Dry summers are a challenge for lawns across Southern Maine. Without enough rain, even healthy grass can turn brown, thin out, or start to look patchy. But with the right care, your lawn can stay strong through the heat. Here are five practical tips to help your lawn get through a summer drought.
Summer Lawn Drought Care Tips
1. Water Deeply to Protect Your Lawn During Summer Drought
Skip the daily sprinkling and give your lawn a good soak two to three times per week. Aim for about an inch of water each time. This helps grass grow deeper roots, which makes it more drought-resistant. Watering in the early morning is best so the moisture can soak in before the sun gets too hot.
2. Mow Your lawn Higher
Cutting your lawn too short during dry weather can really stress it out. We recommend mowing at 3 to 3.5 inches during the summer. Taller blades help shade the soil, keep moisture in, and protect the roots. It’s a simple change that makes a big difference.
3. Keep Mower Blades Sharp
Sharp blades give your lawn a clean cut, which helps it hold in moisture and heal faster. We sharpen our mower blades several times per week to make sure the grass stays healthy. Dull blades tear the grass, which can leave it vulnerable to heat and disease.
4. Leave the Clippings In Your Lawn
When you mow, leave the clippings on the lawn instead of bagging them. This is called mulch mowing. The clippings return moisture and nutrients to the soil and act like a natural mulch that helps keep the ground cooler and more protected from the sun.
5. Plan Ahead for Fall Lawn Care
If your lawn takes a hit over the summer, fall is the perfect time to bring it back to life. Aerating and overseeding in the fall helps reduce soil compaction and fills in bare spots with fresh, drought-tolerant grass seed. It’s one of the best things you can do to prepare for the next season.
Local Lawn Care That Works Year-Round
Taking care of your lawn during a summer drought doesn’t have to be complicated. With a few small changes, you can protect your grass and keep it looking great. Garden Guys Landscaping helps homeowners in Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Portland, Scarborough, and Old Orchard Beach keep their lawns healthy no matter the weather.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still mow during a drought? Yes, but be gentle. Raise your mower height and mow less often. Never cut off more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.
What type of grass seed works best for dry conditions in Maine? We often recommend a mix of fine fescues, like creeping red or hard fescue, blended with Kentucky bluegrass. These varieties hold up well in heat and low water.
How can I tell if my lawn needs water? If your grass looks dull, has a bluish tint, or shows footprints that stick around, it’s likely thirsty. These are early signs of drought stress.
Do you offer services to help with drought-stressed lawns? We do. From lawn evaluations to fall aeration and overseeding, we can help your lawn recover and stay strong in the future.
Dormant or dead? How to tell
Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue protect themselves in a dry spell by going dormant. The blades turn tan, but the crowns at the base of the plant stay alive and green up when rain returns. A few simple checks:
- Tug test: grab a handful of brown grass and pull. Dormant grass holds firm. Grass that pulls out easily with no roots attached is either dead or has lost its roots to grubs.
- Crown check: split a few plants at the soil line. Firm, pale or white crowns are alive. Brittle, dry crowns are not.
- Pattern: dormancy is fairly even across sunny areas. Irregular dead patches with sharp edges point to something else.
Pick a lane: water fully or let it rest
Once a lawn goes dormant, the worst thing you can do is water just enough to green it up, then let it dry out again. Every wake-up uses stored energy. Either keep watering deeply all season, or let the lawn stay dormant.
If you let it rest, a light soaking every couple of weeks in a long dry stretch helps keep the crowns alive without breaking dormancy. While the lawn is brown:
- Keep foot traffic, vehicles and play equipment off it, since dormant grass cannot repair damage
- Skip fertilizer and weed control until growth resumes
- Mow only if something is actually growing, and never scalp brown turf
Problems that look like drought
Not every brown patch in July is a water problem:
- Grubs: turf that peels back like carpet, often with skunks or birds digging at night
- Chinch bugs: irregular yellow-to-brown patches in the sunniest, hottest parts of the lawn, often starting near pavement
- Heat spots: turf beside driveways, south-facing slopes and walls, where reflected heat dries the soil first
- Shallow soil: patches over ledge, buried rock or construction debris that brown first every dry summer
Sandy coastal soils dry out faster than inland loams, so lawns near the shore often go dormant earlier in a dry summer.
Recovery once the rain returns
Give the lawn two to three weeks of steady moisture before judging what died. Dormant areas green up from the crown. Areas that stay brown are the ones to repair.
The timing tends to work out: the end of a summer drought usually lines up with mid-August to mid-September, the best seeding window in Maine. Our guide to fall aeration and overseeding covers seed choice and aftercare, and a drought-tolerant blend with fine fescues makes the next dry summer easier. For watering technique, see our irrigation tips, and for mowing in heat, our mowing height guide.
We help lawns recover through our lawn care services in Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach and our other lawn care towns.