Don’t Cut Too Short
Cutting your grass too short limits your plants’ ability to produce energy for growth. When grass is cut to a proper height it develops stronger roots that allow for more support and make them more tolerant of stress. When cutting your grass in the heat, try to stick to the 1/3 Rule: Never remove more than 1/3 of grass height at one time. By sticking to this rule, your lawn is kept cooler because less plant tissue is removed. This allows your lawn to thrive and avoid stress.
Don’t Mow In A Drought Or If you do WATER THE GRASS (see below about watering )
Try to avoid mowing during the stress of a drought. Lawns have limited capabilities to recover from mowing during drought and it can actually cause even more damage. During a drought, try to mow after a rainfall or after an irrigation day. Try to resist mowing while the grass is still wet to avoid clumping.
Lawns only need 1″ of water per week including rainfall. Try to water deeply and infrequently. Watering deeply means wetting the entire root zone. Watering infrequently means only watering when the grass is dry. Try to water early in the morning when your lawn can get the full benefit of hydration before the sun dries it out by mid-day. Watering in the evening leaves the water standing overnight with nothing to dry it up which can lead to mold and fungus.
Avoid fertilizer on your lawn during the summer. It can do more harm then good in your lawn care regime.
Keep the foot and paw traffic down. during the heat and stress of summer try to limit the amount of wear and tear by walking or your family pet running on the grass. We know the pups love to run but if they dig or burn out a patch of grass, growing it back in the summer will most likely be a lost cause.
