If spring lawn care is about getting your lawn healthy and green, summer lawn care is about KEEPING it healthy while temperatures soar and rainfall becomes a flooding memory. It’s also about maintaining a lawn that can withstand all the barbecues, games, parties, and running feet that summer has to offer. Here are some tips for keeping your lawn in shape over those long, hot days of summer.
The dog days of summer are just around the corner and these can be hard times for our lawns. Now, this is an understandable concern because lawns are a valuable asset, just as the other shrubs and trees around your home. If you don’t think so, just try spending the time, money and energy to replace one.
About Summer Lawns
After the spring growing season, summer brings quite a bit of stress to lawn grasses. Not only are the heat and drought damaging, but we aren’t as forgiving in the summer as we are in the winter. We want our lawns lush and green for outdoor activities, and we try to fight nature by continuing to fertilize, water, and coax new growth out of our lawns no matter what the weather. However, by understanding and respecting the seasonal changes of turf grasses, you can take steps to care gently for your lawn as the mercury rises.
Once temperatures get into the 80s and above, lawns will begin to struggle a little, with cool-season grasses having the hardest time. Growth will slow, color may fade, and lawns will show signs of wear and tear as they are less able to recover from stress and traffic. Some cool-season lawns will even go dormant in the summer, looking brown and brittle until early fall.
Summer Lawn Stress:
High temperatures and dry conditions are bad enough for your turf, but add in the insects and diseases that summer always brings, and your lawn may need some serious help.
Finally, remember that regular applications of fertilizer will help your turf to stand up to insects and disease while decreasing water requirements throughout the summer months. Call our office for a free evaluation of your lawn and ask what programs we offer.