Ways That Rain Can Cause Lawn Damage

Here are the ways rain can actually cause lawn damage.

We often associate rainfall with bright bright, lush lawns. However, grass can also turn brown after days of heavy rainfall, so what’s the deal? It feels counterintuitive that rain can cause lawn damage at all—in fact, rainfall can save you time and energy on watering your lawn. A little bit of rain is a good thing, but excessive rain can cause lawn damage and create brown patches if your lawn is wet for too long.

We’ve been seeing a good deal of rain lately, so you might be curious about how it’s impacting your lawn. Here are the ways rain can actually cause lawn damage, especially excessive or prolonged periods of rain.

Lawn Diseases

If you get enough water into your soil, it may start to cause the grass roots to rot. This also causes fungus to grow, as extreme moisture is the best habitat for funguses. You may notice signs of disease because yellow or brown spots begin to appear all throughout your lawn. This kind of lawn damage may also result in the growth of mushrooms; however, they’re not the edible kind and are a sign that your lawn is experiencing damage from all of the rain that it’s been getting.

Drowned Roots

In the summer months, all of that extra heat and humidity may actually obstruct grass from growing like it is supposed to. Oxygen is an important part of your lawn growing, but too much water retention will actually block oxygen from getting into the soil and reaching the roots. In turn, this can hinder photosynthesis and leave your lawn struggling to grow.

Shallow Root Systems

An abundance of water in your soil can set your root system up for failure. That’s because it doesn’t require your roots to grow strong and deep, instead they have enough water to access so the roots will remain short. That might sound fine until a dry weather patch comes through and suddenly your roots aren’t established enough to get all the water they need. That means dry roots and brown patches will begin to form. Short root systems are also susceptible to pests and diseases.

Weeds Growing

While excessive rain may cause lawn damage, it can also help weeds grow. This will lead to them growing out of control and taking over your lawn. You may have used an herbicide to prevent or kill weeds, but rainwater can wash that away, too. Plus, too much rainwater will wash away nutrients that would have been absorbed by plant roots and instead delivers them right to pesky weeds that you’d rather not have in your beautiful lawn.

Contact Sposato Landscape

For over 25 years, Sposato Landscaping has been beautifying and nurturing countless landscapes throughout the Delmarva area. We offer many services, including landscape design, installations, residential maintenance, hardscape, commercial maintenance, and turf nutrient management.

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