How to Protect Grass and Trees During This Week’s Scorching Weather

It seems like every day we are breaking a new record for heat here in Texas. Even the most seasoned Texans are having a hard time coping with this extreme heat. As you look around, the highway medians are scorched, trees are weeping, and aside from the old reliable crepe myrtle, there is not a bloom in sight. You may be asking yourself, how can I keep my grass and trees from withering away in this heat? Artz Landscape Designs offers tips and answers to FAQs that can help your grass and trees survive the rest of this heat wave.

Is my grass dead?

Most likely no! If your grass is brownish-tan in color, it may be taking a nap while trying to ride out the heat. Grass will go dormant if temperatures get too high or if the grass is struggling to stay alive. Once the temperatures start to drop, it will be a good time to fertilize your grass to promote new growth.

Our growing season does not end until the middle of November so there is still plenty of time for your grass to green up so you can enjoy your garden going into the fall. Be sure to use a slow-release, Nitrogen-rich fertilizer for end-of-summer feeding. When applying fertilizer, be sure to water your grass thoroughly that evening to ensure the granules dissolve and to prevent your grass from burning up. This boost in nitrogen will not only help your grass green up, but it will also help prepare your grass for its winter slumber.

Is my grass dead if it’s dark brown or black?

Yes, if your grass is dark brown, black, crispy, or if the soil beneath is exposed, your grass is most likely dead and will need to be replaced. If you do need to replace your grass, be sure to do your research as to which grass will perform the best on your property, keeping in mind shade, soil type, drainage, and maintenance tolerance. The experts at Artz Landscape Designs will be happy to assess your property to determine if you need to replace your grass and or other plant material.

How often should I mow in the summer?

You don’t need to mow every week during the summer. You want to avoid mowing too often and should consider raising the deck of the mower. Short and tidy grass is great to look at but will often burn up in the summer if your grass is mowed too short. Don’t be afraid to let your grass get a little shabby during the dog days of summer and talk to your maintenance company about getting on a 10-day mowing cycle. This will keep your lawn healthy and prevent unsightly ruts from forming.

While we are on the topic of mowing, be sure that you or your maintenance company thoroughly mulches or rakes up grass clipping from the mower. Any clipping longer than say 1 inch in length may leave burn marks on your grass, especially when exposed to direct sunlight.

How should I water my lawn in the summer?

Soak it! You may be surprised to learn that infrequent, deep soaking is tremendously better than shallow, frequent watering. When you water your grass and plants, soak the area almost to the point where it’s mushy to walk on, and only do this twice a week. Now of course we don’t want to waste water to the point that water is running down the street, but we do want to promote the roots to dive deep to find water between watering days.

Much like us humans, we tend to become weaker when everything is handed to us as opposed to working for it. If we water shallowly and frequently, the plant material does not have to work hard, and its root system remains shallow and weak. We want the root system to thrive by exercising in the form of searching for water.

This method does not apply to plants that live in raised planters or containers. Container gardening will require more frequent watering since the container can only hold so much water and there is not enough soil to retain moisture. This method also only applies to grass or plant material that is already established. Newly planted material will require more frequent watering as the roots have not yet “rooted in” and do not yet have the ability to find and extract water beyond its main root ball.

How do I water my sloping lawn?

If you have a property with sharp inclines or slopes, you might find it difficult to properly soak the area as the water will just run off. Run-off can be minimized by changing your irrigation type and or programming. Soaking an area does not have to equate to fast. For example, rather than watering a grass zone or area for 20 minutes straight, let’s break it up into two 10-minute watering cycles in one day (morning and evening), or even three 7-minute watering cycles spread out throughout the day. Most modern controllers have the ability to water multiple times in one day and you will just need to spend a little extra time and thought to program your controller. Multiple watering cycles will give the soil time to absorb the water between each cycle and prevent run-off.

There are also different types of sprinkler nozzles to consider when dealing with slopes and inclines. Use sprinkler nozzles with slower precipitation rates. Precipitation is measured in inches per hour. When you think of a standard spray sprinkler nozzle, the average precipitation rate of that nozzle is around 1.6 inches of water per hour. Consider replacing your standard spray nozzles with MPR nozzles that have much slower precipitation rates, in the neighborhood of .45 inches of water per hour. These MPR nozzles do require significantly longer run times to achieve the same amount of water as a standard spray nozzle, but this method gives the soil time to absorb the water, rather than running down the hill.

Here are a few more guidelines on the proper way to water your grass and gardens.

• Water deep and infrequently. Break your watering cycles into multiple times per day.
• Never water in the middle of the day. It’s best to water between 3 and 10 a.m. or between 6:30 and 11 p.m. Also, avoid watering in the middle of the night to prevent fungal issues.
• Avoid overwatering. Yellowing, mushrooms, or fungal issues are signs you may be watering too much.
• If you are drawing water from a water well, pond, or lake, be sure to have your water tested every year or so. PH and salinity content may fluctuate thus requiring supplements or amendments.
• Check your irrigation system regularly for leaks or clogged nozzles.
• Install a rain sensor to avoid watering during or after a good rainfall. Don’t be that person whose sprinkler system is running while it’s raining outside, and besides, nothing beats rainwater on your lawn and garden.
• Pay attention to shade areas versus full sun areas. Shady areas will require much less water than full-sun areas when programming your irrigation controller.

How do I take care of trees in summer?

Trees are resilient creatures and have built-in mechanisms to help them survive extreme temperatures. While we at Artz Landscape Designs recommend reaching out to a certified arborist for advice on your tree’s health, don’t panic if your tree is looking a bit sad right now. A tree’s go-to mechanism is to drop its leaves if resources become too scarce or if temperatures are too extreme. If you notice leaves falling already, that is a good sign that the tree is intentionally dropping its leaves and will flush out new growth here in the next month or so as temperatures start to drop.

Take a clean, sterilized knife and carefully scrape a few branches to see if there is still green underneath the top layer. If no green is present, try to snap a few small branches from the tree. The branches should not easily snap and there should be some flexibility when bending, this is a good sign that your tree will recover. If there is no green underneath the top layer and most of the branches snap with little effort, your tree may be past the point of recovery.

When it comes to fertilizing your trees, we highly recommend having a certified arborist perform this task but we do suggest that you avoid nitrogen-rich formulas in the late summer as this may encourage too much new growth going into the winter. New growth can become damaged by an early frost, causing unnecessary stress to the tree.

How do I water my trees?

In the landscape industry, we refer to the root zone of a tree as the “drip zone.” Take a look at a tree in your yard, the roots of that tree expand as far as the furthest edge of the tree canopy. Let’s say your tree canopy has a 40-foot spread, this means that we would need to water the entire 40 feet across underneath the tree. If you were to take a water hose and place it at the base of that tree, there is no way the entire drip zone of that tree will receive water. If you do not have irrigation that spreads across the entire drip zone, consider purchasing an oscillating sprinkler attachment for your water hose to increase water coverage underneath the tree. Let it soak thoroughly and avoid walking underneath the tree to prevent compaction of the roots.

Use these short-term solutions to protect your grass and trees in this extreme heat. Long term, there are additional steps we can take to help your lawn and garden thrive during whichever extreme mother nature wants to throw our way, so check back for future articles on additional actions you can take to protect your investment long term.

Reach out to Artz Landscape Designs at 972-366-0078, email [email protected], or visit ArtzLandscape.com.