Preventing Heat Stress on Your Commercial Lawn

When the summer heat gets to be too much for us, we can simply head off to the cool comfort of an air-conditioned home or refresh ourselves with a cold drink.

But your commercial landscape doesn’t have that luxury.

During the dog days, the greenery of your commercial property needs regular watering to remain healthy, vital, and hydrated in the constant summer heat.

Common signs of heat stress

Diligence is the key to keeping your commercial property properly maintained through the summer months. Watch for these signs of heat stress on your commercial property:

• Brown patches* or discoloration
• Wilting
• Slow growth
• Matting or impressions that remain hours after mowing

If your commercial lawn appears to be the worse for wear in the summer heat, contact the pros at Diamond Landscape to restore health to your green space.

In the meantime, follow these tips:

• Avoid cutting the grass too short – Aim for three to four inches high in the summer months.
• Keep lawn mower blades sharp – Blades of grass that are not completely cut won’t retain water as well and will become more prone to disease.
• Avoid overwatering – Plants need oxygen to grow and resist disease; if the soil is constantly damp, they won’t get it.
• Ease up on mowing – Turf that is overwhelmed by the heat won’t easily recover from even a routine mowing. Wait for rain before attempting to cut it (just give your lawn a little time to dry out after that rain; don’t cut it wet and risk clumping).
• Stop fertilizing – Your heat-exhausted grasses needs a break – fertilizer will add another stressor to the equation.
• Minimize foot traffic – If possible, try to keep people off the lawn while it recovers to reduce soil compacting.
• Keep a watering regimen – Deep watering during the early morning hours is the best way to give your landscape the inch or so of water that it needs every week.

Is your commercial landscape suffering this summer? Contact the pros at Diamond Landscapes & Athletic Fields for a little greenery TLC.

*Brown spots can also be a sign of insect damage. Give the grass a tug – if it does not easily separate from the soil, it is probably a watering problem.