Summer Lawn Care Tips for Memphis, TN

Summer in Memphis is known for its persistent heat and humidity. With temperatures regularly reaching 90 degrees, your lawn should be a priority. Below are key summer lawn care tips that’ll keep your yard green for this season.

Watering Your Lawn

Tennessee is one of the wettest states in the country, so it's difficult to measure how much water your lawn needs. The recommended amount of water for your lawn is 1 to 1½ inches a week.

Also, do this early in the morning before the sun gets too hot. The water needs to sink deep into the soil and nourish your lawn's root systems. If a recent rain delivered an inch or more water to your lawn, turn off your sprinklers—nature has already done the job for you.

Remember to periodically test the soil to check if there is enough water. Simply take a screwdriver, shove it into the ground, and feel how easily it sinks. If you struggle sinking your tool in, then your lawn needs more water.

Fertilizer

Sample your soil before you buy fertilizer. You need to know which specific nutrients your lawn is missing. Tennessee soil generally lacks in nutrients and can be too acidic. Extra steps are needed to bring the lawn to a healthy pH level. If your soil is too acidic, apply lime in 50 pound increments every six months.

Fertilizing your lawn for summer should be done in spring and fall. Fertilizing should be avoided in the heat of summer temperatures because you run the risk of burning your lawn. Better periods to fertilize are during the transitional seasons of spring and fall.

Weed Control

Sometimes lawns get overtaken by pests and weeds. Although it's difficult to decide the best course of action for controlling them, understanding which seasons to exterminate are important for lawn protection. Knocking the weeds down before they even have a chance to grow is optimal, but this is only an option in the winter.

In the summer, weeds have already begun growing, so you will need to use a post-emergent herbicide. However, just like fertilizer, applying this during hot temperature will damage your lawn. It’s best to either wait for cooler weather, do it earlier in the summer, or wait for winter to kill the weeds before they emerge.

Maintaining a summer lawn may appear complicated or overwhelming, but finding the plan that works for your lawn will make the difference between a brown and green lawn.

Need help preparing your lawn for this summer? Visit our Memphis lawn care page to get in touch with a professional! In addition to Memphis, we provide lawn care services to Tennessee cities, including Nashville, Knoxville, Hendersonville, and Smyrna.

Featured image source: Zillow Memphis, TN