Brown Lawns

[Minnesotalyn]

I've been looking at a lot of houses online in the Villages and I've noticed alot of brown lawns. I thought everyone has sprinkler systems. Do they have a lot of restrictions on watering or what? Thanks

[skip0358]

Also had some very cold temps.

[PR1234]

I've been looking at a lot of houses online in the Villages and I've noticed alot of brown lawns. I thought everyone has sprinkler systems. Do they have a lot of restrictions on watering or what? Thanks

Minnesotalyn it is the cold temps. We are snowbirds from MI, we left here in Dec to go home for Christmas and the lawns were still green. Got back to TV New Years Eve and within a week everything turned brown:( Sometimes it gets on my nerves seeing all the brown lawns.....but then I just think....muddy dirty snow.....brown lawn....hmmmmmmmmmmmm BTW they are starting to green up a little, so it shouldn't be long until they are back to normal:pepper2::pepper2:

[Golf-Tinker]

Snowbirds come. Grass switches to brown. Snowbirds go. Grass switches to green. Sorry folks. It's a fact of nature: grass selections, temps., etc. But. we get the "Florida roll" while it happens.

[Russ_Boston]

It's the grass types in FLA - They go dormant every year - Up north we mostly have a blue/rye/fescue mix which stops growing but stays mostly green. The zoysia and bermuda go dormant brown and then green up in late winter/early spring. That is why the TV golf courses overseed with rye during this time of year.

Not a water thing.

[zcaveman]

It's the grass types in FLA - They go dormant every year - Up north we mostly have a blue/rye/fescue mix which stops growing but stays mostly green. The zoysia and bermuda go dormant brown and then green up in late winter/early spring. That is why the TV golf courses overseed with rye during this time of year.

Not a water thing.

How do you know it is green? When I lived in NJ, the first snow hit in November and the grass was white (ie snow) until march April. You live in Boston where the snow must stay longer.

I lived in Jacksonville, Fl for 35 years and tan/brown was the normal color in the winter. Green is a non-color in the winter.

[ricthemic]

Tees, fairways and greens are all green, the rough is brown and so is my lawn which is OK with me cause it means landscaping cost are less in the winter. I think the lawns and rough are dormant/brown during winter regardless of the temperature because, previously mentioned, the seed is different

[bluedog103]

How do you know it is green? When I lived in NJ, the first snow hit in November and the grass was white (ie snow) until march April. You live in Boston where the snow must stay longer.

I lived in Jacksonville, Fl for 35 years and tan/brown was the normal color in the winter. Green is a non-color in the winter.

Where did you live in NJ? You must have had some unusual climate.
Where I live in New York State the grass stays mostly green, just like in Boston.
We sometimes get a little snow in November but not usually. The real snow season doesn't hit until December. Then the snow sometimes stays until spring but often we have a January thaw, such as this year. My yard is pretty much clear of snow right now and yes, the grass is green. It's very cold but since the thaw we've had very little snow.
In south Alabama where I grew up the grass also went dormant in the winter. As you say, green was a non-color.

[donmiller3@hotmail.com]

Zoysia grass loves and thrives on water and particularily heat. Recent temps and constant low temps fools the grass to go dormant as it would in winter. It will come back but will take some time. The golf course workers will eventuallly get all of the brown cut off and all will be green again.
Another question about the greens on the golf courses. I will be coming to the Villages to our home in Hadley in early March and again in April. What will be the conditioin of the greens at this time of year? I find the greens to be relatively slow and bumpy in most of my visits. When is the best greens conditioins? Thanks.

[zcaveman]

Where did you live in NJ? You must have had some unusual climate.
Where I live in New York State the grass stays mostly green, just like in Boston.
We sometimes get a little snow in November but not usually. The real snow season doesn't hit until December. Then the snow sometimes stays until spring but often we have a January thaw, such as this year. My yard is pretty much clear of snow right now and yes, the grass is green. It's very cold but since the thaw we've had very little snow.
In south Alabama where I grew up the grass also went dormant in the winter. As you say, green was a non-color.

I lived in the northwest corner of NJ - Tri-county area NY/NJ/PA. I was just over the line in Sussex county in the Kittanney mountains. When you went west up the mountain on rt 80 around mile marker 20 it would be rain and when you started down the mountain toward mile marker 19 it was snow. When the snow hit in November we did not see grass until March or April. We saw some great ice storms and ice coated trees. I worked in Roseland which was 35 miles east near Newark and when I could not get out of my driveway because of the snow, the grass was green in Roseland. What can I say. A difference of 35 miles from east to west in NJ meant a lot.