Lawn Turning Yellow? Read the Patch Before You Fix the Grass
A lawn turning yellow or brown usually has one of five causes: winter dormancy (normal for doob grass from about December to February), dog urine, thirst or compacted soil, hungry grass, or a fungus or grub problem. The pattern of the yellow tells you which, and only two of the five need anything more than patience and a change of routine.
Read the pattern
- Whole lawn straw brown in December and January: winter dormancy, not death
- Round dead spot with a dark green ring: dog urine
- Brown strips along paths and under the swing: compaction from feet
- Pale yellow all over in summer: hunger (nitrogen or iron) or scalping
- Brown patches that grow and peel up like a rug: grubs below
- Irregular patches in humid weeks, wet blades at night: fungal patch
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Why is my lawn turning brown in winter?
Most lawns in Pakistan and North India are doob (Bermuda grass), a warm season grass. When nights drop toward single digits Celsius in Lahore, Faisalabad, Delhi, Islamabad and Peshawar, it stops growing and turns the colour of straw. Extension services describe this as dormancy: the crown and roots are alive, and the grass greens again as the soil warms in late February and March.
Karachi lawns brown far less, because the coast rarely gets cold enough. In Multan and Sukkur the brown spell is short. In the hills, expect it for longer.
What not to do: don’t pour on fertiliser to “wake it up” in winter. Grass that isn’t growing can’t use it, and the nitrogen just feeds weeds or washes away. Do water lightly every three to four weeks if there’s been no rain, so the roots don’t dry out completely. Frost on a dry lawn does more harm than frost on a slightly moist one.
The thumbnail test for dormancy
Pull up a small brown tuft and look at the base. A firm, pale white or faintly green crown with tight roots means sleeping grass. A crown that is mushy, black, or lifts with no roots at all means something else killed it. Do this before you spend money reseeding.
What causes yellow patches in a lawn?
Dog urine spots
A circle, from a few inches to about two feet wide, brown in the middle with a ring of extra green grass round the edge. The salts and nitrogen in urine burn the centre and fertilise the rim. Soak the spot with plenty of water as soon as you can after the dog goes, and train the dog to one gravel corner.
Compaction
Paths kids run along, the cricket crease, under the jhoola. Soil gets pressed so hard that water runs off and roots suffocate. In February or March, push a garden fork 10 to 15 cm into the soil every 15 cm across the patch, rock it, and brush in a little sand and compost.
Hunger and scalping
Evenly pale yellow lawns in summer are often hungry. Mowing too short makes it worse: a grass cut to the soil shows its yellow stems. Raise the mower first, then feed.
Fungal patch
Monsoon humidity, evening watering and long nights wet are the recipe. Patches look water soaked at first, then turn brown. Water only in the morning, mow with a sharp blade, cut back on nitrogen in humid weeks, and let the grass dry between waterings.
Grubs
White C shaped larvae eat roots. Brown patches lift like a loose carpet and birds or mongooses dig at them. Peel back a square of turf: a few grubs is normal, many in a hand sized square explains the damage. Termites (deemak) can also hollow out dry lawn edges; see our termite guide.
What is the right mowing height for grass in summer?
For doob, extension guidance gives roughly 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm), with the mower raised during high heat or drought until the stress passes, and raised slightly again in autumn so the grass goes into winter with more leaf. In 45°C summers in the south of Punjab and Sindh, sit at the top of that range. Shady lawns do better a little higher still.
- Never take off more than a third of the blade in one cut.
- Sharpen the blade at the start of each season. A blunt blade tears grass and leaves pale, ragged tips that invite disease.
- Mow once a week in the March to October growing season; every 4 to 5 days in the monsoon surge.
- Leave short clippings on the lawn. They return nutrients.
- Stop mowing once the grass goes dormant.
How often should I water a lawn in Pakistan?
| Season | Plains (Lahore, Delhi, Multan) | Karachi |
|---|---|---|
| April to June heat | Deep soak 2 to 3 times a week, early morning | Twice a week |
| Monsoon | Only when the top 3 cm is dry | Rarely |
| October, November | Once a week | Once a week |
| December to February | Every 3 to 4 weeks if no rain | Every 10 to 14 days |
Deep and occasional beats a daily sprinkle. Shallow daily watering keeps roots near the surface, and those roots cook in May. For the logic behind the timing, see our guide on watering through summer and winter.
Which lawn fertiliser should I use and when?
Doob is a heavy feeder while it is actively growing and needs nothing while dormant. Feed in plain terms like this:
- Late March or April, after full green up: a thin layer of sieved compost or well rotted manure, or a nitrogen fertiliser at the label rate.
- June to August: one or two light feeds, ideally with some potash in the mix, before the heaviest monsoon weeks.
- From September to February: no nitrogen at all.
Spread any granular feed on dry grass, then water it in, so it doesn’t scorch the blades.
How do I remove weeds from my lawn without killing grass?
A thick, well mown lawn is the best weed control. Hand pull broadleaf weeds with a narrow weeding fork after rain when the soil lets go of the root. Deela (nutsedge) regrows from small tubers, so dig them out, don’t snap the top. Over the season, raising the mower and feeding at the right time crowds most weeds out.
Are ants bad for my lawn?
Mostly no. Ants nest in dry, sunny patches and leave little mounds, but they rarely kill grass. Brush the mounds flat before mowing, water the dry patch more deeply, and leave them. Ants feeding on a lot of honeydew often mean aphids or mealybugs on nearby shrubs; that’s the real thing to check.
Weed and feed mixes, grub killers and fungicides are pesticides. Read the whole label, wear gloves, closed shoes and a mask while spreading, and keep children and pets off the grass until it has been watered in and dried, or for as long as the label says. Store products locked, in their original packs. If a child or pet swallows granules or a dog starts drooling, vomiting or shaking after being on a treated lawn, call a doctor or vet immediately with the label.
More flower bed and shrub care lives in our Phool aur Paudhe section.
Lawn questions people search most
Why is my lawn turning yellow?
The commonest reasons are winter dormancy, dog urine, compacted soil, mowing too short, hunger, fungus in humid weeks, or grubs eating the roots. The shape and season of the yellow patches usually tell you which.
Is my brown grass dead or dormant?
Pull a tuft: firm pale crowns and roots mean dormant. If the whole lawn browned evenly as nights turned cold, it is almost certainly dormancy and will green again in spring.
When will my grass turn green again after winter?
In the Punjab plains and Delhi, doob normally greens up from late February to March as the soil warms. Karachi lawns barely brown at all.
How short should I cut my grass?
For doob, about 2.5 to 5 cm, toward the top of that range in heat and drought. Never remove more than a third of the blade at once.
How often should I mow my lawn?
About once a week in the growing season, a little more often during monsoon growth, and not at all while it is dormant.
How do I fix dog urine spots on grass?
Flush the spot with plenty of water soon after, rake out dead grass in spring and let doob creep back in. A gravel area for the dog stops new spots.
Should I fertilise my lawn in winter?
No, not a warm season lawn like doob. It can’t use nitrogen while dormant, so feed after it greens up in spring.
What causes brown patches in a lawn in monsoon?
Often a fungal patch encouraged by warm, humid nights and evening watering. Water only in the morning, mow with a sharp blade and avoid heavy feeding until it dries out.
How do I know if grubs are eating my lawn?
The turf peels up easily like a loose mat and you find many white C shaped larvae just under it. Birds digging at the lawn is another clue.