Lawns and Landscaping in July

• During hot, July weather, be sure to mow your lawn to the appropriate height. This reduces water loss and helps lower soil temperatures. Leave clippings on the lawn to decompose. Keep your tall fescue tall, 3.5 inches or more to shade out weeds. Mow often enough that you never cut off more than one-third of the growing grass. Established fescue lawns naturally go semi-dormant in the heat of July. Fescue can tolerate up to three weeks without water. Water only when grass shows sign of wilt. If you planted your fescue lawn last year, however, you still need to water about one inch every week. You absolutely do not want to fertilize your fescue now, because it will encourage diseases.
• If you have warm season grass such as Bermuda grass, centipede, St. Augustine and zoysia, you can fertilize, but be careful not to overdo it.
• Clemson University recommends a sharp mower blade to cut the lawn cleanly, ensuring rapid healing and growth. Grass wounded by a dull blade is weakened and less able to ward off weeds, diseases and insect attacks, or cope with dry spells.
• For best growth of turf, water your lawn to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Then do not water the lawn for about one week.
• Observe the lawn area and the shade it receives. Plan to thin major shade trees next spring to increase light reaching patchy turf.
• Proper watering means deep soaking. Light sprinkling is often harmful, especially on lawns. Wet the soil to the bottom of the roots (5 to 6 inches deep).
• A brown or grayish cast over lawns can be caused by dull or improperly adjusted mower blades that shred grass rather than cutit.
• Tightly shaped hedges should be pruned after the second flush of growth in the summer, if needed.

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