Footprints that stay visible after someone walks across the lawn can signal drought stress before the grass turns fully brown.
WDBJ7 spoke with Virginia Tech turfgrass expert Dan Sandor about the signs homeowners should check during dry summer stretches, especially when heat, dry soil, and water restrictions overlap.
Drought-stressed grass may lose its normal bounce, curl at the leaf tips, shift to a blue-gray color, or turn tan, beige, straw-colored, or brown. Brown grass is not always dead; some turf slows down or goes dormant to conserve energy until moisture returns.
Before watering, mowing, fertilizing, or assuming the lawn is gone, homeowners should check how the grass responds underfoot and whether the root zone still has moisture.
Footprints and Blue-Gray Grass Show Moisture Stress
Healthy grass usually springs back after foot traffic. When footprints remain pressed into the lawn, the turf has lost resiliency and may not have enough moisture available in the root zone.
Sandor told WDBJ7 that drought-stressed lawns can also begin to thin, twist, or curl as the grass reduces the amount of leaf surface exposed to sunlight. A blue-gray cast is another warning sign before the lawn fades toward tan, straw, or brown.
The Screwdriver Test Checks the Root Zone
Homeowners can check soil moisture with a plain screwdriver. Push it 3 to 4 inches into the ground, pull it out, and look for soil particles sticking to the metal.
If no soil sticks, the root zone is likely dry. If the ground is so hard that the screwdriver will not go in, the soil has dried enough to stress the lawn.
A straw-colored lawn may still recover after rain or irrigation, depending on the grass species, drought length, heat, soil conditions, and how much traffic the lawn has taken. Heavy fertilizer, short mowing, repeated shallow watering, and extra foot traffic can slow recovery when the turf is already trying to conserve energy.
Water Deeply and Skip Fertilizer During Drought
For established lawns, Sandor recommends watering deeply but infrequently. Virginia Tech gives examples such as applying 0.33 inches twice a week or 0.25 inches three days a week, which is meant to reach the root zone instead of only wetting the surface.
Fine-textured soil such as loam or clay may need a cycle-and-soak setting so water can move into the ground instead of puddling or running into the street. Homeowners should also adjust irrigation after rain returns because a drought schedule can become too much once soil moisture improves.
Sandor warned that nitrogen fertilizer is not what drought-stressed turf needs during a prolonged dry stretch. Lush, overfertilized lawns require more water, so the goal during drought stress is moisture management, not forced top growth.
Cities and counties may limit lawn watering by address, day, time, irrigation method, or water source during dry weather.
Raise the Mower and Keep Traffic Off Stressed Turf
Drought-stressed grass grows more slowly, so mowing can usually happen less often. When mowing is necessary, Sandor recommends following the one-third rule and never removing more than one-third of the grass blade in one cut.
He also recommends raising the mowing height to at least 3 to 3.5 inches during drought and summer stress. If the homeowner can tolerate it, a 4-inch height or the mower’s highest setting can leave more leaf blade to shade the soil.
NC State Extension recommends keeping vehicle traffic, including riding mowers, off turf under severe drought stress. Ohio State turfgrass guidance also warns that mowing adds stress to drought-stressed turf and recommends avoiding mowing dormant lawns.
Before turning on sprinklers or starting the mower, check footprints, leaf color, curled blades, and root-zone moisture. If local restrictions allow watering, water deeply; if the turf is dormant and dry, raise the mower, limit traffic, and wait for better conditions before pushing the lawn harder.