In Tulsa, extreme heat can take an extreme toll on your lawn, turning it brown and withered before you know it. As Tulsa’s trusted lawn care professionals, we at Proactive Landscaping are happy to provide these tips to help you maintain a healthy, intact lawn.
1. Cut the Grass to the Right Height
Adjust your mower height in summer to leave grass taller (never remove more than one-third of the grass height at one time). Taller grass shades soil, reducing water evaporation, allowing roots to grow deeper and preventing weed seeds from germinating.
2. Use the Proper Amount of Water
Even with unusual heat, don’t fall prey to the temptation to overwater your lawn. It’s also unnecessary after a rainfall. Keep in mind that turf grasses are better kept on the dry side. Constantly wet soil deprives grass roots of oxygen and leaves them vulnerable to disease. For proper lawn care, water it deeply and infrequently. Lawns only need about one-inch of water per week.
3. Don’t Mow the Lawn During a Drought
If we suffer a Tulsa drought, your lawn will be stressed by the weather conditions and have a hard time recovering from a mowing. It’s best to mow the grass after a rainfall or watering (but don’t cut the lawn while it is still wet – this will create clumping).
4. Keep Your Lawn Mower Blades Sharp
If your mower blades become dull, you will tear the grass and create ragged, brown edges that are ripe for disease. As a rule of thumb, a sharp blade lasts for about 10 hours of use.
5. Let Your Lawn Clippings Lie
Resist the temptation to bag your clippings when you mow your lawn. In fact, it’s best to use a mulching mower that returns the clippings to the lawn, acting as beneficial fertilizer as they decompose.
6. Resist the Temptation to Fertilize or Cultivate the Lawn
During extreme Tulsa heat, you should not fertilize or cultivate your lawn. Though they may seem like a good idea to combat the heat effects, grasses are often consuming more than they produce in a drought. So if they are fertilized and grow, then their consumption is driven up, putting greater stress on the lawn.
As well, cultivation processes such as aeration and dethatching can damage at the lawn at time when its ability to recover is hampered.
But the best way to maintain your lawn and to keep it healthy and beautiful year-round is to hire the services of Proactive Landscaping. We offer complete lawn care and landscaping services. Contact us today for a free quote – before your lawn succumbs to the heat.
