What Does Your Lawn Struggle With?
This summer has been a hot one in the Queen City. With the heat and lack of rain, the summer of 2016 has been especially hard on our yards. Nobody wants to go outside to do yard work when it’s hot enough to bake cookies on the back patio without an oven.
Throughout the summer, we have helped many customers with their lawns, and the three things our friends struggle with most are weeds, water levels, and disease.
Weeds, water, and disease, oh my!
Different seasons bring on different types of weeds. When fall comes and gives us lovely evenings outside, it also brings with it chickweed, henbit, bittercress, and deadnettle.
These are some of the bad guys that fill our yards each fall.
Here are a few tips on weeds:
The number one cause of weed problems we see in the fall is mowing your grass too short. Know the recommended height guidelines for your grass. In the summer, you should keep your grass a little higher, and in the fall, you should lower your lawn mower back to normal height.
For example, taking too much off the top of your fescue grass can cause crabgrass to grow, so keep it at around 2.5 inches.
Late summer and early fall are excellent times to get weeds under control. Winter annual weeds germinate in the late summer and early fall, and perennial weeds begin their food storage process in the fall. At this time, both types of weeds are ready to absorb just about anything, including weed killer.
Treating both types of weeds in the fall will set you up for a thick and lush lawn for the entire year.
So, what’s lawn disease, and how do I avoid it?
Lawn disease is an abnormal condition that kills your grass. This condition is caused by fungi, and can spread when a lot of moisture is present – like when you overwater your lawn.
If you have ever seen patches of grass that are a different color, look shriveled, or maybe you see lesions on blades of grass, you have a lawn fungus problem.
Too much water, over or under fertilization, and cool and warm temperatures can contribute to lawn disease.
Avoiding lawn disease just means being precise when you water your lawn and when you fertilize it, as well as not mowing too low and being careful with herbicide use.
Quick note: damage to your lawn doesn’t mean you have a fungus problem, so be sure to properly diagnose it before you treat your lawn for a problem you may not have.
Our lawn care team offers free onsite visits and lawn evaluations that can help you out with your lawn!
Hmm, did I water my lawn too much this summer?
Maybe. It was hot this summer, and since it didn’t rain a lot, we needed to water our lawns quite a bit this year.
But it’s important to remember more isn’t always better. Overwatering can create disease for your beautiful, green lawn. And underwatering your lawn can accelerate weed growth.
If you see mushrooms growing in your yard, or notice thin grass with a reddish orange color, you may have overwatered your grass. Also, certain weeds love an overwatered lawn, so if you see weeds sprouting up like crazy, and you are certain you are not under-watering, dial back on the water a bit.
Bring on the fall, pumpkins, s’mores, and bonfires! Yes, set up the fire pit, and get as many things pumpkin-flavored as you can.
While you do that, we’d love to help you with your lawn. When we come out to look at your lawn, there really is no obligation and no inspection cost. Check out our lawn care services and schedule a service today!
