Wondering how to care for your lawn in the summer? Follow these summer lawn maintenance tips. We have all the top tips to help keep your Calvert County, MD lawn lush in the hot summer months.
Keeping your lawn healthy and lush in the summertime takes work, but it isn’t impossible. Once you know the basics, it’s easy to maintain and enjoy. Read on to learn our top summer lawn care and maintenance tips.
Summer Lawn Maintenance Tips
Knowing your type of grass that is on your property, cool-season grass consists of turf type tall fescue, fine fescue, bluegrass and perennial. Southern Maryland, Calvert County lawns consist of cool season grass.
Cool season lawns are more susceptible to suffering in the heat. It’s important to kickstart your lawn maintenance in the spring to prepare your lawn for higher temperatures during the summer.
Early Summer Lawn Maintenance
Both warm and cool-season grasses benefit from summer feeding. Warm season grasses grow actively during summer heat, cool season grasses grow actively during cooler temperatures.
Feeding your lawn early and late spring helps strengthen the lawn for the summer heat and drought. Aeration and Overseeding your lawn during the previous fall will kickstart your lawn for the season.
There are times when it just gets too hot for the turf and it stresses. Pushing growth during these times can actually prevent growth, especially lawns without an irrigation system.
Do not burn your lawn in the heat of summer
- Do not over-apply lawn fertilizer
- Apply low nitrogen fertilizer in the summer
- Weed controls – follow the heat restrictions
- Apply fertilizer for heat, drought, and insects to a DRY lawn
- Do not fertilize during a drought
One of the most common mistakes that will burn your lawn, “applying weed controls above the recommended temperatures.” Do not apply weed controls when temperatures are above the recommended temperature listed on the label.
Applying fertilizers with weed controls during the summer heat will burn your lawn if not properly performed. Fertilizing lawns without an irrigation system should be scaled back or skipped all together during a drought.
Early summer is a great time to apply insect control, also Grub control if skipped late spring. Treatment for grubs in late summer is problematic, grubs are fully-grown and thus harder to kill.
Early Summer Check List
- Apply insect control
- Grub control if skipped late spring
- Use low level nitrogen lawn fertilizer
- Skip fertilization during a drought – lawns without irrigation
- Apply weed controls below the recommended temperature
- Fertilizers – Apply to a DRY lawn
- Mowing the lawn high
The best time to fertilize your lawn is when the grass is actively growing, and for cool-season grasses, that’s when temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees F.
Late Summer Lawn Maintenance
As temperatures drop in late summer and early fall, cool-season grasses peak in growth. These grasses include bluegrass, perennial, and tall and fine fescues.
Warm days and cool nights make fall the perfect time for establishing new grass and strengthening existing lawns. The following late summer tasks help cool-season lawns flourish:
Late summer when the summer dormancy is behind, cool season grasses benefit from fertilization. A high-nitrogen fertilizer helps lawns establish vigorous roots and survive the winter.
Repair bare spots with a high-quality smart seed and a lawn fertilizer for new grass. Use a One Step Complete mixture to simplify repairs by combining everything you need in a single, easy to use product. Later summer temperatures and precipitation support quick establishment.
Overseed thin lawns, late summer conditions are ideal for seed germinating cool season grass seed. Overseeding thin lawns in late summer assures grass gets established before colder weather. A starter fertilizer supports fast, healthy establishment.
Late Summer Check List
- Aerate and Overseed to build turf
- Aerate compacted soil – Water and nutrients need access
- Apply a starter fertilizer with new grass seed
- Overseed bare patches – use a starter fertilizer, no weed controls
- High nitrogen fertilizer – Do not use on new grass seed
- Weed control or Spot-spray – Do not use on new grass seed
Additional Tips
- Remove excess thatch – That layer of organic matter that forms between soil and grass blades can benefit lawns when it’s thin. Water and nutrients need access to the soil.
- Keep new grass seed wet – Healthy established lawns generally need 1 inch of water, including precipitation weekly. Water your new seed wet, do not over water or you could drown new grass seed.
- Continue mowing – Continue with good mowing practices for your grass type. Skip one week of mowing with new grass seed just to give it time to settle into the soil.
Late summer is a great time to rejuvenate your entire lawn with Core Aeration and Overseed. Prepare your lawn for winter and kick start your lawns growth in the spring. For all your lawn maintenance needs, contact the professionals at Calvert Lawn Care or call (410) 777-5650 to arrange for an estimate.
