- How does crown hydration happen?<\/a><\/li>
- How to identify crown hydration damage<\/a><\/li>
- Is there anything you can do to prevent crown hydration?<\/a><\/li>
- How to fix crown hydration damage<\/a><\/li>
- FAQs<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
How does crown hydration happen?<\/span><\/h2>
![\"grass](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/snow-on-grass.jpg\")
Pexels<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Before we discuss how crown hydration kills turf, we should go over what exactly it is. Crown hydration happens when grass absorbs water during a warm spell in the winter that is quickly followed by a dip into freezing temperatures, typically happening in the transition from late winter to early spring. <\/p>
The water then freezes in the turf\u2019s crown. Crown hydration damages grass at the cellular level in two ways:<\/p>
- Destroys cells from the inside <\/strong>if the ice forms within the cells. Water expands when it freezes, so it ruptures the cells from within.<\/li>
- Draws moisture from the cells <\/strong>if the ice forms around and outside the cells. The cells will die from dehydration if too much water is drawn out of them.<\/li> <\/ul>
The crown is a crucial part of a grass plant, as it produces new growth. If enough cells in the crown are damaged, your grass will die.<\/p>
The warmer temperatures can also start the de-winterization process in your grass too early \u2013 in other words, your lawn comes out of dormancy before it\u2019s meant to. This makes it even more susceptible to crown hydration.<\/p>
Grasses with low cold tolerance are more vulnerable to crown hydration. According to the Michigan State University Extension<\/a>, annual bluegrass (used in golfing greens and fairways) is the grass most susceptible to crown hydration. <\/strong>In most lawns, annual bluegrass<\/a> is a common cool-season weed.<\/p>
How to identify crown hydration damage<\/span><\/h2>
![\"Lawn](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Lawn-in-bad-condition.jpg\")
singjai<\/a> | Adobe Stock Free | License<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Because crown hydration is one form of winterkill, crown hydration damage is the same as winterkill damage. Here is how to identify it:<\/p>
- Yellow or brown grass<\/li>
- Patches of dead grass<\/li>
- Thinning turf<\/li> <\/ul>
However, you will only really find out the extent of the damage once the snow has fully melted.<\/p>
Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>
- “How to Tell If Your Grass is Dead or Dormant”<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
Is there anything you can do to prevent crown hydration?<\/span><\/h2>
![\"dethatcher](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1024px-Dethatcher2.jpg\")
Agri-Fab, Inc.<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC0 1.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Crown hydration is one of the least predictable causes of winterkill, and there\u2019s not much you can do to definitively prevent crown hydration. You can\u2019t control how much snow and ice you\u2019re gonna get, nor can you control if your area gets a warm spell and sudden freeze.<\/p>
Here are the steps you can take to prevent crown hydration, though:<\/p>
- Fix drainage issues <\/strong>as poorly-drained areas are the most susceptible to crown hydration. Standing water will make your grass more saturated than normal, which leads to worse crown hydration damage. You may need to level your lawn<\/a> to do this.<\/li>
- Dethatch your lawn<\/strong><\/a> before the grass becomes dormant.<\/li>
- Don\u2019t mow too low <\/strong>in the fall.<\/li>
- Only use potassium fertilizers <\/strong>(avoid nitrogen-heavy ones) when fertilizing cool-season grass in late fall. This will encourage strong roots without encouraging your turf to grow close to dormancy. Grass that grows when it\u2019s supposed to go dormant will have new growth that is more susceptible to crown hydration.<\/li>
- Grow a strong lawn <\/strong>by taking good care of your grass the rest of the year. Strong grass is more resilient.<\/li>
- Don\u2019t force your lawn to come out of dormancy early <\/strong>by feeding it with quick-release fertilizer when it\u2019s dormant. This can encourage your grass to take in water, leaving it susceptible if there\u2019s a sudden freeze.<\/li> <\/ul>
You can read our article about preventing winter lawn damage to learn more.<\/p>
Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>
- “What is Winter Fertilizer?”<\/a><\/li>
- “When to Dethatch Your Lawn”<\/a><\/li>
- “Last Mow of the Season”<\/a><\/li>
- “How Short to Cut Grass Before Winter”<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
How to fix crown hydration damage<\/span><\/h2>
Your plan of action for fixing crown hydration damage will depend on the extent of the damage:<\/p>
- Care for your grass as you normally would <\/strong>in the spring months if the damage is minimal<\/strong> \u2013 just a few small patches of bare dirt or thinning turf. You can read our article, “Tips for Spring Lawn Care”<\/a> for a guide on how to properly care for your lawn in the spring.<\/li>
- Overseed your lawn<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>if there is moderate damage<\/strong> to your turfgrass. Lay sod<\/a> if the damage is extensive.<\/li>
- Reseed your lawn<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>if your lawn is severely damaged<\/strong>, like if it has patches of grass amidst dirt.<\/li> <\/ul>
Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>
- “How to Fix Patchy Grass”<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
FAQs<\/span><\/h2>
What is the crown of the grass?<\/strong>The crown is the base of perennial grass plants where all growth comes from. That\u2019s why your grass can die if the crown gets heavily damaged.<\/p> <\/div>
Is crown hydration different from winterkill?<\/strong>Crown hydration is a type of winterkill. There are many other types of winterkill, such as winter desiccation.<\/p> <\/div>
What are the other types of winterkill?<\/strong>The other types of winterkill include:
Call a pro for a healthy and resilient lawn<\/span><\/h2>
One of the best ways to protect your lawn from crown hydration \u2013 or any damage, really \u2013 is by practicing good lawn maintenance throughout the year. If you don\u2019t have the time or energy to care for your lawn, Lawn Love\u2019s local pros can handle the mowing<\/a>, seasonal fertilization<\/a>, and even weed control<\/a>. Hire a Lawn Love pro today.<\/p>
\t\t\t\t\t\tSources:<\/strong><\/p> \t\t\t
<\/span><\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\tMichigan State University Extension<\/a><\/p> <\/div> \t\t<\/div> <\/div>
Main Image Credit: YARphotographer<\/a> \/ Adobe Stock Free \/ License<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Crown hydration is the destructive phenomenon of water freezing in grass during periods of thawing and rapid refreezing in the winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":36384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[147,1229],"class_list":["post-36382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawn-care-tips","tag-lawn-care","tag-winter-lawn-care"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/grass-in-lawn.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Janine Caayao","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/janine-caayao\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40256,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36382\/revisions\/40256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Overseed your lawn<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>if there is moderate damage<\/strong> to your turfgrass. Lay sod<\/a> if the damage is extensive.<\/li>
- “When to Dethatch Your Lawn”<\/a><\/li>
- Dethatch your lawn<\/strong><\/a> before the grass becomes dormant.<\/li>
- Fix drainage issues <\/strong>as poorly-drained areas are the most susceptible to crown hydration. Standing water will make your grass more saturated than normal, which leads to worse crown hydration damage. You may need to level your lawn<\/a> to do this.<\/li>
- “How to Tell If Your Grass is Dead or Dormant”<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
- Draws moisture from the cells <\/strong>if the ice forms around and outside the cells. The cells will die from dehydration if too much water is drawn out of them.<\/li> <\/ul>
- How to identify crown hydration damage<\/a><\/li>