Is there any way to resurrect a dead lawn?

Kirsten.In.NH

We have not been good about watering our lawn and it's totally dried up and brown.   Is there any way we can bring it back to life?   Will just watering it do the trick, or are there products that will help it along?  TIA!

~NB~

If it is dead, no amount of water or treatments will do the trick. Do you know what type of grass it is/was?

Kirsten.In.NH

Seriously?   Once it's brown it's gone and that's it?   I have no idea what kind of grass it was.   We live in a development so I'm sure it was seeded with something "nice".   We live in NH.

2bKEdwards

You can continue watering it and in the fall, rake up the "thatch" (the dead grass that gets matted together) and see if it sends up new blades.  But unfortunately dead is dead.

Inkful

I thought brown = dead until I moved to the PNW.  No one I know waters their lawn during the summer here but they bounce back when the weather cools and the rainy season begins. 

mrs.rescue4

Is it dead or just burnt from our current, extreme high temps?  If burnt, water, cooler temps and a break from this sun will bring it back and you'll likely have a lush lawn this fall.

hollymichael

Is it brown from heat and lack of water? If so, it will come back.  You will have a hard time reviving it in the middle of summer. I would leave it until the fall and then when it starts to cool down and rain more, it should come back.

Alisha_A

Brown doesn't mean dead, but if it is dead, no, you can't bring it back. No zombie grass!!

It may just be dormant.

TarHeels&Rebels

Alisha_A:

Brown doesn't mean dead, but if it is dead, no, you can't bring it back. No zombie grass!!

It may just be dormant.

This.  Some varieties of grass go dormant during extreme heat & drought.  They'll green back up when the temps come down and it starts to rain. 

~NB~

Alisha_A:

Brown doesn't mean dead, but if it is dead, no, you can't bring it back. No zombie grass!!

It may just be dormant.

Correct- that's why I asked what kind of grass it was. I was speaking to the choice of words (that which is dead cannot come "back to life").

Cool season grasses go dormant in summer, meaning they die back, but the roots are alive and they will sprout again in the fall. In NH, this may be what you have.

So, if it's a summer dormant species, it will sprout again when the eather cools off in the fall; and if it's dead it won't. Either way, watering is not the answer, so don't try to force it to grow out of season.

Kirsten.In.NH

Aha!  Thanks, ladies!   I think it's just brown from the heat and lack of water.   I wonder how you can tell the difference?   Anyway, I do think that's all it is - I won't break my neck trying to water it now, I'll just wait for a cooldown and some rain.   Thank you!

The_Jen626

About 80% of our front yard was "dead looking" 2 years ago.  We cleaned up the thatch and fertilized in the fall before winter.  Then in the spring, planted seed, and fertilized again.  We water the heck out of it now, and it looks fabulous.  It looks like a whole new yard.