🌞 Hello summer! The heat is on and the lure of backyard pools is strong.
Here are your summer lawn care tips for warm-season lawns (such as Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, and St. Augustine grasses) to help you make the most of your outdoor lifestyle.
Don't Let Fun Times Fizzle Your Lawn this Summer
There's nothing like an inflatable pool or water slide to keep the kids cool and happy (or yourself after gardening in this heat!). And yet . . . you want to keep that lawn of yours in tip-top shape. We've got your back. Here are our ideas and advice on how to care for your lawn during summertime fun: Get Tips on Inflatables, Fireworks, & Tents During Summer
Summer is Time to Topdress Warm-Season Lawns
It's still a great time to aerate warm-season lawns. Use a core aerator, then topdress with Soil³ compost to add nutrition and improve the soil.
Learn How to Aerate & Topdress >>
Do you have a bumpy lawn and are looking for a way to fix that? We recommend topdressing with our Level Mix, a blend of sand and Soil³ to fill in the small holes, divots, and depressed areas.
Summer Fertilizer + Insecticide Combos for Warm-Season Lawns
- 🐛 Preventative Insecticide for Bermuda & Zosyia: Fall armyworms are a pervasive insect threat to lawns every summer, starting in July. Order insecticide for pick up or delivery and check out our Lawn Coach subscription.
- 🐛 Contact Insecticide for St. Augustine & Other Coastal Lawns: We recommend Talstar for St. Augustine lawns (and all sod varieties on the coast), because Talstar also targets mole crickets and cinch bugs, along with fall armyworms. Talstar kills current infestations (i.e., it's not preventative) and it's doesn't have nutrition, so we recommend spreading 5-10-30 or 16-4-8 at the same time.
- 🐛 Preventative Insecticide for ALL NEW Lawns: Fall armyworms adore tender, new sod that has recently been installed. Hey, we like it too! (But we don't eat it.) If you've recently laid sod, we especially recommend spreading preventative insecticide as insurance. It prevents infestations for 30 days, depending on weather conditions, so keep in mind that you may need to reapply it at least once more this summer.
- 🐛 Insecticide Product Summary:
- 5-10-30 + Acelepryn or 5-0-15 + Larvashield are fertilizer/insecticide combos that prevents fall armyworms and provides nutrition
- Talstar insecticide kills current infestations of fall armyworm, mole cricket, and cinch bug, but doesn't provide nutrition
- Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine Fertilizer: If you don't feel the need to apply an insecticide-containing fertilizer, we recommend just 5-10-30 or 16-4-8 in July.
Read the Best Times to Apply Fertilizer >> - Centipede Fertilizer: Your TifBlair Centipede should be fertilized with very little nitrogen fertilizer. We have our own special formulation just for it with lower nitrogen: Centipede Formulation 5-10-30 + Iron. You can skip it this month and wait to apply it in August - pick one month or the other. That's all it will need. Order 5-10-30 for pick up or delivery or check out our Lawn Coach subscription.
Read Fertilizer Tips for Your Centipede Lawn >> - 👍 Compost Topdressing for Fertilization: Topdressing with our Soil³ humus compost can take the place of one fertilizer application for all warm season lawns, plus it builds good soil structure. We recommend you aerate at the same time. If you have a new lawn, don't aerate until it's fully rooted - we recommend waiting until it's had one growing season to establish and the seams are filled in.
Read How to Aerate Your Lawn >>
Summer Weeding Tips for Warm-Season Lawns
- 📚Weed Control Master Page: All our weed control articles are organized under one main page to better help you find the help you need. View it here: Weed Control for Lawns
- The window for pre-emergent herbicide has closed until September and we're now in the season of post-emergent herbicide in warm-season lawns: You can apply post-emergent liquid herbicides for weeds you can see now in established lawns. Read the label and follow instructions. This time of year, pay particular attention to the temperature forecast when applying and make applications in the early morning to allow the product to dry before temps reach 85°F.
👍 Rule of Thumb: It's okay to apply a post-emergent liquid herbicide labeled for warm season lawns after you've mowed your new lawn 3 to 4 times. - Pulling by Hand: When you see a few weeds, just pull them up. Sometimes a hand trowel is helpful to get them up by their roots.
- Mowing: Mow those weeds down before they go to seed. Mowing is an effective way to suppress weeds because it cuts off flower/seed heads and that stops weeds from making more weeds, thus breaking the life cycle. If you have a lot of weeds, mow on a weekly routine and don't let the weeds get ahead of you.
- Mulch suppresses weed seeds in flower beds. Spread your favorite mulch 2-4" thick and keep it 1-2" away from touching the trunks or stems of your plants.
- Crabgrass is in season! It's crawling all over the place. Read how to get rid of it in your lawn and flower beds: July Weed of the Month: Crabgrass
Everybody knows the name crabgrass, but what can you do about it? Walk with us through the weed patch to discuss crabgrass and how to get rid of this common weed.
Summer Mowing Tips for Warm-Season Lawns
Regular mowing is making a difference in lawns throughout the land. For some types of lawns, regular mowing means once a week rather than every other week.
A customer told me that their lawn guy mowed their Bermuda grass only twice a month, so they took matters into their own hands and started mowing in the off weeks. I got a call saying, "Our lawn has never looked this good!" All it took was plenty of water and regular mowing.
🌧️ During these rainy weeks, it may be difficult to find a dry time to mow. In that case, get out there and do your best. It's more important to mow your lawn than to not mow it at all.
Skim André's 7-point blog and video where he reviews how to Master Lawn Mowing: Top Tips for a Lush and Healthy Lawn.
André encourages you to mow often, even during this rainy summer, and do your best to dance around all the rain that Mother Nature has been delivering.
Here are your specific Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, and St. Augustine grass mowing tips for July:
- Mowing New Sod: Did you lay new sod? Our saying is to "mow as soon as there is something to mow." In fact, mowing will promote growth! So don't be timid. Mow it! Read: How Soon Should I Cut My Grass?
- Mowing Height: There is a healthy range for each type of lawn. Do you know the best height for your lawn? Look them up at: Summer Mowing for Warm Season Grasses
- Mow Frequently: With all the rain we've been having, grass is growing fast. Mow weekly to prevent scalping! If you do this one thing, you will notice your lawn is prettier. Read Stop Accidental Scalping with 5 Mowing Hacks.
- Automate: Robotic mowers will mow 24/7 if you want them to.
Come back next month for August's Lawn Tips for Warm Season lawns!
If you have a Tall Fescue lawn (the best cool season lawn for the Southeast), here are our July Lawn Tips for Tall Fescue.
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