Dealing with drought is one of the extremes of our region. We are either drowning in too much rain or thirsting for just a drop. 

With extreme heat, you may notice your grass turning brown. Don’t get too concerned, as most of our grass species can take three to four weeks of dormancy without dying.

How to tell if your lawn is stressed:

• In a time of drought, our grasses take a break and go into dormancy. This just means your grass is stressed. 
• You can tell if your grass is dead or dormant by tugging on plants. If they pull out from the ground easily, they’re probably dead. If the roots hold fast when pulled, the plants are dormant. 
• Footprinting is when you step on a parched lawn and your footprints don’t disappear right away. On a parched lawn, these are the areas that suffer first. Walking over the same areas of lawn compacts grass and soil, which can’t absorb water.

Preventative measures to fight drought

• At the first sign of stress, begin watering!
• Your lawn needs about an inch of water or rain per week to thrive. 
• If using a sprinkler, that means about 20 to 30 minutes/three times per week.
• Skip at least a day between waterings. 
• Move sprinklers around to cover all areas of your yard.
• Water in the mornings, between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Watering before the sun rises helps to keep evaporation to a minimum.
• Don’t mow the lawn too short or too often during times of drought. 
• Stay off the lawn!

A little water and care will go a long way when dealing with drought in lawns.

Remember this: It is easier and cheaper to water your lawn now than to replace it when it’s too late. 

You can always Ask Paul

We work year-round with our customers to protect their investments. Whether preventing and treating disease and invasive pests or nurturing with lawn fertilization and aeration we want your lawn to look the best it can! 

At Lawn and Pest Solutions, our licensed lawn technicians can help you achieve your lawn goals and maintain them all year long. We serve the Memphis, Tennessee area as well as all over North Mississippi. You can contact our office any time of day or night.

Lawn and Pest Solutions

Common Southern grasses like Zoysia, St. Augustine, Bermuda and Centipede don’t really need a lot of water. These grasses have deep root systems that allow them to withstand drought. If your lawn is healthy and established, you are mostly off the hook. So, how much water does your lawn need?

Sounds too good to be true.

Southern grasses like those listed above, really can survive for weeks without water. Brace yourself because it won’t be pretty. The grasses will go dormant and turn brown. Once they get water (whether from rain or your watering) they will recover. 

Remember that going dormant doesn’t mean your lawn is dead, it is just resting and saving its’ energy. 

Dormant lawns aren’t pretty lawns.

It’s true. No one wants to work all year (or invest in the upkeep) on a lawn that turns brown.  Instead of letting that happen, here are a few guidelines to help you with watering.

• If your lawn looks a little gray or dull, water it! 
• If you walk across your lawn and your footprints stay sunken, water it!
• Water your lawn before 10:00 a.m. when the weather is cooler. This gives the water time to soak in and evaporate with wind and sun.
• OR….
• Water in the afternoon around 6:00 p.m. allowing the grass to dry before it gets dark.
• Instead of watering once a week and possibly “overwatering”, divide your watering between two times a week.

As long as your lawn gets 1-1.5 inches of rain/water per week, your lawn will be fine.

There’s an app for that.

Today we have “smart” options that allow you to program your watering systems. Water your lawn from your smart phone and even link it to the local weather system to water at exactly the right time. 

Starting with a healthy lawn is the most important part of having a beautiful lawn. A strong and healthy lawn is much more able to withstand extreme summer weather conditions. Whether battling high temperatures, excessive rain or drought, a healthy lawn can fight back.

Lawn and Pest Solutions can get your lawn to that healthy status.  You can keep it that way with some simple watering tips. Give us a call and we will send a licensed lawn technician ASAP. We serve neighborhoods and businesses from Memphis to all over North Mississippi. 

It is now mid-October and the time has come to talk about frost damage for lawns.The first time the weather report whispers the word “frost” a chill runs down the spine of Southern lawn/plant/garden owners. 

Frost facts and temperatures to watch

Water in the blades of your lawn freezes and causes frost.This happens when the temperatures dip below 32 degrees.

29° to 32°F—tender plants are killed.

25° to 28°F—widely destructive to most vegetation.

24°F and colder—heavy damage to most plants.

Luckily for our region of the South, we don’t experience severe freezes very often.

“Will it damage my lawn? 

A frosted yard may look damaged, but frost alone won’t really harm your lawn. If overnight, your lush green grass has turned brown, don’t panic.  

A brown lawn isn’t dead, it’s dormant. We like to think of dormant grass as hibernating grass. Just be patient, it will come back to life this spring.

 Don’t walk on the frosted lawn!

No one takes lawn and turf more seriously than a golf course.This video demonstrates the damage walking on frosted grass does to a golf course and why they have “frost delays”. 

Three easy ways to prevent frost damage

In addition to keeping people off of your frosted lawn, here are three easy things you can do to prevent damage.

1. Believe it or not, watering your grass the night before an expected frost will help keep your lawn warm and prevent damaging frost.
2. Allow your grass to grow longer/taller than normal. 
3. If frost is expected, don’t mow. Freshly cut grass is more susceptible to frost damage.

We get comfortable in our warm fall season and may forget about year round lawn care. Don’t let all of the work you did this spring and summer get trampled on, protect your investment! 

If you need help creating your best lawn and keeping it healthy and as beautiful as it can be year round, contact us here. Lawn and Pest Solutions has experience and success in maintaining your best lawn, turf, field or course. 

Dealing with drought is one of the extremes of our region. We are either drowning in too much rain or thirsting for just a drop. Currently, we are in need of rain, so your lawn may be in a bit of distress. 

With our recent extreme heat, you may notice your grass turning brown. Don’t get too concerned just yet, as most of our grass species can take three to four weeks of dormancy without dying.

Brown grass isn’t always dead grass

In a time of drought, our grasses take a break and go into dormancy. This just means your grass is stressed. If you don’t believe us, you can tell if your grass is dead or dormant by tugging on plants. If they pull out from the ground easily, they’re probably dead. If the roots hold fast when pulled, the plants are dormant. Brown grass is not the only sign of stressed-out grass,  another sign is “footprinting”. 

Footprinting

Footprinting is when you step on a parched lawn and your footprints don’t disappear  right away. On a parched lawn, these are the areas that suffer first.

How does this happen?

Walking over the same areas of lawn compacts grass and soil. Compacted soil can’t absorb water. 

Preventative measures to fight drought

• At the first sign of stress, begin watering!
• Your lawn needs about an inch of water or rain per week to thrive. 
• If using a sprinkler, that means about 20 to 30 minutes/three times per week.
• Skip at least a day between waterings. 
• Move sprinklers around to cover all areas of your yard.
• Water in the mornings, between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Watering before the sun rises helps to keep evaporation to a minimum.
• Don’t mow the lawn too short or too often during times of drought. 
• Stay off the lawn!

A little water and care will go a long way when dealing with drought in lawns.

Before you file this drought recovery plan away, remember all of the time, money, and effort you have put into your lawn and landscape. It is easier and cheaper to water your lawn now than to replace it when it’s too late. 

You can always Ask Paul

We work year-round with our customers to protect their investments. Whether preventing and treating disease and invasive pests or nurturing with lawn fertilization and aeration we want your lawn to look the best it can! 

At Lawn and Pest Solutions, our licensed lawn technicians can help you achieve your lawn goals and maintain them all year long. We serve the Memphis, Tennessee area as well as all over North Mississippi. You can contact our office any time of day or night.