If spring is about getting your lawn healthy and green, summer is about KEEPING it healthy while temperatures soar, rainfall becomes sporadic, and barbecues, games, and parties give it a beating!
By understanding the seasonal changes of turf grasses, you can take steps to care gently for your lawn.
Water Wisely
• Lawns need at least 1” of water per week, and more when heat is severe. Use a rain gauge or can to keep track of the amount of water received from rainfall and irrigation.
• Either water your lawn regularly and deeply, or don’t water at all. Don’t let your lawn go brown and dormant, then try to “water it back to life.” If your lawn goes dormant in summer, it should stay that way until fall, and should recover nicely then.
• Water deeply and less frequently to encourage deep drought-tolerant roots.
• Water early to reduce evaporation and fungal growth.
Mowing Tips
• Raise your mower blade in the summer. Taller grass is more drought-tolerant, grows deeper roots, and helps prevent weed seeds from germinating. Cool-season grasses should be mowed at 3”- 4” during the summer, or as high as your blade will go, while warm-season grasses should be mowed at 2”- 3”.
• Mulching grass clippings helps keep moisture levels steady.
• Mow regularly, to prevent cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. This keeps your grass healthier and prevents the clippings from smothering the grass.
• Keep mower blades sharp. To minimize hot summer stress, make sure your mower is cutting your grass, not tearing it.
Don’t Over Fertilize
• If your lawn is looking straggly in midsummer, resist the urge to fertilize. In fact, it’s best to stop fertilizing about 30 days before your area’s summer temperatures arrive. Applying extra fertilizer in the heat of summer can burn your lawn and create a flush of tender growth that will struggle in the hot summer weather. Never fertilize dormant lawns – wait until they green up in the fall.
Control Weeds
• Summer is the season to get those growing weeds removed before they bloom and disperse seed for next year. Targeted post emergent herbicides are designed to kill broadleaf weeds without harming turf grass, but they must be applied when temperatures will be below 85° F for a few days.
Insects and Diseases
• Dormant or drought-stressed summer lawns can be more susceptible to insect infestations. Minor infestations often take care of themselves, but severe problems may require attention.
• Summer is also the time for fungal diseases like powdery mildew and brown patch. Apply fungicide if needed, and avoid watering in the evening to keep nighttime moisture down.
• Grubs will begin hatching in your lawn over the summer. If grubs typically cause problems in your lawn, you can begin applying grub control around midsummer.