My Little NC Buddy, I don't see any difference (on my Mac screen). Other, than the red circled area is slightly shorter than the rest of your turf. What exactly, are we looking at? It looks healthy from my couch.

Ok, you're not one with the lawn yet. You have to be the lawn. Just looking at the pictures makes me thirsty lol

JC, can you expand a little bit on drouth stress as opposed (or compared) to dormancy? Are they the same thing?

In other words, is this something to worry about necessarily, depending on the level of maintenance the homeowner wishes to provide?

What I've always read is that KBG is actually pretty tough stuff, and will bounce back from summer dormancy in the fall. Keep the grass cut high in the summer, and some may like the fact that mowing frequency is greatly reduced in the summer months. Last summer we had frequent rains all summer, and it stayed green. Typically this is not the case, there are usually several weeks where growth basically stops.

This is one reason why I've been hesitant to water in the summer - I'd be afraid to stop. Bringing a dormant lawn out - and back into dormancy - can REALLY screw up a lawn. In other words if we start irrigation, we can't safely stop?

Drought stress is the precursor to dormancy. When undergoing drought stress, the plant no longer has sufficient water to function normally and the blades begin to roll up in an attempt to reduce water losses. That's what gives it that greyish look. If the water deficiency continues, the plant has no choice but to go into dormancy in order to survive. You typically have 12-24 hours at this point before the grass turns brown. With water, it bounces back to normal in 10-15 minutes.

I read the same thing about KBG, which is why I planted some last year. I've never seen fescue come out of dormancy in my area, I'm hoping bluegrass does better if needed - I will try not to let it go dormant in the first place.

Best practice is - either water to keep it from going dormant, or let it go dormant. Don't bring it in and out of dormancy. If you start irrigation to keep it from going dormant and decide to stop that's fine, but don't start irrigating again to bring it back out of dormancy in the middle of summer.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3601252/plants-can-hear-and-can-use-incredible-ability-to-find-flowing-water-scientists-discover/

Oh boy. What are vegetarians going to eat now?

@j4: In your first photo it looks more like evidence of Bigfoot in your yard than stress. Maybe the vibrations from Bigfoot sent your grass into shock?

Also, my understanding from morph is even dormant KBG needs 1/4 inch of water every two weeks minimum to keep from dying.

danielj:

Doesn't it depend on the temps?

This is the mantra on these boards as I understand it:

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

@Joe: I was talking merely for keeping brown, dormant grass from actually dying. I think the important point is that you can't completely ignore KBG just because it is dormant. It still needs a little water to survive.

I understand. Thanks for clarifying.