Preparing your lawn for summer heat

Ensuring your yard stays healthy and green throughout the extreme heat of summer is one of our goals at Green Grass Guys. Oftentimes, we see our customers make very common mistakes in the maintenance of their yards, leaving their yards vulnerable to suffering and becoming damaged during the summer.

In Southeast Missouri, we are in the “transition zone.” Being in the transition zone means our environment and soil can produce cool-season grasses like fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and various other types, and also warm-season grasses, most commonly Zoysia and Bermuda. Knowing the kind of grass you have determines very specific things your yard needs to thrive in the heat of summer. It is not uncommon in the Cape Girardeau area for some yards to have a mixture of both warm-season and cool-season grass, thus creating more difficulty in developing a strategy to keep that grass healthy and green during the summertime.

Determining your yard’s mow height is one thing to consider in summer lawn maintenance. If your yard is sown in cool-season grass, it is vital to keep the mow height taller; the taller the grass blade, the deeper the roots will be. The deeper the roots, the more that blade of grass can store up nutrients and moisture to help it endure the heat. Warm-season grass is a different ballgame and in most cases can be cut very short.

If you haven’t guessed already, water is the common denominator between warm-season and cool-season grasses concerning its ability to thrive and stay green during the summer months. You must have a watering program for your yard if you want to see the results you desire.

Don’t hesitate to speak to a professional about these various issues in your yard so a catered plan can be developed for your yard’s specific needs.

~Ryan Dillick is the operation and sales manager for Green Grass Guys.