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Top 3 Tips for a Lush Summer Lawn in Utah

Summer officially starts this weekend and, as promised, we're delivering our quarterly blog on lawns. You can have a lush green yard in Utah by following just a few simple steps each season. Utah summers are typically hot and dry which means we have a focus on water. Many people think that because we live in a dry area that lawns must be impossible to keep green. But this is not true!

Green lawns in Utah are as simple as one, two, three in the summer. Here are our top 3 tips for keeping lawns green during the summer in Utah.

ONE. Be Water Wise

You've probably heard it before but we're going to tell you again. The best way to water your lawn is deeply and infrequently. Because Utah can be such a dry climate we want to encourage your grass roots to grow deep. The way you do this is by watering one to three times a week. During the early summer months, we recommend watering 1" every five days or 1/2" every three days. As the weather warms you can gradually increase water. During July/August we recommend about 3/4″ every 3 days or 1/2″ every 2 days. Use your best judgment. If the heat kicks in early go ahead and up your watering amount.

We love this watering guide from the Conservation Garden Park. They give specific details on how much to water and how often for different soils and plants.

Not sure how much 1" of water is? Measure it! Take old soup cans or several of the same shape glasses and place them over your yard. Turn your sprinklers on for 10 minutes and then measure how much is in each glass. You may find that certain areas of your lawn get more water than others. You can adjust your sprinklers to even out the watering. This will also save you water! And who doesn't love to save water?

Finally, you want to water at the right time. Watering during the heat of the day means you will lose a good portion of the water to evaporation. In order to make sure that the majority of water you are using gets into the ground schedule your watering for before 9 AM or after 7 PM.

TWO. Cut High

Did you know that cutting your grass too low or by too much can damage it? It's true! Short lawns can look great but you lose the natural protective barrier that a little extra height can give a lawn. We recommend keeping your grass cut between 2" to 3". This longer length allows for the roots to be protected. This will also help prevent water loss through evaporation.

Another bonus to keeping your grass a little longer is that you can help prevent weeds from growing. Weeds need sunlight to grow. The natural canopy of longer grass prevents sunlight from hitting the ground and can deter weeds from growing. This is not a full-proof plan. If you are having issues with weeds in your lawn you'll want to apply another layer of pre-emergent during the early summer.

So we've mentioned how tall your grass should be but we haven't told you how often to cut your grass in Utah. This is based on how quickly your grass is growing. Once the grass has matured (about 10 days after planting) it will normally grow about 2/3 cm per week (An inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters if you need help with the conversion like we did). You want to only cut about 1/3 of your grass length. Cutting more of the grass could shock it. You also want to cut frequently because of how grass keeps its pigment. Most of the green color of grass is concentrated on its new growth. Mowing your lawn semi-frequently means you will keep the bright fresh green showing.

THREE. Fertilize Before the 4th

Fertilizer will help keep your lawn green, healthy and growing. You want to fertilize your lawn every 30 to 90 days. We

recommend the first fertilizer of the year to happen by early April so your second treatment should be about July 4th.

Make sure your fertilizer is applied properly. A great time to fertilize is a couple of days after a rainstorm. If no rain is on the horizon then you can water a few days after you deep soak your lawn. On fertilization day make sure you apply the fertilizer evenly over the lawn. Once applied, lightly water your lawn. This second watering is important because it will remove the fertilizer from the grass blades and wash it onto the ground. Too much water will wash it all away. Just a light watering will do the job.

Be careful not to over-fertilize your lawn. With grass, too much of a good thing is definitely a bad thing. Too much fertilizer can burn your lawn.

We hope you have a great time enjoying your lawn this summer. If you are looking for any additional help our experts are available at the nursery every day.

Other useful links and resources:

Unique Summer Color for Utah

Top 5 Summertime Favorites

We know, it's spring, and it's so easy to get caught up with all the beautiful spring flowers that add an instant pop of color to your yard. However, with a little bit of prep work on your lawn, you can have the perfect, lush green yard as a backdrop for your garden beds.

We'll be doing a quarterly blog about lawns this year to help you make the most of your yard in every season here in Utah. Here are our top 7 tips for a lush green yard in Utah.

1. Rake

This may seem self-explanatory but the best way to start your lawn off for spring is by exposing it to the sun! Leftover winter debris can create problem areas on your yard and welcome bacteria and disease.

2. Aerate

Let your lawn breathe. Aerating your lawn keeps the soil from compacting and gives the grass roots room to expand as they grow.

3. Check Your Sprinklers!

Sprinkler systems, just like AC and heating units have a tendency to break right when you need them the most. It's a good idea to check your sprinkler system for any weak spots or breaks that happened over the winter. A broken sprinkler system won't help your grass and you'll end up

wasting water. It's also a good idea to check where your sprinklers

are spraying. Try and keep the water off of driveways and sidewalks.

4. Battle Those Weeds

Late March / Early April is a good time to apply pre-emergent and fertilizer to your lawn. Pre-emergent will prevent perennial weeds like dandelions, morning glory and thistle from taking root in your lawn.

We love Fertilome Weed Out Pro Turf because it feeds the lawn, kills Dandelions and stops Crabgrass germination in one easy application.

5. Over Seed

The beautiful white blanket of snow that was here this winter may have left some brown spots on your lawn. Mid-April is the perfect time to over seed these brown spots in your lawn. If you are going to over seed you should not apply a pre-emergent.

6. Water Sparingly

Early springtime in Utah is a fairly wet season and nature will provide most of the water that your lawn needs. In general, you should not need to water your lawn in March and very little in April unless you are watering in fertilizer. If you think your lawn seems dry you can water every two weeks. A good test to see if your lawn is dry is to use a screwdriver to test your lawn. If the screwdriver comes out with a little soil attached it's good.

7. Sharpen Your Lawnmower Blades

Grass tends to grow quickly in early spring and a good trim once a week will help your lawn focus it's energy on growing a strong root system. Well-sharpened lawnmower blades help make a clean cut of your lawn and prevent tearing of the blades and roots.

With these 7 tips for a lush green yard under your gardening belt, you should be well on your way to the summer-perfect green football lawn that we all love. Have a lawncare secret to share? We'd love to hear it! Join us on our Facebook page and share your top lawncare tips.

Other useful links and resources:

Natural Ways to Cool Your Yard\

Create a Backyard Wildlife Habitat

1. Do not overwater the lawn - keeping the lawn too moist encourages weed growth.  Let the soil dry out completely between waterings to reduce the germination of weed seeds.
2. Fertilizing is important for lawns, but weeds will also use the fertilizer if they have taken root so do not overfertilize.
3. If your grass is cut too short, it weakens the lawns root system which allows space for those pesky weeds to dig in deeper.  Try keeping your lawn a bit longer than usual and you will see reduced weed growth.
4. If your lawn is older and there are some bare spots, it is worth aerating the lawn and adding an application of new grass seed (overseeding).  Aerating and overseeding will help to invigorate the root growth and will help to eliminate bare spots. 

1. Pull the weeds that have already come up, be sure to pull the roots out with the leaves. 
2. Put down a pre-emergent.  This will prevent any seeds from germinating and will greatly reduce the number of weeds that grow in your garden beds*.
   • *it is important NOT to use pre-emergent if you plan on growing anything from seed directly in the flower bed.
3. If the weeds have taken over already, you can use a weed-killer, but be sure to spray only the leaves of the weeds and let the weed die completely before removing it from the soil.  This will allow the chemical to reach the root system, which will prevent the plant from regrowing after the leaves have died.

Happy weeding!

Other useful links and resources:

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Your To-Do List: April Gardening Tips