How to Care for Your Lawn During Midsummer?
Whether you live in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the country, summer heat can stress your grass, making it look dull and dry. The blades start losing their green color in May and June due to soaring temperatures and infrequent rainfall. By July or August, the lawn loses even more vibrancy. Typically, cool-season grass grows less during periods of heat and drought in Pennsylvania. The grass enters survival mode rather than growing new blades. Should you worry about it? It’s a natural part of the grass’s life cycle. So don’t panic or take any hasty steps. Instead, you can hire a lawn care agency to support your lawn’s health, especially if you don’t have the time or experience to care for it properly during the summer months.
For specialists like JHL Turf Pros, it’s a routine job. They can assess your lawn’s condition and manage all types of lawn issues without causing additional stress to the grass or its surroundings. Here’s a quick look at what usually goes into a midsummer lawn care plan.
- Mowing
A simple hack that most lawn care specialists use during this time is to raise the mowing height. Shorter grass works well in May and June. During the summer, you need to water it more often. However, taller blades act as a shield against heat and dryness by providing shade for the soil and roots. That’s why professionals may mow the grass only as much as needed while maintaining a longer height (about 3 to 4 inches) to cover the soil surface. This helps control the evaporation process, retain soil moisture, and protect the roots from heat.
Taller grass also doesn’t allow weeds to spread as much by limiting their access to sunlight. Professionals avoid mowing during the hottest part of the day to prevent unnecessary stress on your lawn and protect freshly mowed blades from moisture loss. Generally, this type of work is done in the early morning, late afternoon, or early evening.
- Watering
Homeowners often sprinkle water on the lawn every day during the summer and believe the job is done. Shallow watering may help shallow roots, but it doesn’t reach the deeper roots that help your grass stay healthy and withstand periods of heat. That’s why watering deeply from time to time is more important. Deeper roots help grow stronger, taller grass without requiring frequent watering. About one inch of water per week is usually enough for most lawns. However, lawn care professionals first look for signs that indicate the need for watering. These include curled or folded grass blades, visible footprints on the grass, bluish-gray grass blades, and other signs of drought stress. Watering is usually done in the early morning.
- Grass clippings
You may be surprised to see that your lawn care expert left grass clippings on the lawn when you expected them to remove them. In most cases, this is intentional and beneficial. Mulched clippings contain many nutrients, including nitrogen, that are returned to the soil. As they break down, the soil can easily absorb those nutrients. They can also reduce your dependency on supplemental fertilizer and help maintain healthy moisture levels by lightly covering the soil surface. However, the clippings should be properly distributed across the lawn so they can break down gradually without smothering the grass.
Apart from these, lawn care experts will also make sure your lawn is protected from diseases and pests. They will not add fertilizer to the lawn just because it looks tired. Their decisions depend on their observation and assessment of the lawn’s condition. Hence, it is better to let them handle your midsummer lawn care.