South Florida Lawn Care: Keeping Your Lawn Healthy Year-Round
Now is the best time to start preparing your lawn to be the greenest on the block! During the spring and summer months, Florida lawns can experience high traffic, excessive rain, hot temperatures, and more. Putting a lawn care plan together beforehand can help minimize the effects these factors have on your grass. Check out our top lawn care tips for South Florida residents to utilize to maintain a healthy turf year-round.
Water Your Lawn Regularly
In our hot and humid climate, watering your lawn regularly is essential. Look to water your grass at least once a week, avoiding shallow watering as it can promote the growth of shallow roots. Consider watering your yard early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid evaporation during the hottest parts of the day.
Fertilize Your Lawn
Regular fertilization will help your lawn grow lush and healthy. The type of turf you have will determine the appropriate fertilizer to utilize. Whichever fertilizer you choose, look to apply it in the early spring and fall when your grass is actively growing. It’s recommended to consult with your lawn care professional on a fertilizer schedule and the type of fertilizer to use for a healthy lawn.
Mow Your Lawn Properly
Not only does mowing your lawn keep it tidy, but it’s also a health benefit to your grass. When you mow your lawn, set your mower at a high setting, ensuring that you don’t cut off more than a third of the grass blade. Utilizing this setting helps to promote deep roots and reduces the chance of damage and disease. Always keep your mower blades sharp for a clean cut. As for a mowing schedule, it’s best to base it on when you fertilize, current weather patterns, and the grass type, but you should always look to mow year-round.
Aerate Your Lawn
The aeration of your lawn will help relieve soil compaction, allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the grassroots. Yearly aerating will help distribute nutrients from thatch, ensuring a healthy turf. Look to aerate in the spring or fall when the grass is actively growing.
Address Pests and Diseases
There are several insects and diseases that will quickly damage your lawn if not addressed promptly. Always look for signs of damage, including yellowing or browning of the grass. If you notice these spots, act as soon as possible with appropriate treatment. Likewise, lawn pests can be extremely damaging, ruining your grass’s health and overall look. Common lawn pests include ants, chinch bugs, mole crickets, sod webworms, and more! If you notice these pests are taking over your yard, consider reaching out to your lawn care professional.
While these steps will help you keep a healthy lawn, sometimes it’s best to contact your local lawn care company for help. These lawn professionals will provide you with a green lawn care analysis and a comprehensive treatment plan, customized to fit your lawn care needs.
Summer is a very stressful time for your lawn. The combination of the beating sun and heat, increased foot traffic, water deprivation, weeds, and pests can be detrimental to the health of your lawn. Because of this, Americans spend about $8.5 billion on lawn care services each year. No matter how much you spend, these factors can combine to leave you with yellow patches or even turn your grass brown under the heat and stress of summer. A brown lawn doesn’t necessarily mean dead grass, though; cool season grasses go dormant in the summer, turning brown as a defense mechanism against the heat and turning green again when they are revitalized in the cooler weather of fall. Nonetheless, there are some things you can do to ensure a lush green lawn despite the heat. Check out these lawn care tips to keep your grass green this summer.
MOWING
Mow high in the summer months. Grass should be left about 3 inches tall as this provides more shade for the root system and keeps it cooler in the summer. Leaving the blades taller also encourages the grass to develop stronger, deeper root systems. Mowing should be done in the early morning or early evening to avoid the peak daytime heat. Make sure your mower is kept in good repair, as well. A poorly maintained mower can do more damage than good to your yard. Make sure mower blades are sharpened – dull blades tear the grass versus cutting it which can leave brown tips on the grass blades. Make sure the oil, filters, and spark plugs are changed, as well.
WATERING
Know when your lawn needs watering. You can usually tell grass is ready for a drink when it turns a bluish-gray color or if it stays matted down when you step on it rather than springing back up. Be mindful of how often you water, as well. Be mindful of any drought restrictions in your area before you water. Watering should be done consistently and deeply once or twice per week rather than a shallow watering daily.. Your lawn only needs 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water per week to keep its green color. Water early in the morning so that your lawn has time to dry out over the course of the day. Watering in the evening leaves dampness in the soil overnight that can lead to fungal disease. Don’t water your lawn with hot water. Don’t leave your garden hose out with water in it as this water can get hot enough to scald the grass blades in your lawn. Always empty your garden hose after each use; if you forget, make sure you flush the hot water out before you start watering.
FERTILIZING
Cool season grasses go dormant in the summer so you should wait to fertilize those in the fall. Fertilizing in the summer can trigger new growth which will ultimately turn brown. Warm season grasses should be fertilized every 6 weeks. If this causes your lawn to grow too quickly, switch to a fertilizer with a lower nitrogen content to slow the growth. Using a mulching mower can also help to naturally fertilize your lawn by recycling the nutrients in grass clippings back into the soil. Fertilizer should be applied evenly and judiciously. Too much fertilizer can also turn your lawn brown.
MAINTAINING
Maintaining your lawn can also help preserve its green color in the summer. When your pets do their business on the grass, they are essentially over-fertilizing that area with the additional nitrogen in their urine. If you notice yellow or bare patches where your pets often go, overseed them to keep them in good repair. Summer also brings extra foot traffic on your grass. Heavy foot traffic, especially on wet soil, can lead to soil compaction which prevents air from getting to the grass roots. Try to avoid walking on the grass as much as possible.
CALLING THE PROS
While the tips above can help keep your lawn green in the summer heat, sometimes assistance is still needed. Proper analysis, treatment, and timing are critical in achieving a green, healthy lawn. A professional lawn service like Northwest can provide you with a free analysis of your lawn’s current condition to determine an effective treatment plan; lawn fertilization; treatment for insects that cause damage to your lawn, including grubs, chinch bugs, and army worms; existing and preventative weed control with post emergent and pre emergent herbicides; a year-round service schedule for the healthiest, greenest lawn possible; and a service guarantee to come back in between regular scheduled visits, if needed, at no additional cost to you. Contact us today for a free lawn care analysis.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Effective lawn care is a year-round process. But, it’s easy to let your lawn go in the winter. We’ve all been there. And if that’s the case, the cold winter weather has mostly likely left your grass dry and dull. Now is the time to bring it back to life get your lawn healthy again so you can maximize its green days this summer. Here’s what you can do:
Step 1
Get rid of debris, weeds and thatch build-up. Thatch – tangled grass, stems and roots that accumulate on the soil’s surface – can prevent your lawn from getting the nutrients it needs to thrive. To remove thatch, mow grass shorter than your normally would (about 1″ high). Then, use a hand or machine-powered thatch remover or thatch rake (which you can rent from your local hardware store). For heavily compacted lawns, aeration is recommended.
Step 2
Test your soil’s pH levels. You can do this yourself or by getting a free lawn analysis from your local lawn care company. If the pH is low, you’ll need to add lime to your lawn. If the pH is too high, you’ll need to add a compound, like ammonium sulfate, or sulfur, that will raise your lawn’s pH level. If you’re not familiar with how much lime or sulfur to use or when appropriate application times are, contact a professional; too much of either can damage your lawn.
Step 3
Control and prevent weeds by using pre-emergent weed control products. These products usually last around 3 months so plan to re-apply again later in the summer.
Step 4
If your grass is patchy, you may consider overseeding, or wait for grass to fill in on it’s own. This will take longer but is recommended if you’ve recently applied weed control products (wait at least a month before seeding after using herbicides).
Step 5
Now that you’ve removed thatch, regulated soil’s pH levels, and controlled weeds, your lawn is ready for nourishment. For warm-season turf, fertilize once your grass is green again, usually in April or early May. For cool-season turf, fertilize lightly using a slow-release fertilizer; a heavier feeding is recommended in the Fall when grass is in peak growing season.
Step 6
Establish a mowing and watering schedule. For best results, cut grass at 1/3 or less of the blade length at a time. Once grass is growing, give your lawn at least 1″ of water a week.
Step 7
Address pest issues. Common insects, like grubs, can cause damage to your lawn; use preventative or curative pesticides and water the grass after, so that the products penetrate the soil. Reseeding may be necessary to address dead patches.
Step 8
Now may be a good time to aerate your lawn. Aeration allows nutrients, oxygen, and water to reach the grass’ roots and is usually done in the Fall for cool-season turf and early to mid-summer for warm-season turf.
Feeling overwhelmed? Call a pro. Every lawn is different and comes with its own challenges and needs, AND lawn care service is often cheaper than DIY methods. Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your lawn while someone else takes care of it for you.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1459539706252{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 10px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #000000 !important;}”][vc_column][ctitle title=”Request a Free Lawn Analysis” uppercase=”no” color=”#ffffff” background=”#000000″ position=”left” separator_color=”#ffffff”][vc_separator style=”blank” padding_top=”5″ padding_bottom=”5″][vc_column_text]
