Drought

Drought can cause major stress for your lawn.

Once your lawn enters a state of stress, it’s more susceptible to future disease. In this article, we’ll talk about how to avoid drought stress. We’ll give you some tips you can use even now to keep your lawn healthy.

Consistent watering is one way to keep your lawn free from drought stress.

Yes, we know there are watering restrictions. However, you are still allowed to water your lawn once a week. If you water deeply – to about an inch – then, your lawn should be fine even with the one day a week restriction. Remember it’s not about how often you water your lawn; it’s about the depth to which you water your lawn. Infrequent watering to an appropriate depth is better than more frequent watering to a lesser depth.

Of course, you should water after midnight and in the early morning hours to get the best benefit of the water. It won’t evaporate as much during these times. The land is cooler and there’s no sun beating down on it to suck up the water.

Don’t cut your lawn too short.

Never cut more than 1/3 of the blade when mowing. Cutting your lawn too short will cause it more harm than good. If a lawn is cut too short, the plants’ ability to produce energy for growth is reduced. When cut at the proper height, your grass will develop a strong root system. This will support more vigorous plants that are more tolerant of stress.

Cut your lawn with a sharp mower blade.

Grass heals faster when it’s cut with a sharp mower blade. Dull blades tear plant tissue rather than cut it. The torn grass tissue will appear brown at the surface and become more susceptible to stress and disease.

Grass Cycle!

When you mow your lawn, keep the grass clippings. Don’t bag them. The clippings have water in them as well as nutrients that are vital for your drought-stressed lawn. Return them to the soil. Your lawn will look like it needs to be raked. Don’t worry! The grass blades will quickly fall between the standing grass blades and disappear from sight.

If you follow these simple maintenance tips, your lawn can avoid the majority of drought stress and may not even go dormant. It is possible to maintain a healthy lawn during a drought. It just requires a little bit of patience and effort.