While we all wish summer lawn care was as easy as quickly mowing your lawn before the weekend barbecue, we all know that there is a bit more to it! As a homeowner you have two choices when it comes to caring for your lawn during the summer months-water your lawn frequently throughout the entire course of the summer, or allow the grass to go into its natural dormant state.
Most lawns contain cool season grasses, these types of grasses naturally slow their growth down during the summer months. If you decide to allow this to occur you need to stick with it because going back and forth between watering and allowing your lawn to become dormant will only stress it and cause it to become unhealthy. If you decide to allow your lawn to go dormant the pros at Hoffer Pest Solutions would like to provide you with some dormant lawn care tips!
Water your lawn sparingly; a dormant lawn only needs about ¼ to ½ of an inch of water every 2-3 weeks. Make sure that the water soaks through to the soil to help keep the grasses root system alive and intact.
Keep a longer grass length. You may be tempted to lower your mower deck in order to keep the grass cut short and lengthen the time between mowing. This is not a good idea, keeping the grass at a length of about 3 inches will help to maintain deeper root growth, maintain more moisture, and allow for an overall healthier lawn.
Foot traffic should be kept to a minimum when grass is in its dormant state, dormant grass is dry and crunchy and a lot of traffic on it will cause the grass to become damaged and even die off. Do not fertilize grass in the summer that you have allowed to go dormant. A sudden bolus of nutrients will cause too much growth too fast and can really overwhelm and stress out the grass.
Once the weather begins to cool the dormant grass will naturally come out of its dormant state and become green and lush once again. If you decide that a dormant lawn is not something you want to encourage, you will need to water your lawn throughout the summer. Listed below are some lawn care tips for a non-dormant summer lawn!
When mowing your lawn it is okay to leave the lawn clippings behind, these clippings will provide a natural food source for your lawn.
Mow your lawn with a sharp blade; using a dull mower blade will cause a ragged edge to your grass which will allow for diseases and fungus to more easily invade the grass.
Leave grass taller for the same reasons as above with a dormant lawn.
A non-dormant lawn needs about ¾ to 1 inch of water per week to maintain its health and green color. Water early in the morning and make sure that it is an even application to avoid flooding areas or completely missing areas.
For more information about maintaining a healthy dormant or non-dormant summer lawn contact the lawn care professionals at Hoffer Pest Solutions today. Serving Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, we are ready to help you achieve and maintain a healthy lawn!