A grass that receives the necessary nutrients, sufficient water, and adequate lighting will be green. But when some of the needs of the grass are not adequate, you will notice that the grass will change color. In this article, I will explain all about the different colors of grass.
If you notice a change in the color of the grass, you should act as soon as possible to restore the bright green color that you want to have in your garden. Continue reading to learn all about the different colors of grass and how to get your grass green again.
Table of Contents
Different Colors of Grass
Here is a table showing the color of the grass, the problem, and the solution in a short form. For more information on the different colors of grass and what treatments to use to make the grass green again continue reading.
| Different Colors of Grass | Problem | Solution |
| Yellowish Grass | Grass does not produce much chlorophyll due to a lack of nutrients. | Apply fertilizer in autumn and spring. |
| Light Green Grass | Nutritional deficiencies, if not treated in time the grass will turn yellow. | Apply fertilizer. |
| Brown Grass | Various problems such as insects, heat stress, fungus, etc. | Different solutions. Apply fungicide, increase irrigation, etc. Read the article completely. |
| Red Grass | Grass with a fungal disease. In some cases, it is also due to environmental stress. | Apply a fungicide. |
| Purple Grass | Grass with heat stress. (Some grasses are naturally purple). | Increase irrigation to reduce the heat of the grass. |
Dark Green Grass
Dark green grass is not a bad sign, this indicates that the grass has the necessary nutrients, adequate water, and sun to produce enough chlorophyll. Normally during spring and summer, the grass will become a little darker, but this is not a bad thing and should not be a cause for concern.
Continue to fertilize and water the grass as you are doing if the grass has a dark green color. Never over-fertilize because over-fertilization is also negative for the grass.
Yellowish Grass
A yellowing grass does not have enough nutrients to produce chlorophyll and therefore loses its beautiful green color. To recover the green color of your grass you should apply fertilizer. I recommend using 30-0-4 or 28-0-12 fertilizers for grass.
The best time to fertilize the grass is during the fall and spring. Fertilizing the grass at these times of the year will give the grass time to absorb all the nutrients it needs before winter. I recommend you to read our article about how to fertilize lawn.
- Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food feeds and strengthens grass to help protect against future problems
- Fertilizer builds strong, deep roots and improves the lawn's ability to absorb water and nutrients (vs. unfed lawn)
- Apply lawn care product to a wet or dry lawn
Light Green Grass
A light green grass indicates a lack of nutrients or inadequate watering. Also, if you see light green grass, it may be due to a lack of sunlight, make sure your grass receives the necessary hours of sunlight for proper growth.
Perform a soil and pH test to find out what nutrients are missing in the soil and the pH of the soil. I recommend our article about how to measure soil pH. Then apply the grass fertilizer you need according to the nutrient deficiency you found.
Water your lawn properly, depending on the type of grass you have, some varieties of grass need more water than others. Make sure you know what variety of grass you have in your yard.
It is also important to mow the grass properly, a bad mowing can damage your grass and cause it to change color.
Brown Grass
Of all the different colors of grass, brown grass is the worst. The grass should only be brown during the winter when it is dormant, if the grass is brown at other times of the year it is not a good sign. Stress and lack of water can cause brown grass, but also different fungal diseases cause brown grass. It is important to analyze what may be causing the color change in the grass and act quickly to reverse the situation.
Excessive watering and poor drainage in the grass will also cause the grass to turn brown, so it is important to water the grass evenly. Heat stress and fungus are the most common cause of browning grass, but there are other problems as well, and they are as follows:
- Insects or larvae damage the grassroots.
- A chemical that is affecting the grass.
- Improper mowing of the grass will also cause brown grass.
- If the grass was covered with a tarp or a heavy object it will also cause brown grass.
- Obstructions under the grass prevent proper root development.
If you have any questions about your brown grass, don’t hesitate to send us a picture through the contact form, and we will be glad to help you find out the problem.
Red Grass
Red grass is an indication that the grass has a fungal disease such as rust. Rust disease leaves orange and red spores, so it is quite easy to see these colors on the grass. These fungal diseases usually appear in spring and early summer.
These fungi appear in the grass for other reasons such as overwatering or lack of nitrogen, so it is important to diagnose the reason for the red grass. Ohio University reports that rust can appear from early spring through fall.
To get rid of these fungi from the grass, the first thing to do is to determine if there is a lack of nitrogen and if there is a lack of nitrogen, apply a nitrogen fertilizer. If the grass is overwatered you should stop watering it for a while. Finally, use a fungicide to get rid of the rust.
- Use Scotts DiseaseEx Lawn Fungicide on home lawns to prevent disease before it appears and control disease at the first sign of symptoms
- Controls 26 listed lawn diseases, including brown patch, stem & stripe rust, red thread, powdery mildew, necrotic ring spot, and pink patch
- This fungicide for lawns starts working within 24 hours of application, and continues to control diseases up to 4 weeks
Purple Grass
Some ornamental grasses have purple shades, so in that case, it would not be any problem or disease in the grass. Purple grass is an indication that your grass is having too many problems such as lack of phosphorus or heat stress.
For phosphorus deficiency, it is sufficient to apply a phosphorus-rich fertilizer. If the problem is heat stress, you should water your grass more often but without waterlogging it. Purple grass when not treated in time will later turn brown. Purple grass is another different color of the grass that needs to be treated in time to bring back the green color of the grass.
Final Conclusions
It is important to know how to identify the different colors of grass to treat the grass problem in time and get back beautiful green grass in the garden. Many times, the problem can be detected at an early stage and easily treated to restore beautiful green grass.
I hope this article will be useful and that you will be able to correctly identify the different colors of grass. I recommend our article about how to dispose grass clippings.
