Seasonal Tips for Summer - Lawns

Summer time is the best time to enjoy the lawn but it can also have the biggest toll on your grass. Persistent hot and dry weather can quickly affect the appearance and overall health of the grass plants so you need to reduce the impact that other activities have on your lawn. Don’t mow the lawn very short when it is hot, never remove more than a third of the length of the grass blades in one cut, otherwise it needs a huge amount of energy to regrow.

If you are going away on holiday, cut the lawn before you go. Don’t be tempted to cut it very short, as this will cause it stress. Weak grass cannot compete well with invading weeds and moss and will suffer. Cut it as normal as near to your leaving date as possible.
Adjust how regularly you mow according to how fast the grass is growing. If the conditions are ideal for growth, i.e. warm, moist and sunny then you may need to cut a quality lawn 2-3 times a week to keep it looking good.
If the weather is dry, grass growth will slow, so allow the lawn to rest and if you must cut it simply trim off the top third of growth.
During spells of summer drought established lawns may actually turn brown and look dead. Unless your lawn has been recently re-sown from seed or re-turfed, it is very unlikely to be killed by drought and will quickly recover when rain falls. Watering the lawn may create instant visual results but is often unnecessary and can create problems. Unless you can be sure to thoroughly soak a dry lawn it is actually better not to water it at all. A well-prepared lawn that has been properly fed and treated during the spring is better able to withstand and recover from drought.
For a summer treat apply Aftercut Lawn Feed and Conditioner to your lawn after mowing, this will give it a tonic to keep it looking green and healthy for longer.
Keep newly sown lawns and freshly turfed areas well watered in dry spells. It is far more effective to water the lawn thoroughly once or twice a week than to wet it superficially on a daily basis. Water at dusk and really soak the area so that the water filters through to the soil around the roots, this encourages deeper roots to develop and reduces the likelihood of surface roots forming that may be susceptible to extremes of temperature.
Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron.
Trim the lawn edges every week using lawn-edging shears to give a neat finish. Cut long grass around trees and along the base of fences and walls using a nylon line trimmer. Take care not to damage neighbouring trees, shrubs or wildlife when you are trimming grass.
If you are planning to sow a new lawn from seed, start to prepare the ground. Kill off any weeds with Westland Resolva 24H Ready to Use. This new innovative weedkiller combines the speed of a contact weedkiller with the deep down root killing activity of a systemic weedkiller. When the weeds have been removed or killed, dig over the whole area, breaking up clods of soil and incorporate plenty of organic Farmyard Manure if the soil is poor. Rake it over so that it is as level as possible, but leave the rest of the preparation until nearer the sowing time.
Don’t forget to enjoy the lawn, it is the perfect place to host garden parties or garden games while the weather is warm and the rest of the garden is looking good.

Gardening tips for this Summer:

If you would like to refer back to the Seasonal Tips for April/May click here.

If you would like to refer back to the Seasonal Tips for February/March click here.