Nothing scares a lawn owner like drought, except maybe grubs, but that’s another story.
Drought can mean death for a healthy, thriving lawn.
How to drought-proof your lawn?
Mow tall. Resist the urge to water every day. Apply a soil optimizer to encourage drought-tolerant grass. Don’t skip fertilizer.
All these practices encourage a healthy lawn, and healthier, stronger lawns are better able to resist the stress of summer heat and drought.
Keep reading to find out more about:
Yes, it’s worth repeating three times. Your mowing height has a huge impact in encouraging drought-resistant grass.
Raise your mower deck for a few weeks during the summer. Your grass should be 3-4 inches tall after mowing.
Cutting your grass too short stresses the grass, especially during a hot, dry summer, and makes it more susceptible to damage from insects and disease.
Taller grass shades the soil so there won't be as much moisture loss due to evaporation. During drought, every drop of water counts.
It’s easy to forget about your hard-working mower blades. They need some attention.
A dull mower blade shreds the grass instead of cutting it cleanly. This causes the tips of the grass to die and turn brown. The jagged edges also invite pests and disease.
A sharp blade makes a nice, clean cut, which helps the grass to heal faster. That helps keep your grass green and healthy in the heat.
Healthy grass is drought-tolerant grass.
Ask your Boise or Idaho Falls lawn care service for a soil optimizer treatment in late spring or early summer.
This treatment applied to the lawn helps grass better absorb nutrients, encourages root growth and increases water efficiency. It also boosts your lawn’s green color.
How to drought-proof your lawn? Don’t water it every day.
When it’s hot and dry, it’s tempting to water your lawn every day.
Be strong. Watering every day — even during drought conditions — causes more harm than good.
Maintain your smart watering practices even when it’s dry — that means water for longer but less frequently.
When you water every day, your lawn’s roots don’t have to search very far for water — it’s right there close to the surface. That encourages shallow, needy roots.
Water less often but deeply, and roots will have to search deeper in the ground for that valuable water, growing longer, deeper and healthier. Healthy roots mean a more drought-tolerant lawn.
Also, water early in the morning, before sunrise, if possible, before the hot sun evaporates the water.
But avoid watering late at night. That moisture sitting on the lawn overnight encourages lawn diseases.
The heat and drought of summer is not the time for your irrigation system to give up.
Have it inspected to make sure everything is working and you’re not wasting water.
Irrigation pros will check your sprinkler heads, zones and controller to make sure everything’s ready to survive drought season.
You don’t want your system to fail just when your thirsty lawn needs it the most.
There are varieties of grass that do better in drought than others, But here in Idaho we recommend sticking with Kentucky Bluegrass, which will do fine here in our summer weather if it's maintained properly.
Kentucky Bluegrass is an Idaho favorite. It’s durable with a beautiful, rich green color. It has good drought tolerance and, once established, can easily repair itself from damage.
The best grass for dry weather is probably already in your yard, as long as you’ve been taking good care of it.
Summer is busy, if you’re doing it right. Afternoons by the pool. Scenic hikes. River rafting. S’mores by the fire.
It’s easy to forget about fertilizing your lawn. In comparison, it’s pretty boring.
But your hungry Idaho lawn needs three fertilizer treatments during the growing season to stay green and healthy while you’re scooping ice cream and perfecting your swan dive.
How to drought-proof your lawn? Keep it well-fed and thriving, with this schedule:
Fertilize in mid-May, around the end of June, and in early to mid-August.
Get the blend right. You want a mix of quick-release and slow-release fertilizer, delivering both immediate and long-term results to keep your lawn green and healthy.
A good summer fertilizer blend is 25 percent quick-release and 75 percent slow-release fertilizer to keep your lawn green through the summer without big growth spikes so you’re not constantly mowing.
Sure, you can get a pizza delivered fast or order a new flamingo pool floaty for next-day delivery, but a healthy, drought- resistant lawn happens over time, with smart and consistent lawn care.
Hmmmmm. Sounds like a lot of work. How are you supposed to have time to use that flamingo pool floaty if you’re doing all that lawn care?
Why not leave it to the pros? Get on board with lawn care services in Boise and Idaho Falls that will boost your lawn’s health year-round, so when drought strikes, it’s ready.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care in Idaho Falls or Boise, ID that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy, impressive lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will get you beautiful, healthy grass.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break.
Welcome to one premium, six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green.
Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds.
We’ve got your back.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then, you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.