Summer lawn time is often filled with barbeques, picnics, lawn games, and other outdoor activities. You’ll likely be spending more time outside and using and seeing your lawn more than ever. Because of that, you want it to look and perform its best so that you can get the most out of it.
But a lot of homeowners don’t always realize that summer is the most stressful time of the year for your lawn. We find a common misconception is that winter is the most stressful season for grass, but in reality it’s the combination of intense heat, periods of drought, summer lawn pets, new weed threats, summer lawn diseases, and even more wear and tear that can really start to take a toll on even the healthiest turf.
We know there’s a lot involved in summer lawn care and we want you to feel confident that you’re set up for success. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of our best summer lawn maintenance tips so that you can ensure your lawn is getting everything that it needs.
When it comes to a healthy and thriving lawn, proper watering is vital. Without the right amount of water, your lawn will never perform its best. Of course, we do find that some homeowners fail to realize it’s possible to have “too much of a good thing.” Overwatering can be as harmful to the lawn as underwatering it as it’s going to drown the plant roots.
There’s a lot involved in watering a lawn in summer and you can read the article linked above for more thorough information, but here’s a quick synopsis.
Lawn mowing is a summer lawn maintenance task that seems like it’s relatively simple, but there are best practices that will make a world of difference when it comes to your lawn’s health. We’ve written an article on mowing frequency as well as a comprehensive look at best practices. But here’s a summary of the key points to mowing your lawn in summer.
Lawn fertilization is an important service that helps feed your grass plants the nutrients they need to thrive. But fertilizing your lawn in summer can quickly go awry as grass burn is a lot more likely in the heat.
The application of summer lawn fertilizer is one of those services best left in the hands of the pro because the amount of damage you can potentially do to your lawn is simply not worth the risk.
Summer lawn weeds are a nemesis that is difficult to escape. The hot and dry weather typically means that your lawn is already stressed and this is when opportunistic weeds take their chance—and start spreading like crazy! Because of that, you might be wondering about summer lawn weed killer.
We’ve written an entire article on summer lawn weed control that can give you all of the details, but here’s a summary of what you need to know.
Another part of summer lawn care is controlling lawn pests. Lawn insects can be a common culprit behind lawn problems that cause symptoms such as yellowing or browning grass.
Here are a few summer lawn pests that need to be on your radar.
Summer can also be a time when lawn fungus runs rampant. Some of the most common summer lawn diseases that we see include Red Thread, Dollar Spot, and Brown Patch. Here are a few things that you need to know about these concerns.
Another major stressor for your lawn in the summer is simply the fact that you’re using it more than ever. As we started this article off saying, we know that you’re spending more time outside, as you should be. But this is naturally going to put more stress on the lawn (at a time when it’s already under stress).
Along with that, dogs also put added stress on a lawn in the summer. If you’re someone that has one or more dogs, you might want to read our article about pet-friendly lawn care. But here are a few highlights to keep in mind.
Finally, as your summer lawn has been under lots of stress, you likely want to know what you can do to repair certain areas that have taken a beating. There might be thinned out spots or areas that are under-performing.
The answer is lawn aeration and overseeding.
We actually do not perform this service in the summer but rather in the fall, when weather conditions are optimal for your new grass to start germinating. Summer lawn seeding can be a waste of time as that new, delicate growth is only going to get torched by the hot sun.
Instead, as the summer begins to come to a close, it’s time to start thinking about this service, which we call the “cornerstone of our lawn care program.” It’s one of the absolute best things that you can do for your lawn and it will help to start repairing some of the stress your lawn has faced in the summer.
We hope these lawn maintenance tips for summer are helpful. At the end of the day, having a thick, healthy, and thriving lawn that you can enjoy in the summer (and beyond) is all about a year-round, full program. You can’t just pick and choose which seasons you want to care for your lawn if you want to have it looking and performing its best. You also can’t wait until your lawn is in terrible shape to start using professional services and then expect to see a change overnight. Even healthy lawns need ongoing care and maintenance.
At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, one of the values of signing up for one of our lawn care packages is that we can take care of your lawn all year and ensure that it’s getting each of these different lawn care services talked about above. Instead of having to figure out the guesswork of summer lawn fertilizer or summer lawn weed killer, you can know that tasks like these are being performed exactly as they should. We can even handle mowing the lawn in the summer.
In the end, that adds up to peace of mind that your lawn is getting what it needs not only in the summer, but throughout the year.
If you’d like to stop worrying about your lawn, request your quote, choose from 3 lawn care package options, and relax as you get the royal treatment.