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It’s easy to be proud of the appearance of your home when the lawn is vibrant and green. However, with overuse, improper care and neglect, your beautiful lawn can quickly go from lush to lacking.
Most Maryland homeowners don’t know that early fall is actually the best time to perform quality care for your lawn. The autumn season provides the perfect temperatures to promote greater root development and the right soil conditions for your grass to grow full and strong.
A healthy lawn will grow evenly thick and verdant so your property remains picturesque. These lawn maintenance tips will prevent and resolve pooling water, weed overgrowth, compact soil and patchy and thin grass.
The blaring summer months often lead to overwatering or underwatering your lawn. An underwatered lawn is easy to spot. The blades slowly turn brown and crunchy, the dirt becomes dusty and your grass stops growing. An overwatered lawn, however, is not as apparent.
Overwatered grass will quickly become luscious and green, but the blades will go limp and spongy. In a matter of days or weeks, your lawn will fade to brown and moss, abundant weeds or fungal diseases will start to grow.
Most homes in Maryland feature tall fescue, which only needs approximately 1 inch of water per week to thrive. If the temperature peaks in the summer, then the most your lawn will need is two inches of water to compensate for the heat.
Late fall comes with a stunning display of red and orange foliage. Unfortunately, those striking leaves eventually come down and leave a big mess for you to rake clean. While it’s easier to put off this particular chore until the trees are bare and you can take care of it in one shot, that course of action will negatively impact your lawn’s health.
A layer of leaves on your lawn may seem harmless, but it can actually make your grass vulnerable to disease and pests. Leaves will create a barrier between your lawn and the sunlight and water it needs to flourish. This result will lead to a mixed layer of dead grass and leaves, which will create the perfect environment for weeds, rodents and harmful insects.
Although, fallen leaves are not without their benefits. As the leaves break down and decompose, they provide essential nutrients back into your soil.
The best time to remove leaves from your lawn is immediately after they fall from the ground. However, if your schedule prevents you from caring for your lawn right away, you can temporarily put it off until you have time. In this case, as long as you clean them up before the first frost, your lawn will be in good standing.
Weeds will make the most luscious and healthy lawn look drab. Broadleaf weeds are a common issue for Maryland homeowners. If left untreated, weeds will invade your lawn and consume the essential nutrients your grass needs to thrive. When your lawn is deprived of water, clean air and direct sunlight, the blades become weak and susceptible to insect infestations, underwatering and disease.
With unpredictable temperatures throughout the state, it can be difficult to stay on top of weed control. Fortunately, there are reliable methods that can curtail weeds.
The quality of your grass, soil temperature and lawn care products are the most important factors when preventing and removing weeds. These weed treatment options can help you take control of the infestation:
If you’re new to lawn care, you may not be familiar with aeration and seeding. Regular mowing, raking and weeding are basic lawn maintenance steps that will keep your grass looking neat and tidy for many seasons to come. However, routine lawn service isn’t enough to promote new growth over time.
Aeration is the process of puncturing small holes into your soil to allow air, water and nutrients to be absorbed and help the roots grow deeper. When it comes time to overseed in Maryland, aeration will promote a stronger and lusher lawn. Aeration and seeding reduce soil compactions, enhance seed germination, prevent weed growth and improve the appearance of your lawn.
Different types of lawn aeration include:
Generally, it’s recommended to hire professionals to complete the aerating process. This lawn care technique takes time and equipment to do right, and specialists will have the tools and knowledge to complete the job.
One crucial part of aeration is the seeding process. Overseeding is when you disperse grass seed across a lawn that is already established. It creates new layers of grass that will fill in blank spaces and make your lawn denser.
You may be wondering when to overseed in Maryland, because timing is everything when it comes to lawn care. Fall is the best time to overseed your lawn because there are fewer weeds, so the seeds are more likely to germinate and mature.
Once you overseed your lawn, you need to give it extra care to ensure that your seeds sprout and grow into proper blades of grass. Watering is an essential step in establishing a successful seeding process. You can’t let your seeds dry out or they won’t germinate. A newly seeded lawn must be lightly watered daily.
When planting new grass seed for your lawn, your main consideration is whether to plant warm-season or cool-season grass. Like their names suggest, each category of grass thrives in specific weather conditions. While warm-season grass is ideal for warm, sunny climates, cool-season grass grows best in colder temperatures in the fall, winter and spring.
The choice is obvious in many states throughout the United States — in the northern half of the country, cool-season grass thrives, and the opposite is true in the southern half. What about the middle, where Maryland lies? Maryland is part of the “transition zone,” meaning you could go either way with grass type, as each will go dormant in the opposite season.
In Maryland’s warm and humid summers, warm-season grass can thrive. It grows in temperatures between 80 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and goes dormant in colder temperatures. These types of grass require consistent watering and just the right amount of water to promote growth and keep them healthy and thriving.
Here are some warm-season grasses to consider growing:
The best time for cool-season grass to grow is early spring and early fall, meaning it can grow more consistently in Maryland’s climate. This kind of grass prefers temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Explore the following types of cool-season grass for your Maryland property:
Both warm-season and cool-season grass will recover from dormancy when properly aerated to give them the space they need to develop their roots. Aeration also gives grass the oxygen, water and nutrients it needs to develop its roots deep in the ground, making them more durable and healthier.
Fall lawn care is important, but mastering your lawn care schedule during the summer months and winter months optimizes your lawn’s ability to cope with the harsher conditions these seasons bring.
During the summer, you need to mow and aerate your lawn regularly. Keeping your lawn beautiful means looking after the grass properly. Aerating your lawn gives your grass access to more oxygen and nutrients while improving root growth.
Remove moss and weeds throughout your garden. In the summer heat, weeds will be prominent in your yard if left alone. Use mulch to smother growing weeds. Putting corn gluten on weedy areas will dry them out and stop them from growing. Vinegar is effective but can damage other plants, so be careful when applying it.
Another vital summer lawn care tip is reseeding your grass. Fertilizer, mulch and plenty of water will help your seeds grow, and your lawn will be beautiful and lush in no time.
The way you prepare and take care of your lawn during fall is critical to getting it ready for winter. It’s important to spray pre-emergent herbicide on your lawn before winter begins. This is the perfect time to prepare your yard for weeds that will start to sprout or spread at the change of the season. You need to do this when the temperature is just right — not too cold. Make sure you apply the right amount in exposed parts of the soil and on your grass.
Keeping your lawn clean of debris during winter is a good idea. Keep outdoor furniture, fallen leaves, toys and other obstructions off your grass. When your grass is covered in the winter, it facilitates the growth of diseases and attracts pests looking for warmth and shelter. In colder conditions, the weight of debris and objects on the grass will compact your soil and stunt the growth of your grass.
When it comes to curating a beautiful and healthy lawn, no one does it better than OrganicLawns.
With hand-selected environmentally friendly products and the highest standards, we are the experts of lawn care in Maryland. As a proud family-owned business, we take the extra care to provide free quotes and quality control visits so you’re guaranteed to have satisfactory results every time.
Try our services for yourself! Contact us for your personalized quote today!