Every summer, once the nights stay warm and humid, we start seeing brown patch on fescue lawns across Leavenworth County. It's a fungal disease, and it can turn a green lawn blotchy in a week.
What it looks like
- Circular or irregular brown patches, from a few inches to several feet across
- Thinning grass with a smoky, grayish ring around the edge of a patch, most visible in the early morning
- Individual blades with tan spots that have a darker brown border
It shows up most during hot, humid stretches and in lawns that are overwatered or drain poorly.
What makes it worse
- Watering in the evening, so the grass stays wet all night
- Watering every day instead of deeply once or twice a week
- Too much nitrogen fertilizer in the summer
- Mowing wet grass, which spreads the fungus from patch to patch
What you can do
- Water early in the morning, so the grass dries during the day
- Water deeply and less often
- Keep the mowing height up. Stressed, short grass gets hit harder
- Don't mow when the lawn is wet
If you think you have brown patch, don't wait. Early treatment makes all the difference. We don't apply fungicide ourselves; we send customers to Oak Creek Nursery and Landscape for treatment. On our side, we avoid mowing wet turf and keep the deck high through the heat so the lawn has its best chance to bounce back when fall arrives.