Maintaining Your Lawn This Summer

There’s a lot involved in maintaining a healthy and thriving lawn—and the unpredictability of the weather in Northeast Ohio doesn’t make it any easier. We can have scorching heat, random drops in temperature, varying amounts of rainfall, and other uncertainties that might make you feel like you can never quite get a grip on what your property needs to perform its best.

Unfortunately, when lawns are under a lot of stress, they become more prone to problems like pest and weed invasions—and even disease. It’s important that you’re practicing good lawn maintenance in order to help promote a healthy summer lawn. The last thing that you want to see is a rapid decline because of issues that could have been prevented.

Let’s look at some vital lawn maintenance services and how they can help.

 

Fertilizing your Summer Lawn

Your lawn will need added nutrients in the summer to carry it through some of the more stressful times. Summer fertilizer helps your lawn maintain its health and vigor despite experiencing some seasonal heat extremes.

Of course, making sure that your lawn receives the right amount of fertilizer (as too much can cause “lawn burn”) and at the right timing intervals is crucial. Working with a lawn care company that can provide professional residential lawn maintenance is key.

 

Specialized Weed Controls for Summer Success

Another major lawn frustration during the summer months is the emergence of summer weeds. There are certain varieties that can be aggressive and keep coming back here in Northeast Ohio.

Summer often brings a number of annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Among them is clover, which is a rapid spreader that can quickly take over a lawn. One of the reasons that clover can be challenging is that it’s highly adaptable. It can thrive in many different soil types and aggressively start to take over. In addition to targeting clover with professional weed control products, your lawn care company should also be looking to make adjustments to your soil pH if they’re needed, as clover can thrive in a low pH environment.

There are also some grassy weeds like crabgrass and nutsedge which can quickly spread in your lawn. These grasses tend to grow higher and more clump-like than your healthy turf—and they stick out like a sore thumb. Grassy weeds require specialty controls and repeated applications, as these persistent weeds tend to keep coming back.

Ultimately, the best way to control weeds on your Ohio property is with a multi-faceted approach that includes specialized weed controls where necessary. The truth is that not all weeds can be controlled the same way, and a lawn care company that is not switching up its products (and its methods) is doing you a disservice. Even the weeds that your lawn struggles with during the summer are going to be different from what you’ll see at other times of the year. That means the approach should be varied based on the season, as well.

 

Mowing “High” for Good Health

With grass growing rapidly in the summer, it also becomes important that you’re keeping up with regular and healthy mowing habits. A lot of homeowners are shocked to learn that there is a right and a wrong way to mow. Making mowing mistakes will have a negative impact your lawn’s health.

One of the biggest mowing errors is cutting the grass too short—something that even some professional mowers do. But when the grass is cut too short it can put a lot of stress on your lawn. This is when the turf becomes more prone to disease creeping in—or weeds taking over. You might also notice that a lawn which is mowed too short can start to turn yellow. This is because the lawn is struggling to regain its good health after such a dramatic cut.

The ideal mowing height is usually around 3.5 inches—though grass type and other factors can impact cut height. Though homeowners often like super short grass, when you leave it a little on the taller side, you can have more success with discouraging weed growth. Opportunistic weeds love short grass where they can take advantage of getting more access to sunlight and trying to take over your lawn.

Other mowing errors come down to mowing with dull blades or mowing infrequently. Both are additional ways that you can put unnecessary stress on your lawn.

 

Partnering with a Pro for a Healthy Summer Lawn—and More

Lawn maintenance in the summer can be complicated. Even when it feels like you’re doing everything right, summer lawn problems like pests or fungal diseases can still find their way onto your lawn. This is why it’s so important to partner with a professional who can offer professional residential lawn maintenance services. With a pro, you’ll ensure that your lawn is getting everything that it needs to perform its best. You’ll also gain the confidence that there’s a professional eye on your property looking for the first signs of a problem. When trouble is spotted and addressed early, it can often be held off.

While there’s no doubt summer can be brutal on a lawn, the pros here at Exscape Designs want to partner with you all year round for lawn-care success. After all, you want to make sure your lawn is getting everything it needs to thrive no matter what the time of year.

Get your summer maintenance on track