Lawn Care Services: Your August Landscape Checklist

​Homeowners find themselves facing unique challenges in maintaining their outdoor spaces. August brings intense heat and dry conditions, making lawn care services more crucial than ever. From keeping grass lush and green to ensuring flower beds and vegetable gardens thrive, there's a lot to consider when it comes to landscaping during this time of year.

This August landscape checklist covers essential yard care tasks to help property owners navigate the dog days of summer. It offers guidance on irrigation strategies to combat drought and advice on yard maintenance to keep everything looking its best. Whether dealing with the specific challenges of landscaping in the Oregon area or general lawn care concerns, this guide provides valuable insights to help create and maintain a beautiful outdoor oasis despite the summer heat.

Maintaining a Lush Lawn in August Heat

Watering Strategies: In general, lawns need about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) of water every 3 days during summer. The frequency may vary based on temperature - water every 2-3 days if it's over 95°F (35°C), or every 3-4 days if temperatures are in the high 70s°F (around 25°C) 2. It's crucial to water deeply, allowing the soil to dry out between watering, to encourage deep root growth and prevent thatch buildup. Most irrigation systems or manual sprinklers can deliver 1/2 inch of deep watering.

To ensure proper irrigation, map out your sprinkler positions and determine the runtime required for each position to deliver 1/2 inch of water. Use a rain gauge or tuna cans to monitor water distribution and adjust as needed.

Mowing Techniques

• Mow high if you know what the proper height should be for your type of grass (it is usually higher than one might think, especially in summer because it encourages deeper roots and shades the soil so moisture doesn't evaporate as fast or encourage weeds).
• Adhere to the 1/3 rule - Never cut more than one-third of the grass blade height in a single mowing.
• Ensure your mower blades are sharp to avoid any pulling or tearing of the grass that can ultimately cause a disease, and will increase in drying time quickly.
• Change your mowing patterns to avoid soil compacting and ruts
• To avoid moving diseases from infecting your lawn and prevent it turning into etiolated, do not mow when the turf is wet.

Dealing with Brown Patches

• These brown patches can be due to fungus, grubs in the soil, dog urine and even wear patterns from objects being left on grass. Identify the cause.
• Disease issues usually followed by a successful regrow may indicate fungal problems; spray out the fungus.
• When patches of sod that are spongy or roll up like a piece of carpet - easy to do when raked with moderate pressure - but the grass has been well-watered, fertilizer has not burned it and fairy rings have not come calling on your doorstep, suspect grub damage.
• Dark green rings around the brown center indicate dog urine burns.
• Overseed dead annual weed patches.
• Remove debris and repair bald spots from objects that were left sitting on the lawn
• Watering deeply, mowing high and dethatching can all help prevent brown patches from occurring in the first place on your lawn

Caring for Your Flower Beds

Deadheading and Pruning: Deadheading is the method of getting rid of dead flower heads from plants. It is the best tool to use to get thicker growth and more blooms. How to do it. To deadhead the roses or other plants, you must use large, sharp pruners to perform the process. The tools for deadheading are pruning snips. The cut spent flowers and the stems should be cut back. When cutting the back, you should cut at 1/4 inch above a new lateral flower, leaf, or bud. When cutting the larger, woodier stems such as roses, you are advised to use pruners. In pruning, you are to cut the larger stems at a 45-degree angle.

All annuals and perennials such as coreopsis, salvia, and mums respond to deadheading by producing full blooms all season. The mounding perennials in cold climates also respond to annual deadheading the following year. The kid back entire plants to 2 inches above the ground. To revitalize mounding perennials, you should get rid of all the dead plants.

Pruning

It is the process of cutting back thoroughly the entire plant after blooming to rejuvenate the mounding perennial and maintain the garden to be clean. Pinching back equals 3 inches on the fall bloomers, such as mums and asters, during spring through summer.

Fertilizing Flowering Plants

Conduct soil tests every 3-5 years to establish nutrient needs. Apply limestone as recommended and calculate fertilizer needs based on your garden’s area in square footage and soil test results. Complete fertilizers with a balanced N-P-K ratio like 10-10-10 stimulate flowering.

Managing Pests

Instead of broad-spectrum pesticides that kill all insects, use an integrated pest management approach. Attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings by planting insectary patches with nectar-rich flowers.

By following this August landscape checklist, you can ensure your yard remains beautiful and healthy despite the heat. Remember, consistent care and attention to detail are crucial to achieving optimal results. If you're looking for the best landscaping service or construction and maintenance in Oregon, Graham Landscape & Design is available to assist with these tasks. Ultimately, the effort put into summer lawn care has a significant impact on the overall health and appearance of your outdoor space throughout the year.