When spring arrives, the world comes alive again. Everywhere, flowers are blooming, trees are budding, and grass starts growing long and green and luxurious. But before you know it, the glory days of spring have turned into the dog days of late June and early July, bringing withering heat that parches flower beds and scorches your lawn.
By the time you notice the grass starting to turn brown, it can take days of watering before the green starts coming back — and you have to be extra careful not to swing the pendulum the other way by drenching the soil.
If you want your property to stay green and healthy all summer, you need to get proactive about lawn care. Here are three tips that can help.
1. Install an Irrigation System
Weather can change very quickly, and all it takes is a week of exceptionally hot days to start causing problems for your lawn. If you don’t have the time to constantly be monitoring your grass, have sprinkler irrigation systems installed is a great way to ensure that your lawn is constantly getting the water it needs.
Professionally installed sprinkler systems can be targeted to the particular needs of your lawn, so the areas that need regular watering are irrigated while low-lying areas prone to saturation aren’t over-watered.
2. Fertilize
Like any other plant, grass needs more than just sunlight in order to thrive. It also needs nutrients and minerals, specifically:
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Sulphur
Most lawns have a hard time getting nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium through natural processes, so it’s a good idea to fertilize your lawn in the spring to ensure the grass has the nutrients it needs to grow all summer.
3. Thin Tree Canopies
As summer arrives and trees are in full leaf, a thick canopy can have an adverse effect on the grass in heavily shaded areas. Parts of your lawn that were doing fine in spring are now thinning due to the lack of sunlight. This can be addressed by thinning tree canopies, a process by which selected branches are removed to ensure more sunlight can reach the lawn.
In addition to helping your lawn, canopy-thinning has a number of other benefits as well. More sunlight can penetrate into your home, tree growth is stimulated, and the increased air circulation helps fight fungi and pests.
A lush, green lawn is one of the great pleasures of summer, but it usually doesn’t happen by accident. Instead of waiting until the grass underfoot is prickly and dead, get proactive about lawn care this summer.
Installing a sprinkler irrigation system that automatically waters the parts of your lawn that need it most, spreading rich fertilizer that gives your grass the nutrients it needs, and pruning your trees for the perfect mix of sun and shade are all concrete steps that can help guarantee your lawn will stay beautiful all through the summer months.
