Have you had trouble maintaining a healthy lawn in the summer? Are you looking for ways to ensure that your garden thrives even in scorching temperatures? Read on for a complete list of things you can do!
Beat the Summer Heat
If you plan properly, you can get your lawn to look as green as can be even on the hottest and driest days.
- Feed Regularly
Nutrients that have been added to the soil are usually processed by microbes in the soil by the end of the 6th or 8th week. To maintain a well-fed lawn, replenish these nutrients with another feeding. - Know How to Mow
Do not short-change your lawn by cutting your grass short. The longer the grass, the longer will the roots grow and the higher the chances of the roots reaching down for moisture even on hot, dry days. Mowing high will make a huge difference in how your lawn looks. - Do Not Water Long Grass Regularly
For grass to be able to wear even the driest of days, it is important for them to grow deep roots. The only way to ensure this happen is to water your lawn deeply but irregularly. This will stop the grass from stressing out during a drought. If you are watering during a dry spell, give your lawn about an inch of water each week and water as early as possible in the morning. Watering between 6 and 10 in the morning decreases the chances of evaporation. - Reseeding
Reseeding should usually be done during fall or early spring. These seasons have conditions that are optimal for grass growth. But since some types of grass cannot handle the summer heat, it would be wiser to reseed with new grass varieties that have been developed to handle sweltering heat. You can also consider overseeding your existing lawn to ensure that it resists high sun exposure and stays green even during a drought.
How to Ensure Your Garden Looks Beautiful Throughout summer
- Spread Mulch Over Your Soil
A 2-inch-deep layer of mulch will blanket the ground and shield it from the sun. The layer of mulch will keep the soil cooler and prevent moisture from evaporating. It will also help your soil in the long run as it will add nutrients to the soil structure as it decomposes. - Weeding
If you don’t want pesky weeds from taking over your garden and attracting insects, pests, and diseases, pull them as soon as you see them popping their heads out. You want to get them while they are still young because they are easier to uproot when they are still small. You also want them out of your lawn before they start to hog all the moisture and nutrients that were meant for your plants. To make the weeding process easier, pull them out when the soil is moist. - Replace spring-blooming annuals with summer-blooming bulbs
To add color to your yard and make it look its best, replace the spent spring-blooming plants with heat-loving summer annuals. These include angelonia, ageratum, coleus, portulaca, sweet potato vine salvia, and zinnia. They will grow quickly and renew your landscape by providing a beautiful burst of color. Other plants, such as canna, calla, and dahlia, are reliable ways to add color to your landscape all summer long. - Pinch Mums and Other Late Perennials
If you pinch the tops of certain plants, you will get a sturdier specimen that can give you more blooms from the side shoots that develop. This technique usually works on perennials, such as mums, asters, sedums, balloon flowers, goldenrods, phloxes, and Russian sages. - Deadheading
Deadheading is the process of removing spent and faded blooms from your annuals and perennials. It will prevent the plants from producing seeds, so they put more energy into producing beautiful blooms. Since it helps the plants cut back on efforts of self-seeding, it not only stops them from getting weedy but at the same time also ensures that there are more flowers in your garden. - Watch Out for Pests
One of the most common problems during this season is pests and insects. If you don’t want all your efforts to fall apart watch out for cucumber beetles, grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, and squash bugs.
Who Would We Recommend?
As you must have noticed, maintaining a gorgeous lawn during the driest and warmest season isn’t easy. It will require you to plan well ahead of time, be methodical and work in an organized manner. This is why we would advise you to hire a professional to help you along the way. Nova Property Solutions, in the Niagara region, could be just what you need. They not only have extensive experience in landscaping, but they also offer a wide-ranging list of affordable services, which include spring clean-up, mulch, and sod installation, weed control, lawn rolling, overseeding and fall clean up among many others.
