Once temperatures reach 77 degrees, it becomes too hot for root growth, and root growth ceases. When temperatures reach 90 degrees, it becomes too hot for shoot growth and the grasses stop growing and begin to fall dormant, with the surface grass turning a brown hue.
Scotts® TurfBuilder® UltraFeed™is an excellent choice for fertilizing lawns that tend to get stressed in the summer. It holds onto nutrients until your lawn needs them, then releases them.
It is often recommended that you water your lawn early in the morning, as early as 4 am and no later than 10 am. During extreme heat, watering should be done no later than 7 am.
It is ideal for watering your lawn about 1 inch of water for every single application per week. On average, it takes 30 minutes to disperse 0.5 inches of water. Therefore, you must water your lawn in hot weather three times per week, for about 30 minutes each, to get an inch of water on your lawn.
As the heat starts to put stress on your lawn you may notice full brown blades of grass or grass with brown tips. They may have begun to curl.
When your lawn has heat damaged, it doesn't just turn brown — the dead, brown grass will eventually disappear and reveal the ground beneath it. These bare patches of ground are easily susceptible to weeds. This is why you need to cover bare patches of your lawn with seeds in order to try and regrow the grass.
Avoid watering grass on a hot afternoon when it's 95 degrees or higher. The best time to water grass is at dawn or in the early evening. Water deeply three times a week instead of a little water daily.
During really hot weather, water your vegetables at least two to three times a week. Watering the garden deeply is critical. The water must go down, down, down to encourage deep roots and get away from the hot soil surface.
While seasonal heat is cyclical, an unexpected heat wave poses a different threat, and you'll need to take more action than normal. Your lawn will likely require additional watering during a heat wave, but always water strategically.
For example, mowing every 4-6 days may be sufficient, but if your grass is experiencing heat stress or has become dormant, you won't need to. The most important thing is to avoid cutting more than ⅓ of the blade off at a time. This is especially important in the heat of the summer.
If the plants pull out from the ground easily, they're probably dead. If the roots hold fast when pulled, the plants are dormant. You will also see the difference when you start to water or when rain returns as moisture will revive brown grass. However, it will not bring dead grass plants back to life.
The good news is that the plant can stay dormant for a good while before dying so that, if the water is applied, there can be a full recovery in as little as a few days. These pictures show the damage of heat stress. If your lawn looks like this, water it!
If it's 70-80 degrees outside try watering 2-3 times a week. During the spring your lawn will be fairly easy to manage so you don't have to water all the time. In the blazing summer, when temperatures are between 90-100+, try watering 3-4 times a week.
In times of extreme heat, it is vital to water your lawn for about 30 to 45 minutes daily. Once the temperatures drop below ninety, you can cut back to watering three to four times a week, until that blissful thunderstorm comes and quenches your lawn's thirst!
It is ideal to water lawns about one inch of water per week. To determine how long you need to water to get one inch, place a plastic container in your yard and set a timer. On average, it will take 30 minutes to get a half inch of water. So, 20 minutes, three times per week will give a lawn about an inch of water.
If it's easy to push into the green lawn, but not the brown patches, you're dealing with dry soil that may be related to drought stress. Watering the lawn deeply in the morning hours, 2 to 3 times per week (so that it gets about 2 inches of water each week) will keep lawns green for the most part.
The sugar limits access to nitrogen, thus controlling pesky weeds and other invasive plants. Before sprinkling sugar across your lawn, consider consulting a local lawn care service to ensure it's the right move for your yard.
Grass needs the benefit of the day to dry and heal before dusk settles. Since mowing your grass in the early morning can damage it and mowing it during the early afternoon can burn it because of all the high temperatures, the ideal time is mid-morning. That is of course if you're free during that time of day.
Watering deeply BEFORE high temperatures arrive is ideal. For most plants, watering in the morning or evening is best. Getting water on leaves will not cause burning. It can abet fungal diseases in some plants (roses, squashes), so watering most plants in the morning is ideal..
The best time to water your garden in summer is from 6 am to 10 am—before the heat of the day sets in, giving your plants plenty of time to drink up and any moisture on the leaves to dry off before nightfall. What is this? If watering in the morning isn't possible, the next best time is from 4 pm to 7 pm.