As the county fair comes to a close today, summer vacation is nearing the end as well. Unfortunately, the heat and drought are far from over.

By now, many plants in the landscape are showing signs of the oppressive heat. Brown grass, scorched leaves and seemingly dead branches could mean big bucks for replacement this fall. But before you reach for the shovel and begin digging, the plants may just be dormant and not dead.

Here are some things to look for and what to do during these final days of summer.

Start with the lawn. Many homeowners are concerned that because their lawn is brown, it must be dead. This may not be the case. To check, pull up an individual plant and separate the leaves from the crown. The crown is the area between the leaves and the roots. If it is hard and not papery and dry, the plant is still alive or at least it was until you pulled it up. It is dormant and waiting for the cool fall rains so it can grow again.

Normally, a healthy lawn can stay dormant for five to eight weeks without harm. After this, it is important to keep the crown hydrated because if the crown dies, the plant dies. About 1/4 inch of water every two weeks is enough to hydrate the crown without pulling the plant out of dormancy. Avoid pulling plants in and out of dormancy as this can severely weaken the plant and make it more likely to die.

Trees and shrubs are not much different. Although the heat and drought are hard on them, they have evolved to handle it. Native trees such as hackberry, green ash, cottonwood, oak and walnut can go into summer dormancy.

In some areas tree leaves have already begun turning yellow or brown and falling off. For the most part, these trees are not dying, but are simply shedding leaves for which they can no longer provide water. If most of the leaves are shed, then the tree has entered summer dormancy and will not leaf out again until next spring.

Deciduous trees have the ability to do this, but pines and other evergreens do not.

To check if your tree is entering summer dormancy and not death, use a sharp knife to scrape a small section of bark from a twig or branch. Dead wood is dry and brittle. Dormant wood is flexible and has green tissue underneath. Dead wood should be pruned off, dormant wood should be left alone.

Bruce Chladny is horticulture agent at K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County. For more information, call him at 843-7058 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.