Is the hot/dry weather stressing out your lawn?

Many of our customers are asking what do to do, since their lawn is dry and showing signs of stress.
Water in the early morning
• Absolute Landscaping owner Brian O’Toole suggests watering your lawn in the early morning (2 AM) when it is cool and dark. This will allow more water to soak into the ground rather than evaporate. Water for a longer period so the water penetrates down to reach the entire root zone. A significant amount of water is lost by people watering in the hot afternoon. Avoid watering in the evening to prevent fungus and disease. .

• When lawns get stressed, they go dormant to protect themselves. In a healthy lawn, dormancy is a state that can be weathered without lasting damage, although aeration and seeding will most likely be needed in the fall. Even with increased watering, lawns are slow to come out of dormancy so the results will be slow or even hard to notice at all. But you will be helping the lawn to not decline any further. The lawn will then recover faster when the cooler weather comes back.
• A good root system is imperative for a healthy lawn, which is why feeding your lawn in the spring and fall, along with proper watering to encourage deep root growth, is essential.

Aerate and Overseed in the Fall
• If your lawn has declined due to heat stress, Absolute Landscaping recommends aerating and over-seeding your lawn in the fall to get your grass looking great again. Aeration is very important because when the soil dries out significantly, the ground does not readily accept the water from the surface. Aeration breaks through the top layer and loosens the soil. This allows water and air to get down to the roots where it is needed most. Seeding at the same time will promote new growth as the existing lawn becomes healthier.

Carol LaMarr
Project Coordinator
Absolute Landscaping