Top 5 Lawn Care Tips to Beat the Houston Heat

Introduction

During the peak heat season, it is essential to take care of the lawn and ensure it stays healthy to maintain its appearance and deep green, which we all work hard for. The rising temperature and lack of rainfall during this part of the year can damage the grass if not maintained properly. A well-maintained lawn increases your home’s value by adding curb appeal. Apart from upholding the beauty a nice lawn provides, it helps maintain a healthy lawn and reduces erosion issues on your property. 

To assist you with the challenges you might face during the scorching heat and keep your lawn looking best here are some tips that will help you maintain your lawn.

Water Wisely

It is found that watering the grass early in the morning is the best time to water. When you water early, the water is less likely to evaporate before getting absorbed by the grass. As the temperature in the morning is at its coolest and the sun won’t be fully up until a few hours after it has a window to absorb the water.

The benefits of watering the lawn early in the mornings are, minimizing evaporation, saving money on your water bill and ensuring deep root hydration. This process helps the grass’s roots to grow deep leading to stronger and healthier plants. It also helps in reducing the growth of fungi and other diseases.

Mow High

In scorching heat, it is recommended to set the cutting height of the lawnmower to around 3 to 3.5 inches. The longer grass blades will shade the soil and roots preserving moisture. Taller grass also withstands drought and heat waves better than shorter grass which dries out rapidly, eventually turning dry and brown.

Taller grass benefits the lawn by shading the soil, reducing water loss and protecting roots. Taller grass also has the benefit of anchoring the soil with its roots, minimizing erosion issues.

Fertilize Smartly

Fertilizers, especially liquid ones, hurt the lawn during extreme heat as the grasses start growing rapidly. The scorching heat leads to an increase in water requirements and with the increase of fertilizer they absorb moisture from grasses resulting in them dying, wilt or yellow.

Slow-release fertilizers for lawns are recommended as fertilizers gradually break down the nitrogen and take only three to ten weeks to improve your lawn. Some Benefits of slow-release fertilizers are: that they provide consistent nutrients, avoid rapid growth on the lawn and promote uniform growth in grass reducing the risk of diseases.

Aerate Your Lawn

Aerating your lawn improves the process of absorption of water and minerals. It also helps in the better growth of roots. Aerating the lawn once a year will assist you during extreme weather conditions.

The aerating lawn also benefits in decompaction, improving soil aeration, enhancing water and nutrient absorption, and increasing resilience.

This also benefits if further combined with overseeding. This process will help you enhance the beauty of the lawn, providing more shade for your soil, reducing water runoff and puddling, enhancing heat and drought tolerance, and improving the curb appeal of your property.

Mulch Clippings

Mulching grass clippings instead of bagging the clips helps improve the soil moisture and guards the root from extreme heat. Moreover, the clipping breaks down helps enrich the nutrient content of the soil. 

This process is essential as leaving the clippings on the ground can lead to suffocation of the lawn leading to thinning and in severe cases even bare spots.

Recycling the clippings back to your lawn acts as a natural fertilizer and reduces the need for additional nitrogen fertilizers. This not only saves you time and money from fertilizing but also helps maintain consistency of colour and health for your lawn. (Clippings act as natural mulch by retaining moisture, returning nutrients to the soil and reducing the need for natural fertilizers)

Avoiding mowing

During the highs of the day, it is best to avoid mowing, especially during the hottest time of the season which here in Houston is in summer. Mowing and foot traffic combine with the heatwave and stress the grass leading to severe damage. Moreover, if you have to mow during the heat of the day once in a while, it’s ok. Typically, Houston lawn care recommends you try to avoid it and try mowing in the early morning or late in the evening when the temperatures are lower and cooler.

Moreover, you should minimize mowing the grass short, especially while experiencing the hottest and driest conditions – longer grass blades can protect the grass roots from drying and ensure hydration. 

Some other methods of caring for your lawn in the scorching heat are:

• Watering properly 

During the scorching heat of the summer, your lawn requires more attention and water to maintain its lush appearance. Watering is essential to keep your grass healthy in scorching heat waves and dry spells. It can withstand it to some degree and bounce back effectively if maintained correctly. Don’t water your lawn every day. Water your grass deeply and frequently to incentivize deep root growth, as roots will grow deep to find water, helping to stay healthy during the dry periods we experience often here in Houston. An example: Water 2 to 3 times per week, deeply to where the soil is nice and moist, but not so much as to where your lawn is soaked and muddy. 

• Treating for grubs 

The best time for treating grubs is early summer when these pests cause damage. Grubs are the cause of big irregular dead patches on your turf, which prevent the lawn from being healthy resulting in severe and costly damage to your lawn. Moreover, you should apply the grub control treatment before you see signs of damage. Preventative maintenance is best but if it’s already present, rest assured as with proper care and patience, nature’s way will be there to do the rest for you. If you are like me and are impatient – an instant fix would be to repair the area with sod. Keep an eye out for the next couple of blogs – where I will be writing about lawn repair and installation.

Weather conditions in Houston lawn care tips

Checking the weather

Staying informed of the weather conditions is essential as Houstonians – we aren’t new to the fact we have crazy weather. Make sure to keep on top of this not only for lawn and landscape health but also for awareness and safety. If a heat wave is predicted try taking steps to prepare the lawn by mowing early in the morning or late evening. Not only will this be good for the lawn but also you! Helping to escape the heat of the day and making the work more enjoyable. Also, remember to water deeply before the heat sets in, and try to avoid any unnecessary traffic on your turf areas. The grass is vulnerable during these harsh conditions and although moderate traffic stress wouldn’t severely damage it, it’s best to avoid walking on the lawn as much as possible during these times in the season.

Treatments by time

You should use herbicides or fertilizer can be risky if you are not a professional. Over-application or under-application of pesticides leads to inconsistent results. Whereas,  A trained and informed person would know to apply the required products in the right amounts to avoid any turf burn. At Evergreen, we promote natural ways of dealing with fertilization and weed control by use of natural slow-release fertilizers, aeration and topdressing are a few services we offer that are great for your lawn. They ensure that creating vigorous growth and healthy conditions for your lawn will pay you dividends by naturally battling and choking out any pesky weeds. Manual removal may be used in combination if you’d like to go the extra mile however, over time these practices will result in a minimization of weeds and issues.

Furthermore, there are several options offered in the industry such as herbicide treatments, “selective” and “non-selective” herbicides. We won’t take you deep into the weeds about it but there are products that if used correctly, can speed up the process dramatically and help improve your home’s curb appeal. A specialist might apply when the temperature is cooler making the herbicide more effective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, for maintaining a lawn in Houston, it is essential to stick to the basics to keep it healthy and vibrant. You can ensure your garden is clean and green by following tips like watering wisely, mowing high, fertilizing, aerating the lawn and mulch clippings. You will have a positive change on your lawn – the deep green we all love to see!

If you are looking for a convenient and professional way to deal with your lawn work, we are here for you – we at Evergreen provide top-notch quality and an excellent service experience. Feel free to visit us at Evergreen!