MILWAUKEE — The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows worsening conditions in Wisconsin. Most of Southeast Wisconsin is seeing moderate drought.
Roughly 88% of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions. The dry weather may have residents concerned about their lawns, but experts say there’s no need to worry.
Casey Dembowiak is the owner of Kellner Greenhouse in Milwaukee. While the plants he grows are well-watered in a greenhouse, if you look at the lawns outside his shop, it’s a different story.
Dembowiak said it isn’t something that is too concerning.
“Your grass is resilient, it’ll be just fine,” Dembowiak said. “Leave it till it rains. It’s going to rain.”
The dry weather hasn’t stopped shoppers from visiting Kellner Greenhouse to stock up on other planting needs.
Shirley Frieler visited the store Thursday to shop for some new plants. She’s been a master gardener for more than 20 years and said this drought hasn’t been too much of a concern.
“It’s dry all over,” Frieler said. “I only water my flowers and a few perennials that need it. The grass comes back. There’s no worry about that. You don’t have to water grass.”
Frailer said she’s confident things will get better.
“This is Mother Nature. This is how things happen,” she said. “Things go in cycles and you just go with the flow. It’ll even out. We’ll get rain. If things don’t look so good right now, it’s amazing how they bounce back.”
Dembowiak said it’s worth saving money on your water bill to wait for the next rain. But if residents are worried about their lawns, watering them won’t hurt.
“If you don’t mind paying a little bit to have green lawn, I say water your lawn,” he said. “Personally, if you don’t want to spend the extra dollars, then don’t water your lawn. It will rebound. It will be green, it will come back and most likely you’ll be sick of mowing it by the end of summer.”
In the meantime, he said to enjoy the summer heat and pay extra attention to your other plants.