Summer Lawn and Garden Checklist

Now that we are in July and the hot weather is definitely here to stay, here are some tips for your lawn and gardening during this month.  With the hot temperatures and little rainfall predicated, your lawn and garden are likely to slow down and conserve energy.  Here is how you can help keep your lawn and garden happy!

Trees and shrubs:

• Stop fertilizing to allow them to reduce growth during the heat of the summer.  
• Water trees infrequently but deeply.  
• Apply extra mulch at the base of the tree to help retain moisture.  
• Prune dead or damaged limbs.

Annuals and Containers:

• Water container plants daily 
• Deadhead faded blooms to increase blooming.
• Pinch back leggy stems to encourage branching.

Lawns:

• Continue to mow as needed but set your mower to the highest setting
• Keep lawn mower blades sharp
• Mulch grass clippings to help shade and feed your lawn

Make your lawn happy with these mowing tips

Since we are in a drought, you should raise your mower height to 2 1/2 - 3 inches.  The grass will be stronger and better able to survive the drought when mowed at a higher cut.  It will also discourage germination of weed seeds and insulate the soil against the drying heat.

You should never mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time and it is best to use a mulching mower that prevents the need to bag clippings.  The clippings return nutrients to the lawn lowering the need for fertilizers.

Last but not least, make sure the mower blade is sharp.  A dull blade will tear the grass tips causing them to turn brown. 

What advice do you have for mowing the lawn?

Get your Weekends Back!

Do you hate having to mow your lawn every week?  How about having to fertilize and remulch seasonally?  It can really take up a lot of your precious free time! 

Look to Preferred Landscape and Lighting’s Maintenance and Enhancement department to care for your outdoor living space.  We offer lawn and landscape maintenance to include: grub worm control, organic lawn fertilization service, tree trimming / pruning and tree and shrub care, as well as specialized Oak wilt prevention (arborist services). Our lawn care business can design and develop and maintenance schedule to fit your budget and special needs, even if it is to just fertilize your yard one time.