Keeping your lawn lush and green over the hot summer months can be difficult. Follow these summer lawn care tips and make your lawn the envy of the neighbourhood.

Summer Lawn Care - Watering

Your lawn typically needs between 1 and 1.5 inches of water per week. If it’s really hot and your lawn starts to yellow you may need to increase this.

Try to water your lawn once a week rather than spreading your watering out. Water in the morning, preferably before 10 am as this will reduce the amount of water evaporation, meaning more water will sink into your lawn. You should avoid watering you lawn at night as it can increase the risk of fungi and disease.

Summer Lawn Care - Mowing

Let your lawn grow a little higher during the summer months than when the weather is colder. The higher grass will help protect the roots from the sun’s blaze. Most gardening experts recommend a height of 3-3.5 inches, or even 4 inches if the summer is unusually hot. You should also avoid mowing your lawn when it is very hot as this can cause it to dry up and turn yellow.

You should also mow your lawn less than you would during the rest of the year. Once a fortnight is generally sufficient.

Summer Lawn Care - Feeding

For maximum summer lawn care, apply a summer feed to help it grow well. There are several chemical feeds available which are designed for the summer months and will help keep your lawn green and crisp during hot weather.

Summer Lawn Care - Seeding and Repairing

Although most gardeners would recommend seeding and repairing in spring or autumn, if you are prepared to regularly water your lawn it can be done in summer. There are some fantastic lawn repair seeding kits on the market which can have fantastic results if you care for your lawn and water it regularly.

Summer Lawn Care - Boosting

Summer lawn care needs to continue throughout the hot weather. If your lawn is starting to look tired and yellowed after a few weeks of summer then try a lawn boost. There are lots of lawn boost products on the market which will feed and rejuvenate your lawn and help keep it looking beautiful throughout the rest of the hot weather.

Summer Lawn Care - Compaction

Your lawn is most well used during the summer months, with dogs and children running all over it. This can start to cause compaction after a few years. If you find you are getting bare patches on your lawn in places where it is most used, compaction is probably the cause. The best way to treat compaction is to aerate your lawn.

You can hire aerators from rental companies and some garden centres, but most experts recommend that you aerate in late autumn, so unfortunately you will have to live with the patches throughout the hot weather, but will be able to eradicate them by the following summer.

So follow these simple summer lawn care tips and achieve the lush lawn you’ve always dreamed of.

For more information about summer lawn care visit www.gardenhealth.com