# Brown Grass Near Sides of Driveway



## jpzsports (Jun 1, 2021)

I've worked hard at improving my lawn and now am dealing with grass that is appearing very dry or dead alongside the sides of my driveway and also the street. I am in NH.

I noticed that when I try to put a sprinkler stake into the ground in those areas, I can barely get down 6 inches before hitting some hard material that I assume is gravel. When I go a few feet into the yard where the grass is green, the stake can easily be pressed down over a foot. So I bet the grass roots aren't getting deep enough to stay moist during the summer heat. I also applied fertilizer a few weeks ago and I watered it in, but we got hit with a hot week after it and perhaps the high heat and drought conditions caused fertilizer burn in those areas? Any thoughts?

Here are photos of the new brown areas which line the sides of my driveway and the street:

























































Here are photos of most of my lawn which is in great condition:

































Here is a close up of my grass. My lawn was hydroseeded 2 years ago so I'm not sure what type of grass I have. Is this mostly KBG?









Lastly, I have a decent amount of clover. Do you think I should apply Triclopyr to those areas?

Appreciate the feedback!


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## mazurkfsflip (Oct 5, 2020)

I'm having the same issue near a sidewalk but it's not the entire span of the sidewalk. The cause is likely the same as what's happening to you.

Hopefully someone can help us.


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## LawnMavrik (Sep 22, 2020)

Dealing with same small spots like this and like @mazurkfsflip mentioned. In my case it's rocks and heat from hard scape. I've been drenching with water after raking lightly and adding more seed and top dress. Your lawn looks great overall.


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## LawnMavrik (Sep 22, 2020)

What have your daily high temps been? I like T Zone for cooler periods. It's a potent 4 way especially if you have any woody broadleaf. Alternatively Ortho weed b gone on clover when it's warmer has great knock down on clover.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

What did it look like in Spring? Was there a bunch of Poa Annua there? That gets toasty in the summer and may be confused as heat stress when the issue is more of a different issue. I see a lot of neighbor edges by the driveway and street that don't do well fill in with Poa A and then go dormant/die brown when the daytime heat hits 85F+.

Otherwise, then likely heat stress and needs water. Sometimes the edges need extra hand watering.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

My money is on a soil depth issue.


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## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

learningeveryday said:


> My money is on a soil depth issue.


^+1
Rocks, gravel, and sand used as a base foundation for the asphalt driveway.


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## jpzsports (Jun 1, 2021)

stevehollx said:


> What did it look like in Spring? Was there a bunch of Poa Annua there? That gets toasty in the summer and may be confused as heat stress when the issue is more of a different issue. I see a lot of neighbor edges by the driveway and street that don't do well fill in with Poa A and then go dormant/die brown when the daytime heat hits 85F+.
> 
> Otherwise, then likely heat stress and needs water. Sometimes the edges need extra hand watering.


Here's an image from the spring when it was in great condition: 









And here's an image from a couple weeks ago:


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Probe the area with a 12 inch screwdriver or similar to see if there are a lot of rocks and rule out debris. That looks like drought stress and damage. Though some lawn diseases like Summer Patch look like drought stress, the location suggests heat from the blacktop and/or debris like LawnMavrik said. Look at irrigation issues as a possible contributor. If you have in ground, it may not be uniform or enough if it has been dry. The same applies if you use hose end sprinklers.


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## jpzsports (Jun 1, 2021)

Thanks to all for the feedback.

Do you agree that it's most likely heat stress perhaps due to shallow root system near the pavement? Perhaps the fertilizer caused some burn as well.

In addition to watering these areas more, any suggestions for how to prevent this going forward? Are there any grass types that do better with heat and shallow roots that I should overseed with in the fall around these areas? Should I add more topsoil?

Is the brown grass there dead or do you think it will come back with rain and watering?


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## TheThirstyTurtle (May 3, 2019)

If it's rocks and stuff under a relatively thin amount of soil, you may want to consider digging it up and replacing it with a base of deeper and better soil, so the grass roots can take hold deep enough.

If you don't have a bunch of rocks and gravel underneath, then maybe it's just a watering issue going forward. A few simple but deep hand waterings may help out a lot.

The brown material should hopefully come back, but you seem to have a lot of dead matted material there that may choke the grass from coming back. You should consider taking that out with a dethatched and then later with a thatch rake to clean it up as much as possible, preferably in the fall. That may be enough to have the grass come back in, otherwise you may want to throw a bit of seed in some of the bare spots and keep them moist until grass begins to grow in.

If you go the grass seed route, then maybe consider some cultivars that do well near driveways and sidewalks.


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