Late Summer Lawn Care Tips
As late summer approaches, it's essential to prioritize your lawn care routine to ensure a healthy and lawn throughout the upcoming seasons. With the cooler temperatures and occasional rain showers, this time of year offers the ideal conditions for your lawn's growth and maintenance. Here are our top tips for late-summer lawn care:
- Battle Weeds: Late summer is the perfect time to tackle pesky weeds. Weeds such as dandelions, clover, and chickweed can choke out your lawn.
- Maintain Your Mower Blade: A dull mower blade can damage your grass, leaving it susceptible to diseases and pests. Before mowing your lawn, inspect the blade and sharpen it if necessary.
- Raise Your Mower Height: When mowing your lawn during late summer, adjust the height of your mower blades. Taller grass provides shade to the soil, reducing moisture evaporation and preventing weed growth. Furthermore, longer grass allows for deeper roots, resulting in a stronger and healthier lawn.
- Core Aeration: Soil compaction can be a significant problem during summer due to heavy foot traffic and dry weather conditions. One way to alleviate soil compaction and encourage root growth is by core aerating.
- Water Properly: Despite the occasional rain showers, it is crucial to monitor your lawn's moisture levels. Water deeply but infrequently to encourage deep root growth.
- Water in the Morning: Watering your lawn in the morning is a crucial step in late summer lawn care. Early-morning watering provides the necessary moisture to keep your lawn hydrated and healthy. When you water your lawn early in the day, the water has a better chance to penetrate deep into the soil, promoting deeper root growth.
- Apply Fertilizer: Late summer is an excellent time to give your lawn a boost of essential nutrients. Choose a high-quality fertilizer that contains the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
- Control Pest and Diseases: Stay vigilant for signs of pests or diseases that may attack your lawn during late summer. Keep an eye out for brown patches, wilting, or discoloration.
If this sounds like a lot of work, contact us today and we'll handle your lawn care!
Should I Aerate My Lawn?
We mentioned this step above, but want to dive a little deeper. This is one of the main questions we receive from our customers. Aerating your lawn is a vital step in late summer lawn care, providing numerous benefits for a healthy and lush lawn. Here's why and how you should aerate your lawn:
- Why Aerating is Important: Aeration helps alleviate soil compaction, a common issue in heavily trafficked areas. Compacted soil restricts the movement of air, water, and nutrients, hindering root growth and overall lawn health. By aerating, you create channels for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil and reach the grass roots, promoting deeper root growth and a more resilient lawn.
- Best Time to Aerate: Early September is the ideal time to aerate lawns, especially for cool-season grasses. The soil is still warm from summer, and cooler temperatures support robust root development. Aim to aerate when the soil is moist, but not overly saturated, for ease of penetration.
- Core Aerator vs. Spike-Type Device: It's crucial to use a core aerator rather than a spike-type device. Spike aerators create holes by piercing the soil, which can further compact the surrounding soil. Core aerators, on the other hand, remove plugs of soil from the ground, relieving compaction and allowing for better water and nutrient absorption.
- Removing Soil Cores: After aerating, you'll notice plugs of soil scattered across your lawn. Leave them there! Over time, rain, irrigation, and mowing will break up these soil cores and distribute their nutrients back into the soil.
With these top tips for late-summer lawn care, you can enjoy a lush and beautiful lawn throughout the year. By addressing broadleaf weeds, maintaining your mower blade, raising your mower height, core aerating, watering properly, applying fertilizer, and controlling pests and diseases, your lawn will thrive even during the scorching summer months. So, roll up your sleeves and give your lawn the attention it deserves in late summer. Your efforts will be rewarded with a healthy and vibrant lawn for years to come.