Seasonal Lawn Care in Baton Rouge: 3 Tips for a Healthy Lawn in the Hot Summer Months

While a brown lawn is completely natural during the winter months, it can be very undesirable and unsightly during the summer months and also avoidable with the right type of care. Proper mowing and irrigation habits combat high temperatures and dry conditions. Here are a few tips to help your lawn battle the elements during the summer.

Water Constantly at a Moderate Volume

If you want a green lawn all summer long, you must water consistently. Many people make the mistake of thinking a quick watering is sufficient to water their lawn during the summer months, especially if the area is receiving afternoon rain. However, underwatering can result in root systems remaining shallow and stemming the growth and spread of turf grasses. We recommend turf areas get watered daily or at least every other day no less than 20 minutes where the top 1 to 1.5 inches of soil are moist when poking your finger down into the soil. An inground home irrigation system can be programmed to take care of the watering for you and to automatically adjust to seasonal needs.

Mow Your Lawn at a High Level

Contrary to our nature, a fluffy lawn tends to be healthier during the summer than a low-cut lawn. Put your lawn mower on higher setting, to leave the grass around 3 inches high for grasses such as St. Augustine and Centipede and 2 to 2.5 for Bermuda and Zosyia grasses. Taller blades provide more shade for your lawn’s root system, which keeps it cooler during hot summer days and protects the soil from evaporation. Additionally, taller blades of grass result in deeper, stronger roots as it promotes root development to supply more water and nutrients to the taller tips of the blades.

Water Your Lawn During the Earlier Hours of the Day

Five o’clock in the morning is the perfect time for watering your lawn as it is usually the least windy part of the day as well most city water supplies produce the highest pressure and flow during the early morning hours when most people are sleeping and not utilizing water. Programing your irrigation systems to water early in the morning or hand watering, if desired, will give your grass a supply of water to draw on during the day as the air temperatures climb and the sun’s rays heat up the blades and ground around it. Since Louisiana is notorious for heavy afternoon showers that pop up, this will prevent water from being wasted in watering during a rainstorm! Water conservation is becoming an increasing concern across many of the drought-stricken states and secondarily, helps keep your water bill costs down as prices continue to rise uncontrollably.

Stemming off or reviving a brown lawn is one of the most commonly requested services landscaping contractors receive during the heat of the summer and something that can be easily handled with a few simple key points. The expert staff at Kyle’s Lawn and Landscape can help to keep your lawn lush and healthy throughout the year.