5 Lawn Care Maintenance Tips for a Thicker Lawn
Lawn care maintenance in Dallas in the summer can be a challenge for many. If your lawn starts thinning and browning out, it may be time to consult with or change lawn care services, but in the meantime, here are five quick tips to ensure your lawn stays thick and healthy.
1.) Amend your soil. Your lawn needs at least 6″-12″ of nutrient rich, non-compacted, well-drained soil to grow in. According to Neil Sperry, “With the exception of a zone of red sandy clay soil through the mid cities and a few scattered pockets elsewhere, almost all of Dallas-Fort Worth has black clay gumbo soil underlain with a white chalk base. With a pH of 7.5 to 7.8, this soil is highly alkaline, and our irrigation water is even more so.” Nevertheless, we recommend testing your soil. Soil tests are easy and inexpensive. Forms and instructions are available through your county Extension Office or on the Texas A&M University Soil Testing Laboratory’s website that will help you determine how your soil needs to amended. The soil test report will help you understand which nutrients your soil lacks along with recommendations on the amounts of plant nutrients that would benefit your lawn. Your lawn care maintenance plan should include amending, fertilizing, and topdressing your lawn.
2.) Mow your lawn correctly. The number one lawn care mistake homeowners make is “scalping” their lawn (i.e. mowing it too short). Doing this encourages weed growth and can compromises the health of your grass. The rule-of-thumb is to use a sharp blade to mow your lawn at 3” and to mulch your clippings. Grass clippings are full of nitrogen and other nutrients that are good for your lawn. In drought conditions when your lawn is stressed, consider mowing your lawn less.
3.) Water your lawn correctly. Dallas’s twice-weekly watering restrictions that went into effect in 2012 are challenging during drought conditions, but actually help keep homeowners from incorrectly watering their lawn. It is better to water your yard heavily, but less frequently. Lawns need an average of one to two inches of water a week, preferably in the morning.
4.) Address lawn care problems immediately. Small problems, like a few weeds, become big problems fast. The more weeds, the more difficult they are to eradicate and for you to achieve a thick, healthy lawn. Lawn care maintenance professionals recommend treating your lawn with pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control treatments throughout the year, as needed. White grubs and fire ants are the top insect pests in the area. If you have problems with pests or see signs of turf disease, it’s best to contact a lawn care maintenance professional immediately (especially with turf diseases), as these problems can quickly destroy your lawn.
5.) Don’t overseed your lawn. Dallas-area lawns are typically comprised of warm-season grasses such as St. Augustine, Bermuda, and zoysia. In the winter when these grasses go dormant, they turn brown. Overseeding a warm-season lawn with a cool-season perennial ryegrass is tempting because it allows you to have a green lawn year-round. However, in the spring when the warm season lawn is trying to come out of dormancy it is forced to compete with the ryegrass, which is still in full swing, for nutrients and space. This can result in weak or thin areas in your lawn in the early summer.
For over 30 years, Bonick Landscaping has served Dallas area clients with the highest standards looking for out-of-the-ordinary luxury landscape design and pools by offering the best in service, workmanship, and plantings. Services include hardscape and landscape design, pool designs, pool construction and installation, lawn care services and garden maintenance (overall estate management), pool maintenance, and more. For discerning clients in Dallas who want to express their own distinctive style through their landscaping, Bonick Landscaping can help you realize your dream. Call us at 972-243-9673 or visit our website at www.bonicklandscaping.com.