It’s not only a Glenn Frey song, but also our living breathing reality! I know everyone enjoys, as much as I do, sweating instantaneously. Unfortunately though, I’m here to talk about summer lawn care. So grab a big bottle of water, crank up the AC, and come along for the ride (free ride)!

So whats happening to the lawn right now? Well, a whole lot for summer lawn care professionals. So we had a ton of rain come through the area, a few days of cooler temperatures, and the lawns really jumped back to life. Good right? Yes and no. The rain perked up leaf production which increases photosynthesis and in turn carbohydrate storage. Crabohydrates are essential for giving the plant a bank of resources in times of stress. So +2 rain in the summer lawn care game!

The rain also increases humidity. Humidity, warm temperatures, wet lawns = disease pressure. -1 in the summer lawn care game. Fortunately we have all this carbohydrate storage going on so in the event disease does break out, we can correct it with fungicide and the stressed foliage can recover.

Water, what a love hate relationship.

Insect activity tends to thrive in the warm weather. It’s a little early for turf destroying grub worms, but mites, adult japanese beetles, and june bugs are out in full force. Heat also means it’s also time to check your evergreen conifers for bag worms! Over the last 3 weeks, I’ve seen the a sharp increase insect activity. I’ll score this a zero in the summer lawn care game.

One thing that does not need to happen with your fescue right now is nitrogen. Nitrogen is the utilized most by tge plant, but this time of year, nitrogen is like gasoline to fescue. It can make a rather minor issue turn into a full fledged nightmare. What a nightmare! No nitrogen? +1 summer lawn care!

Truth be told, once temps reach 90, fescur begins going dormant. No amount of water, shade, or prayer can stop it from happening. It’s good to maintain your proper cultural practices to avoid losing the turf, but I wouldnt exactly get my hopes up on it looking like a million dollar lawn. That being said, we’re getting awfully to the beautiful time that is aeration and overseeding! It turns out summer lawn care is not a game, its managing the extremes of nature to the best of your ability – ah ha!

Stay cool and stay hydrated!