Commercial Landscaping: Battling Brown Patches on Your Lawn

You could spend thousands on curb appeal—and it only takes one brown patch to ruin the impression. Dying grass in front of a tenant entrance, monument sign, or high-traffic walkway doesn’t just look bad—it makes people wonder how the rest of the property is being managed.

For facility managers, these patches turn into a chain reaction: complaints from tenants, emails from corporate, pressure to fix it fast—and then re-fix it when the problem comes back. Battling brown spots takes more than mowing and watering. It takes real turf management and an understanding of what’s happening under the surface.

Brown Patches Don’t Always Mean One Thing

The first assumption people make when they see a discolored lawn is usually “fungus” or “overwatering.” But brown patches aren’t always that straightforward. In southern climates, warm-season grasses like Bermuda or St. Augustine naturally go dormant in cooler months and can look dead even when they’re healthy. In northern regions, the same look in summer could be drought stress or insect damage.

Without identifying the true cause, any solution is just a temporary fix. Common contributors include:

• Soil compaction
• Uneven irrigation coverage
• Low mowing height or scalping
• Nutrient stress from poorly timed fertilization

Often, it’s a mix of these issues—not a single cause. If you treat fungus but ignore water runoff or irrigation failures, the problem will be back in no time.

Fungal Brown Patch vs. Dry Spot

One property manager called about what he thought was a fungus “taking over” their front lawn. There were tan circles with dark outer edges spreading fast—classic symptoms of fungal brown patch. But when the contractor inspected, it turned out the irrigation zone had been offline for two weeks due to a stuck valve. It wasn’t fungus at all—just dehydration. Once the irrigation system was repaired, the turf rebounded in ten days.

Fungal brown patch usually strikes in hot, humid weather—particularly when nighttime temperatures stay above 70°F. You’ll often see:

• Circular or irregular brown patches
• Dark, slimy leaf lesions
• Damp soil early in the day

By contrast, dry spots show:

• Brittle, crumbly soil
• Snapping blades when bent
• Uniform fading rather than patchy rings

Fungicide should only be applied after a professional confirms it’s necessary. Too often, landscapers throw product at the issue without addressing underlying cultural practices.

Irrigation Issues Hide in Plain Sight

Most discolored turf on commercial sites can be traced back to the irrigation system. Zones may be running too long or too short, sprinkler heads may be blocked, or distribution might be inconsistent due to equipment mismatches.

A quick irrigation audit often uncovers problems like:

• Clogged or tilted nozzles
• Overspray hitting sidewalks or signage
• Sprinkler heads buried under overgrown turf
• Inconsistent water pressure across zones

Scheduling water in long cycles often leads to runoff. Splitting watering into shorter, repeat cycles helps reduce surface runoff and allows water to soak in, promoting deeper root systems.

Watering before 6:30 a.m. also reduces evaporation and gives the grass time to dry during the day—essential for preventing fungal outbreaks in humid climates. Afternoon or evening watering often invites fungal activity.

Mowing Practices Make or Break Recovery

In an effort to cut costs, some commercial maintenance crews mow lawns shorter so they “last longer” between cuts. But this approach almost always backfires. Scalping exposes the soil, weakens the root system, and accelerates browning—especially near heat-retaining surfaces like sidewalks and parking lots.

Grass type matters:

• Bermuda grass should be mowed to 1.5–2 inches
• St. Augustine grass performs best when maintained at 3–4 inches

Cutting more than one-third of the grass blade at a time stresses the plant, weakening its ability to resist pests and disease.

Another often-overlooked issue is mowing wet grass. Rushing to mow after a rain creates ruts, compacts soil, and leaves clumps that suffocate healthy turf. Coordinating mowing schedules around weather conditions is essential for commercial properties with high expectations for appearance.

Fertilizer Can Backfire if Poorly Timed

Fertilizer schedules often default to fixed timelines—spring, mid-summer, early fall—but turf health doesn’t follow the calendar. Applying nitrogen to stressed, diseased, or dormant grass won’t help. In fact, it can do more harm than good.

One retail site experienced widespread yellowing even after a fertilization round. The root issue? Poor drainage and compacted clay soil. The added nutrients overwhelmed the already stressed root zone, leading to further decline.

Preventative steps include:

• Conducting annual soil tests
• Using slow-release fertilizers
• Adjusting schedules based on temperature, rainfall, and turf recovery

Feeding should only resume once the lawn is healthy enough to absorb nutrients—otherwise, you’re just burning the lawn and wasting product.

Foot Traffic Is an Underestimated Threat

If brown patches consistently appear near building entrances, sidewalks, or around loading areas, foot traffic is likely the culprit. Commercial sites don’t always feel like “high-traffic zones,” but it doesn’t take much repeated activity to damage turf—especially when combined with heat or poor irrigation.

Signs of traffic-related damage include:

• Worn paths through turf
• Patchy or compacted soil in predictable patterns
• Turf that resists water absorption due to compaction

Solutions include:

• Installing stepping stones or gravel walkways
• Using shrubs or low hedges to direct pedestrian flow
• Aerating compacted areas twice per year

High-use lawn sections need different maintenance strategies than decorative turf—especially when they’re next to frequently used facilities like medical offices, hotels, or public venues.

Pest Activity Often Goes Unnoticed

Brown patches can also be caused by underground or surface-feeding pests. Grubs, chinch bugs, and armyworms damage turf in different ways, but they’re all good at hiding until the lawn is severely stressed.

• Grubs: If brown patches lift easily like a rug, it’s often due to grub activity
• Chinch bugs: Prefer sunny areas and damage blades directly
• Armyworms: Feed on the surface and move quickly through turf areas

One office park reported nightly raccoon damage—after closer inspection, grubs were discovered under a parking island lawn. The raccoons were digging for larvae, and the grass was coming up in sheets. Unchecked, that would’ve turned into a full re-sod project.

Early detection through routine scouting is critical. If caught in time, damage can be mitigated through:

• Targeted pesticide applications
• Biological treatments
• Adjusting irrigation to deter pest activity

Re-Sodding Should Be a Last Resort

It’s tempting to rip up a brown patch and replace it with fresh sod—but without solving the root issue, new turf will fail too. Re-sodding is often a costly, short-term bandage.

Spot repairs work when:

• The affected area is small and the problem has been corrected
• Soil is properly prepped (loosened, leveled, and debris-free)
• Watering schedules are increased temporarily to promote root establishment

At one shopping center, the same patch of lawn was re-sodded three times over two years—costing thousands. After an assessment, the true problem was revealed: runoff from an adjacent parking slope was eroding the soil underneath. Re-grading and improving drainage fixed the problem permanently—no more sod needed.

Preventative Maintenance Is the Best Defense

By the time brown patches appear, the turf is already in decline. The key is staying ahead with consistent, strategic maintenance that takes into account turf health, usage, and seasonal change—not just a fixed monthly schedule.

A strong turf program includes:

• Seasonal aeration to reduce compaction
• Proper mowing height and frequency based on grass type
• Irrigation audits each quarter
• Soil testing and appropriately timed fertilization
• Staff training to avoid wear-and-tear from foot traffic or utility work

Every site has its own microclimates and traffic patterns, which is why “set it and forget it” landscaping often fails. Walking the site regularly, inspecting zones, and adjusting schedules seasonally helps prevent small issues from becoming large—and expensive—repairs.

At National Facility Contractors, we help our clients stay ahead of turf issues with proactive site monitoring, tailored maintenance schedules, and on-the-ground crews who understand local turf behavior—not just seasonal checklists.

Conclusion

Brown patches are fixable—but not with quick fixes or surface-level solutions. Whether it’s a fungus outbreak, irrigation issue, or traffic pattern, solving it means understanding the full picture. It means knowing when to treat and when to adjust practices, when to replace turf and when to recover it.

Commercial properties that maintain strong turf health year-round send a clear message: we take care of our space, and we take pride in it. That message starts with the lawn—and it speaks volumes before a single word is exchanged.