The Heat is On

The summer is the traditional time for making the most of your landscape, so how can you make sure it looks its best even under the relentless heat of the summer sun?

After a surprisingly cool summer last year, July and August 2010 look set to break heat records all across the country. Scientists predict the hottest summer since global records began in 1880.

But all this heat has an impact on your lawn. You might have spotted it already – brown and wilted grass, bald spots and patchy turf. A lot of this is caused by the sheer stress of the summer sun – dry soil and dried out grass can leave your landscape looking less than impressive.

Here are some quick and practical tips to protect your turf from the worst of the weather:

• Water Your Grass: It seems obvious, but many people don’t seem to make the connection between a brown and wilted lawn and the sheer lack of moisture. Setting up a lawn sprinkler and feeding your lawn with fresh, life-giving water is the easiest step to giving your grass a fighting chance against the heat.
• Raise Your Mower: One of the simplest ways to keep your landscape green and lush is to simply let it grow longer. That way the grass retains more moisture and nutrients, and can soak up more sun to grow and repair itself. Set your mower to the tallest setting – you can always give your lawn a shorter trim in fall.
• Stop the Traffic: For most of the year, your grass and landscape are happy to be used. In the summertime, though, when your kids are reenacting the World Cup in your back yard, they’re also creating scuffs and bald patches that will spoil the look of your lawn. Don’t erect a ‘Keep off the Grass’ sign by any means, but be aware of how much traffic your lawn is getting and do your best to limit it.

Sometimes, even adopting all three of these best practices isn’t enough to keep your lawn looking lovely. If that’s the case, don’t despair. It might not be your fault. The brutal temperatures are ideal for cultivating some nasty fungal infections in your lawn – these might be what’s causing your ugly grass.

Grass-based cankers like anthracnose – sometimes known as basal rot or foliar blight – spread swiftly during the hotter weather and can cause the brown grass and stubborn patchiness.

Fungal infections are tricky to treat, so the best way to deal with the problem is to contact a reputable tree and lawn care specialist like Aspenn Environmental Services. In addition to offering treatments to repair your lawn, they offer year-round lawn and shrub spraying which can prevent problems from occurring the following summer.

Aspenn’s assistance goes further, though. In addition to dealing with the problems causing your less-than-impressive lawn, they can advice on aerating, fertilizing and even reseeding – all of which can transform your landscape and make it a point of pride again.