Maintaining grass through extreme heat

With hot weather coming through we notice a number of common mistakes made by both homeowners and commercial landscapers in regard to lawn care during extreme heat.

One mistake is when lawns are cut too short.  If a lawn is cut too short, it reduces the plants’ ability to produce energy for growth.  Of grass is cut at the proper height, it will develop stronger root systems that are more tolerant to the stresses of extreme weather.  Try to remember not to remove more then one-third of your grass height.

Over watering, keep in mind that turf grass is easier to maintain on the dryer side then wet.  Roots need to have oxygen and can actually drown with too much water, you also don’t want to compete with additional organisms and fungus that can accompany too much watering.  When you do water your lawn, give it a good deep soak so the roots can get good and wet.  Less is more here, more water when you do water your lawn, but do this less often.  Your lawn only needs roughly one inch of water per week, including rain.

Don’t bag your grass clippings, let the clippings stay in the lawn.  They act as a slow release fertilizer for your lawn and is much safer in the hot weather then using fertilizer as cool weather grasses can end up stimulating too much growth in the hot summer months further stressing your lawn during high temperatures.  Of course, a well monitored lawn being fertilized at this time is ok, as long as your lawn professional is monitoring it.