Tips For Preparing Your Lawn For Summer Stress

As summer heat conditions begin to set in here in Wisconsin, you may be concerned about what effect this could have on your lawn. During extreme heat and droughts, it’s normal for a lawn to go dormant this time of year, here are some tips to help get a head start on summer lawn maintenance.

1. Be sure to repair any pathy or bald spots in your grass. Before the heat of summer sets in, you’ll want your lawn to be filled in well. Repair your lawn by sprinkling seed in the late spring and thoroughly watering until they begin to sprout. This will help keep the roots from getting scorched by the summer sun. If there are many pathy spots in your lawn, or spots that are rather large, overseeding may be a better solution.
2. Overseeding is the process of sprinkling grass seed over your entire lawn. The benefits of this include, creating a denser, fuller lawn, evening out the color of your grass, preventing weeds from germinating within the lawn, and is an efficient way to fill in bare or patchy spots. This process of overseeding should be done in the fall to give grass seeds time to germinate and take root before winter arrives.
3. Raise the height of your mower blades. Leaving your lawn a little longer in the Summer will help it survive heat and drought conditions. Longer grass will shelter the soil, helping keep it cool and moist for longer. Especially during the warm summer months, you should keep the lawn at a height of about 3.5-4 inches so that the grass can protect the soil and its roots from the heat of the summer sun. A lawn that is too short will go dull and dormant faster.
4. Applications of fertilizer and weed control during the year are crucial to the health of your lawn. These two treatments are vital, as fertilizer provides important nutrients and the weed control helps to eliminate nuisance plants that steal those nutrients from your lawn. Slow release or controlled release fertilizers are best suited to the warmer season, as they are specially designed to perform well even through drought stress.
5. Maintain a tight water schedule. Watering can be very helpful to your lawn’s health, but your grass needs water year round, not just in the hot summer months. The most ideal time to water turf or plants in a landscape is in the early morning hours, between 6am and 10am, before the heat really sets in for the day. This allows you to get the most out of your water, limiting evaporation and leaving plenty of time for it to soak in. Watering in the afternoon or evening can cause your grass to be too moist into the night, allowing potential disease to set in.

For more tips and in formation on keeping your lawn vibrant and healthy, visit these links below!:

Preparing Your Lawn For Summer Stress

How to Prepare Your Lawn for Drought – Lawn Care Blog