Summer officially ends September 22nd, but the sunny days are still on our side! With a plethora of sunshine-filled days booked on the forecast, there’s still plenty of time left this year to enjoy your outdoor living area and lawn.
Lawn care is especially important during the late summer and early fall. It’s important to continue to prepare your lawn at the end of summer to make sure its prepared for many seasons ahead.
Check out our late summer landscape tips to keep your lawn healthy and well-prepared for fall’s arrival.
Dos and Don’ts for Late Summer Lawn Care:
Do:
- Keep mowing your lawn, and keep it at 3″ cut blade.
- Pull your weeds from the root with your hands. Instead of cutting the head of the weed with the lawn mower, grab the weed from the root to remove the entire weed.
- Choose the right fertilizer. Your late summer lawn may require a different fertilizer than you would use in the fall or winter. Make sure to do your research to find the best fertilizer for your end of summer lawn.
- Make sure your lawn mower is on the correct setting.
- Remove dead grass that is too thick so that sunlight, water, and oxygen can filtrate the roots.
- Fertilize! Late summer and the beginning of fall is the perfect time to fertilize your lawn.
- Aerate the soil. Your yard’s soil is more compacted during the summer months as it is prone to receive more foot traffic. Late summer is the ideal time to aerate your lawn. You want to aerate your lawn so oxygen, fertilizer, and water can filtrate your grass roots. Make sure to avoid the spike-shaped aerate tools that only punch holes in the turf.
Don’t:
- Don’t cut your grass too short. If you cut the grass too short, the roots will be exposed to sunlight and can actually burn your grass.
- Don’t lower the cutting height until the year’s last two lawn cuttings.
- Don’t use a dull blade. After a full summer of yard cuttings, your lawn mower’s blades may become dull. If you mow your lawn with a dull blade, it can shred the grass and create an unkempt appearance.
- Don’t leave thick, dead grass sitting on your lawn. Dead grass that is dense can actually block oxygen and sunlight from reaching the grass roots.
Poor lawn maintenance and improper practices can lead to an underperforming lawn next spring. Make sure to follow our dos and don’ts for late summer lawn care to reap all the benefits of a healthy lawn next spring.
If You’re in the North Metro-Atlanta Area, Call Mansell Landscape
With over 25 years in lawn care service, Mansell Landscape Management can help you with all of your lawn care and landscaping needs. We provide lawn care service, landscape maintenance, fertilization programs, landscape design, plant care, hardscaping, and more for your home or business. Mansell’s experience in lawn care ranges from commercial lawn care, to custom residential landscaping, to lawn service that improves property value.
If you are interested in lawn care maintenance, landscape design and installation, or hardscaping for your lawn, call us today at (770) 517-0555, or contact us online.