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit |
| – Bermuda grass – St. Augustine grass – Centipede grass – Zoysia grass | Warm Zone | 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit |
If you want your lawn to look green during the winter, you need to plant cold-season grass seeds. You could also choose sod since it’s easier to maintain and get going right away. Either way, you can keep the following list in mind when choosing which grass to plant:
- Kentucky bluegrass
- Bentgrass
- Annual and perennial ryegrasses
- Creeping, tall, and fine fescue
According to Gilmour, cold-season grass should start germinating around 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12.7 Celsius). It grows well between 60 F to 80 F (15.5 C to 16.6 C) but can tolerate colder temperatures. It’s ideal for people living in states that experience dry, mild winters.
You might notice your lawn looks green, even if you don’t have these grasses. Some of this color improvement is due to extra rain, mild temperatures, and other external features that almost all types of grass benefit from. If you live in a drought-stricken area, there’s a high chance the first rain or two will make your grass look greener.
Another reason warm-season grass can look greener when the weather cools down is that there’s not as much direct sunlight. Clouds can protect the grass, preventing them from turning brown. However, almost all summertime grass will turn brown and go dormant.
Dormant grass typically refers to a lawn that’s gone brown for the season. It’ll come back, so don’t worry if your lawn looks discolored or dull when it’s cold. It’s best to know which type of grass you have before making assumptions or planting a new layer.
Scott’s Kentucky Bluegrass Turf Builder gets your lawn started for cold-weather grass. You can choose a 3-pound or 7-pound bag, depending on how big your yard is. Their formula is designed to pull in more moisture and nutrients than traditional grass seed, making it sprout much quicker.
How to Keep Your Lawn Green During the Cold Months
To keep your lawn green during cold months, you should treat it as you always would; Water the lawn regularly, don’t over-fertilize it, and mow it if it gets too high. Sod Solutions explains you shouldn’t do too much to revitalize dormant grass during the winter because dormancy is a natural cycle of life.
Some grass is dormant longer than others. If your lawn is always in the recommended temperature and humidity range it might never go dormant. There are many annual kinds of grass that stay lively and healthy throughout the year.
However, if you’re adamant about keeping a green lawn during the winter months, we suggest switching to an annual seed rather than trying to bring life to dormant grass. As a local yard care service about which types of grass they provide and if sod is an option.
Winter or cold-season grasses usually sprout during fall and spring, so make sure you plant them accordingly. Planting your grass seed during the wrong time of year could dry the seeds and make them useless. For this reason, sod is often the better solution since it’s already good to go and digs its roots into the soil.
Some people try overseeding, which could be an option for your lawn. When your warm-season grass goes dormant, load it up with cold-season grass. As the cold-season grass goes dormant in the summer, switch back to overseeding with warm-season grass.
Eventually, there will be enough grass to the point where one of them is always dormant until the other comes to life and you won’t have to overseed anymore.
Note: You could keep your lawn and add colorant during the winter. LawnStar’s Grass Paint Concentrate can paint your lawn to a bright shade of green. The best part is you don’t have to plant new grass seed or sod. Simply spray your dormant grass and it’ll look amazing until new healthy grass sprouts in the spring and summer.
Does Dormant Grass Return in the Spring and Summer?
Dormant grass is never dead. Sure, your grass can die from excess sunshine or lack thereof, as well as too much or too little water, nutrients, and oxygen. If your lawn looks dead, follow my step-by-step process to remove the brown grass.
Property Ware shows how important it is to remove thatch right when your grass goes dormant. An evergrowing thatch layer can quickly ruin your grass by depriving it of sunshine, nutrients, oxygen, and water. Use a rake to get rid of it and aerate dormant grass so it’s ready to grow in the spring and summer.
Here are a few other tips to shorten your lawn’s dormancy:
- Water and fertilize the lawn as soon as the weather changes. There’s no point in fertilizing your lawn when it’s dormant, but right when it starts to sprout and change colors is the perfect time. Your grass will soak up the nutrients and grow much quicker.
- Cut your grass short to reveal excess thatch and dead grass. You can remove it with a rake, opening everything to grow healthier. Feel free to fill in the dirt patches with the appropriate grass seed. If you’re unsure of what grass you have in your lawn, ask a local lawn care professional.
- Keep a calendar of when your grass is supposed to get out of dormancy so you know what to expect next year. This might not help you right away, but it can pay dividends in the long run. You’ll have a jumpstart on next year’s sprouting season, increasing the chances of having a full, healthy lawn.
Dormant grass will almost always return since it still has established roots. Just because the grass looks dull, yellow, or brown doesn’t mean it’s ruined forever. Make sure you continue to water it, even when it’s not in season.
When Does Cool-Season Grass Grow?
Cool-season grass often grows best during the fall and spring. It’s supposed to thrive between 65 to 80 degrees, which might seem a bit high for some states during these times of the year. For this reason, your cold-season grass might take a little longer to grow until it reaches the previously mentioned temperature range.
Are you tired of picking up pine needles, leaves, and grass when they’re dormant? Check out my quick review of how to use a lawn vacuum.
Wrapping It Up
Now that you know how to keep your lawn green throughout the year, you can choose the best grass for the local climate. Various types of fescue, bluegrass, and ryegrass are great for colder environments. Consider annual grasses to keep them growing healthily when warm summers come around.
