Dead grass question

[Not Heidi]

We rent our house. The lawns, front and back, are brown. Is it possible to revive this grass, either by watering religiously or by seeding it? Are there any remedies that cost from nothing to not a lot?

1. I'm ignorant.
2. I'd like not to have to tell the landlord that his grass is dead.
3. In no way can we afford sod.

Is there any other place on DU I should post this?

Thank you.

[surfered]

1. I recommend talking to someone at a local nursery

[Ocelot II]

2. It's winter so it's probably gone dormant.

Even in warmer climates, many kinds of turf grass stop growing and turn brown when the days get shorter. It's probably not dead so wait until spring and start watering; it should recover. Is the grass green elsewhere in your neighborhood?

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Yes. Grass does this (goes dormant).

Zoysia grass goes brown during the fall here in STLMO, and then returns back in the Spring

[Arrgh]

4. Depends the grass, and the climate.

I have centipede grass, a warm season grass, in SC. It goes dormant at the first frost and stays brown until spring. I give it a nice trim (and mulch whatever leaves are left) one last time and let it sit until then. I like it that way.

I could overseed it with annual ryegrass and have some green over the winter, but then I'd have to cut it.

You'll need to know more about what's in your lawn before you can get an answer.

[Lulu KC]

5. It's his grass

He either knows it's dead and doesn't care, or it's not dead at all, just dormant. If it doesn't come back in the spring and you want a green lawn, call the landlord and ask if he's planning to reseed it.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Where Do You Live?

Our grass in northeastern Illinois turns partly brown, depending on the type of grass.
If the lawn is all perennial rye, it only goes 20-25% to brown.
Some fescue get more brown.
Warm weather grasses like bermuda, zoysa, St. Augustine, poa annual, go much browner in the winter. Zoysa goes almost completely brown fir 3 or 4 months! That's why people don't use it up here.
But, browning due to dormancy is completely natural & the grass will green when warm weather returns.
Go in the yard, and just pull on some blades. If you have to pull very much, the grass is alive but dormant. If it comes out of the ground with little effort, it's probably dead.