How to Take Care of your Lawn in Summer
A summer lawn-care regime is an important part of maintaining lush and healthy grass in your garden.
The warmer season brings specific challenges when it comes to lawn care. The combination of increased temperatures with lower rainfall – which can lead to drought and the implementation of hosepipe bans – as well as a proliferation of weeds, can all affect the health of your grass.
In this article, we’ll look at practical tips for nurturing your grass, as well as providing details of must-have lawn-care tools. With our advice and guidance, you can achieve a vibrant lawn from summer into autumn. Here are our tips for mid- to late-summer lawn care.
Understanding the basics of summer lawn care
When it comes to looking after your lawn, it’s helpful to assess and address the following points:
- Grass-type
- Soil-type
- The specific requirements for watering, mowing and maintaining your grass-type
- The current health of your lawn
- Any existing issues that might affect your lawn
Must-have lawn-care tools
As the UK’s leading online lawn-care and garden machinery retailer, we recommend the following essential tools for summer lawns:
- Lawnmower or lawn tractor
- Strimmer or edger
- Lawn roller
- Rake or dethatcher
- Lawn aerator or garden scarifier
- Sprinkler or irrigation system (in drier locations)
- Weed tool
Late summer lawn care: when’s best to water your grass?
During the UK’s summer months, if the temperatures are high and the rainfall is low, it’s essential you consider watering your grass.
The best practice for watering lawns is:
- Water deeply, once or twice per-week
Watering your lawn deeply, but not too often, will encourage deep root-growth. This helps to produce a healthier lawn, which is more resilient to arid drought conditions. - Water in the morning
Watering your lawn in the morning – when it would have dew on it anyway – enables the grass to dry-out through the day. This reduces the chance of fungal infection. - Avoid watering grass late in the evening
Watering in the evening can lead to excess moisture on the grass overnight, which will also make it prone to disease.
It’s just as important to avoid over-watering your grass as it is to prevent it becoming too dry and parched. If it does rain heavily – as it often does during the Great British summer! – reduce or skip watering for a day or two. The weather in the UK can be erratic, so sometimes you’ll just need to ‘play it by ear’.
When is best to mow the lawn?
As well as achieving a neat appearance, regular mowing is a great way to maintain a healthy lawn.
Mowing and grass-care tips for summer:
- Cut higher
You should set your mower blade higher during summer. When grass is longer, the extra growth provides shade, trapping moisture in the turf. We recommend a cutting-height of between 65 and 75mm, but this may vary, depending on your grass-type. - Cut regularly
If you cut too much grass at once, the grass can become stressed, making it more susceptible to hot, dry spells. As a rule, ‘little and often’ is the best mowing regime to maintain optimal lawn health. - Use a decent lawnmower
It is important to use a properly maintained lawnmower to ensure a clean and even cut. A blunt blade will place unnecessary stress on your grass.
Late-summer lawn-care and tackling weeds
In the summer, everything in your garden will grow more – including moss and weeds!
If you’re seeking green perfection, weeds and moss can affect the texture and health of your lawn during the summer. Common weeds include daisies, dandelions, plantain, clover and buttercups.
Weed-control options include:
- manual removal
- herbicides
- prevention techniques
Is fertiliser necessary for late-summer lawn care?
Feeding your lawn to boost its nutrient content should be carried out in mid-spring, while the grass is actively growing – usually April, or towards the end of March, depending on where you are in the country.
By the summer months, you shouldn’t need to apply fertiliser. However, if your lawn’s a little bit lacking, then you can try another application of liquid feed, if the manufacturer’s instructions suggest it. Never fertilise during August, as this will promote grass growth too late in the year.
If fertilising, your chosen product should be applied evenly, and in cool, moist conditions. Ideally, this would be when rain is expected, but, if not, you can lightly water after application to help disperse the feed.
Additional lawn-care tips for summer
Finally, here are some more tips to ensure that your lawn stays in optimal condition throughout the summer months:
- Aerate or scarify
If your lawn’s suffering from compacted soil, aerating it will improve the texture and enhance air circulation. Aeration also boosts water penetration, as well as encouraging the absorption of nutrients. Check-out our blog post on the benefits of using a lawn scarifier as autumn approaches. - Dethatch
Thatch is debris that accumulates between the grass and surface of the soil – it’s mainly dead grass, roots and other organic matter. A small quantity of thatch has benefits, but an excess accumulation can cause lawn-health issues. It can prevent water and nutrients being effectively absorbed into the turf. Use a rake or dethatcher to control thatch. - Edging
Besides a huge selection of lawnmowers and lawn tractors, we also offer lawn edgers to help achieve a neat and tidy lawn area. - Brown grass?
Don’t panic! If your grass is parched and goes brown, it’s not dead, it’s just become dormant. Once it receives some moisture, it will begin to recover, and start on its way to become thick and verdant again.
Speak to the summer lawn-care experts
Hopefully our lawn-care tips for summer will come in handy, allowing you to keep your grass looking lush and green throughout the season.
Consistent maintenance and attention will ensure your lawn looks its best. Here at MowDirect, we have a wide range of garden machinery, which will make easy work of caring for lawn, not just during summer, but all year round.
