July 1 - August 15th Period Lawn/Landscape Tips

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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andy10917
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July 1 - August 15th Period Lawn/Landscape Tips

Post by andy10917 » July 5th, 2019, 9:19 am

The period between July 1st and August 15th is one of the periods where more people make mistakes than other segments of the year. Here are a few tips about how to get through the period without seriously stressing yourself and the lawn grasses, if you live in the North and are growing cool-season grasses:

1) Relax. Trying to force things to happen in the hottest part of the Summer is often futile. The grass is at the lowest growth point of the growing season, and the metabolism is slowed. Yes, if you didn't use pre-m, you may be fighting crabgrass and there are a few broadleaf weeds that thrive on heat and really stand out in a lawn that may be going dormant - just bend over and pull them out while mowing. Herbicides typically have reduced effectiveness in Summer.

2) Read labels carefully. Speaking of herbicides, if you feel you must use herbicides during this period, it's essential that you know whether it's safe to apply them during periods with temperatures regularly in the 80's and 90's. ALWAYS read the label instructions to check for the usage warnings about elevated temperature periods.

3) Dormancy. If it's hot and dry, your lawn may slow to almost a stop, and turn tan/straw-like or brown - especially if you don't have (or don't use) an irrigation system. IT IS NOT DEAD, and shouldn't be treated that way. Essentially, the lawn is just sleeping or doing the summertime equivalent of hibernating. Be consistent - either commit to regular deep/infrequent watering for the whole period, or accept that browning may occur - do not change horses in the middle of the stream. Waffling back and forth between watering when it goes brown and then letting it slip toward dormancy is FAR more stressful than just letting it rest in dormancy. But although it may seem like a contradiction, even a dormant lawn needs SOME water. The consistency angle says keep the watering to less than will make it think the dormant period is over, but also keep it alive. Note that while KBG will turn brown faster than TTTF, it can also survive dry conditions longer without dying. PRG and TTTF lawns don't go dormant as well as KBG - they go from green to damaged more quickly.

4) Fertilizers. Fertilizers with high-N numbers can force growth even if the grass feels the need to slow down to dormancy, and this is stressful. A half-rate fertilizer like Bay State/Milorganite/Oceangro/etc is about the most you should apply in the period, and that's only if you are sure you're committed to irrigating for the entire 6-7 week period.

5) Fungal Disease. This is the period with the highest incidence of serious fungal disease. You have to be vigilant about watching for it and acting quickly if you get a breakout. It is not a time to start postings pictures and taking a poll for what to do. If you've been practicing good habits, watch the lawns of those around you for hints about what fungal diseases are breaking out locally. Remember that if you have al lawn that is less than two full years old or you have had fungal diseases in the past couple of years, you are at elevated risk -- be prepared and ready to act. If you have been practicing a proactive program, now is the time to stay the course or even up your game if there are local breakouts.

6) Mowing. If you mow high, the soil is more protected from the intensity of the sun, but remember that transpiration means the grass may be giving up more water. Short-cut lawns with shallow/frequent watering are going to go dormant much faster, and the roots are closer to the upper soil and burnout may be inevitable.

End-result of all of this? The period of July 1 - August 15th is a period where a light-hand and a vigilant pair of eyes are the best tools in your arsenal. Don't try to force what isn't the natural pattern unless you have ALL of the tools needed to back up your plan, are are totally committed to putting in the effort to follow ALL the way through.

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: July 1 - August 15th Period Tips

Post by ken-n-nancy » July 5th, 2019, 10:07 am

Thanks, Andy, for an excellent summary of summer lawn care for cool season lawns!

I consider this period as one that the goal is simply "survival." What you've written is all excellent advice to keep the lawn alive through the summer so that it can thrive again in the fall!

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Re: July 1 - August 15th Period Tips

Post by flyingfish88 » July 5th, 2019, 10:15 am

thanks, Andy, this is a great summary!

I'm looking forward to number one 'relax'. With the growth season this year, all the rain, and a mower out of commission for 3 weeks I finally feel that I am 'caught-up' on yard tasks and can relax through the next month.

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andy10917
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Re: July 1 - August 15th Period Tips

Post by andy10917 » July 5th, 2019, 10:58 am

The one item that I didn't put in my summary was the topic of "syringing" during hot periods. I didn't write about it because I'm very conflicted about its value.

"Syringing" (for those not familiar with it) is a hot-period technique that is used to cool the grass by the application of very short periods of irrigation during extreme temperatures, by the coolness of the water and the cooling effect of evaporation. It is *not* to irrigate and really not for humid days either (common on the East Seaboard states). When done with a hose-sprayer, many experts/universities say it means 15 seconds of less for where the grass is being sprayed. Obviously, if you're using an irrigation system to doing it, it means one or two (max) passes through the radius cycle of the sprinkler heads.

So why am I conflicted about syringing? Because I see it as a last-ditch technique for extreme situations only, but I see too many people doing it on a regular, scheduled basis, and/or for too long (following the "if a little is good, more is even better" thinking). Syringing for 15 minutes per zone is not syringing -- that's shallow/frequent watering. And doing it at 80 degrees does not meet the "extreme" definition for temperatures.

Do not consider syringing your lawn to be part of irrigation - it is a grass-cooling technique that just happens to use water also, when the grass's roots cannot keep up with the transpiration occurring.

KBGkicksazz
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Re: July 1 - August 15th Period Tips

Post by KBGkicksazz » July 5th, 2019, 1:19 pm

This next 6-7 weeks in New Hampshire is the one time of year having an irrigation system vs spot watering sprinklers makes all the difference.

The Northern mix lawns with no irrigation have already started to get the dull haze look in my neighborhood.


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Re: July 1 - August 15th Period Tips

Post by Green » July 5th, 2019, 10:34 pm

andy10917 wrote:
July 5th, 2019, 9:19 am
But although it may seem like a contradiction, even a dormant lawn needs SOME water. The consistency angle says keep the watering to less than will make it think the dormant period is over, but also keep it alive. Note that while KBG will turn brown faster than TTTF, it can also survive dry conditions longer without dying. PRG and TTTF lawns don't go dormant as well as KBG - they go from green to damaged more quickly.
Great summary!

I'll add a quick tip specific for those with TTTF and how some other grasses compare to KBG and TTTF.

Deficit irrigation (watering somewhat less than full amount that gets lost from evapotranspiration if you can't manage replace the full amount by watering frequently/deeply enough) is a valid strategy with TTTF in hot/dry weather, as recommended by experts from Virginia in a publication I read...far better than no watering for this grass type. The reason for this is because this grass type has an immense tendency to want to stay green as much as possible (termed "drought avoidance"), but a somewhat lower tendency (compared to KBG) to want to go dormant and stay alive in dormancy (than KBG). This is the "drought tolerance"). Both measures affect how well grasses do in heat and drought, but you can manipulate the watering for each species.

As for PR and FF:

PR is slightly less good than TTTF at drought avoidance, but noticeably worse at drought tolerance (dormancy) than TTTF, and very much worse at it than KBG.

FF has terrible drought avoidance (staying green ability) compared the other cool-season species, but its tolerance (dormancy/going without water ability) is almost as good as that of KBG.

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