Lawn Care Service Tips - 100+ Temps and Brown Lawns
Posted by Kathy Wilder on Mon, Aug 09, 2010
Hot enough for ya? (Don’t you just want to smack people who say that? You don’t? ….okay, maybe I’m just grouchy ‘cuz it’s SO HOT.)
Heat stress (combined with drought stress,) is upon us, and high temperatures are turning lawns brown all over our service area. If you look on the side of the road and at neighborhood entrances that don’t have sprinkler systems, you can see what your lawn would look like if you didn’t water it at all – completely brown!
We are definitely seeing some crunchy lawns! Should you water more, or water more often? The answer is YES. Water, water, water.
But if you didn’t water, or you can’t water, or you don’t want a big water bill, then what? Is the grass dead? Well, if you have a warm season grass like bermuda, St. Augustine or zoysia, it’s not dead, it’s just gone into premature dormancy. It’s taking a little nap. It’ll be fine later, when the rains come and the temperatures come down. Or, if you do decide to water heavily, it will come back before then.
If it’s fescue, and you haven’t been watering, it’s probably dead. When fescue is crunchy in 100+ weather, it’s a pretty good bet that it’s not coming back.
But mid-September to mid-October is fescue overseeding time, so that can be remedied soon enough.
We’ve seen lawns equipped with automatic sprinklers that still have brown spots – one or two sprinkler heads may be aimed wrong, or there’s just an area they’re missing. It doesn’t take long to show up when it’s been 104 degrees for a week. This is a good time to check that and fix it!
Try to water in the morning when the winds are low and the temperatures are a mere 80+. You’ll have less evaporation and get more results from your watering dollar. Lightly spray your fescue in the heat of the afternoon, to cool it down – this goes for your flowerbeds as well. Remember, deep watering every two or 3 days is more effective than 15 minutes every day. But a quick spray will cool things off.
A word about heat exhaustion: ANYONE is susceptible, even our guys who work out in this heat every day. So if you’re pushing a mower, or cleaning out the gutters, or whatever, pay attention to your body! Hopefully, everyone has sense enough to drink a lot of water, but that’s no guarantee, especially when we have high humidity. If you suddenly feel a chill, or get dizzy, you’ve had enough – go inside!
