We worked hard and long over the past year on a sunny lawn in Williamsburg, Va., but it seems nature had a different plan for us. Not having been to Williamsburg in weeks and weeks, we called a neighbor this week and discovered that a protracted drought turned the lawn straw-brown and “summer dormant.” It seems the Tidewater Region of Virginia didn’t have a drop of rain in three-plus weeks. Droughts like this are generally catastrophic, so this is nothing new. Our problem needs to be turned around if it is going to serve any purpose: what can you do to save your lawn if and when a summer drought occurs?

First, if you aren’t watering when the heavens turn dry, the lawn will stop growing and, in fact, it will gradually stop making chlorophyll and turn brown as straw. You can avoid this apparent dieback by watering every few days, not hand-sprinkling as many homeowners do, but deep-soaking with an oscillating sprinkler. Activate the sprinkler in one place for an hour so it wets the soil to a depth of four or five inches. Anything less than this is will not prevent the lawn going into summer dormancy.

When you water is almost as critical as how much. Water only in the early morning hours, between 5 and 10 a.m. If you plan ahead, watering won’t cause as many problems as you think. Before you go to bed at night, set up the sprinkler to water in a specific area (changing this area every day during an extended drought). On rising in the morning before making coffee, etc., turn on the outdoor spigot to water a section of the lawn. Check your watch when you do, remembering to turn off the faucet an hour later.

What about a possible overnight shower? If the pavement is wet when you arise in the morning, the meager precipitation is icing on the cake, but it shouldn’t stop your regular morning soaking. However, if it’s pouring cats-and-dogs when you arise in the morning, forget watering for the morning, but resume the next day.

Why does your lawn turn straw-brown during a drought, especially when you choose not to water?

Some facts illustrate what happens. First, grass blades are 95-98 percent water. They depend on roots to pull moisture from the soil and pass it on to the blades. Everyday the sun shines, a steady stream of water passes from the roots, through stems and grass blades, and ultimately out the tip of the grass blade, the stomata. In a way of thinking, this is nature’s air conditioning system for sunny lawns. Water passing through the plant cools cells and cell tissue, even when temperatures around grass blades rise above 100 degrees. If there is a drought and you aren’t watering, the air conditioning system breaks down and the grass goes “summer dormant.” Grass blades turn straw-brown in a week or so.

If you would save your lawn in these circumstances, DO NOT CUT THE GRASS UNDER ANY CONDITIONS. Put your mower under lock and key. If you have a lawn service, get them on the phone immediately and tell them to discontinue cutting the grass until further notice. It could be weeks and weeks, maybe months, but leaving straw-brown grass intact on the lawn is the only way you can save it.

As long as the lawn isn’t cut, it will survive. When the rains return, the lawn will green up over a period of three or four weeks. Assuming the straw-brown grass remains in place, grass plants will spring to life over a period of weeks. New green grass will push its way from the sheath nearest the soil line, and the brown grass on top will await trimming by the mower. Don’t be in a hurry to cut the lawn after the rains return. The longer you keep brown grass intact, the greater your assurance that your lawn is still surviving despite the drought.

Now for the shocking news. Even a lawn that’s summer dormant lawn needs some water, albeit irregularly and not all that much. All you need is a quarter-inch of water every two weeks (165 gallons on a thousand square foot lawn, 80 gallons for a 500 square foot townhouse lawn) to keep grass roots alive during a summer drought.

Shady lawns have better drought survival. As long as you’re cutting healthy shady grass at three inches, plants will have an increased leaf area to produce more carbohydrates (sugar) than if the grass were cut shorter. Avoid foot traffic on the shady lawn because grass blades are delicate and succulent. Remember, foot traffic compacts the soil.

If your sunny lawn comes down with weeds, don’t take out the hose-end sprayer and bathe the grass with pesticides. Common sense dictates you should spot-treat the weeds and leave the rest of the healthy grass intact. Best time to treat weeds with a hand-pump sprayer (this sprayer labeled exclusively for weeds) is in the evening as long as no overnight showers are on the way.