Summer Dry Weather Alert!

If you watch your grass carefully you can start to identify certain symptoms of heat stress as hot, dry weather continues - in healthy lawns with a good soil structure and deep roots you shouldn’t see much of a difference as you have already done the bulk of the structural work needed to protect your lawn from the rigours of hot weather, however there are a few ‘tells’ for you to watch for, which are all physiological changes to the grass plants as they respond to the heat.

1) when mowing, you are taking off less clippings than usual

2) the lawn surface becomes more hard and bumpy

3) the leaf changes colour from green to blue(ish)

4) the leaf changes colour to yellow/straw

5) the leaf starts to wilt

6) seed heads start to show more (more especially in the late spring/early summer)

7) the sward thins out

8) disease (more especially Red Thread) can become more prevalent

9) ‘ghost foot’ appears when you walk on the lawn, ie the places you placed your feet don’t immediately spring back up

Adapting to hotter, drier weather is not all about throwing more water at the problem - far from it, as overwatering can cause its own problems as well as being a very real waste of what may be scarce resources. You can view our guide to watering by clicking on the appropriate button in the main section.

1) Adapt your mowing practices to suit conditions - as heat stress comes on, the grass plants respond by trying to conserve water by reducing growth, sometimes to the point of dormancy, so when you recognise that there is less growth you should respond in kind by reducing your frequency of cuts (to almost zero for full dormancy) and increase your height of cut to allow more leaf which retains more moisture in the plant and helps increase shade over the growing tip. You should also try where possible to mulch as you cut as this too provides a protective effect.

2) Slit tining or solid tining can help, especially when combined with the application of wetting agents as this allows moisture to penetrate deeper into the soil profile and helps the soil to retain more water and subsequently also allows the grass roots easier access to that water. Although doing this at times of stress will be beneficial, the best time to carry out these works is prior to the problem arising (ie late spring/early summer). Always water-in as soon after spiking/tining/wetting agent application to get the best effect and help make the process work correctly.

3) Introducing shade (where practical) can be beneficial - whilst this won’t take away heat, it can reduce or nullify scorch.

4) Apply water in appropriate amounts and frequencies (see our watering guide).

5) Apply a small amount of water as a cooling aid between 11am and 1pm (known in the trade as ‘syringing’)

Yes - our lawn care service can help you out both short term with our ‘Drought Stop’ treatments and long term with our lawn care plans - contact us below to see how we can help.