Summer Lawn Care & Maintenance For June, July & August

Summer is a time for enjoying your lawn and garden as a whole. Spending time outside with friends, family and pets is all part of the enjoyment of gardening.

If you took care of your lawn in spring, it should be in good shape heading into the summer and so this part of the lawn calendar is fairly quiet.

That being said, summer can be a stressful time for your lawn. Temperatures rise, there’s not as much rain around and your lawn takes more use as you spend time more time on it.

But fear not, this summer lawn care guide will show you how to keep your lawn looking at its very best all summer long.

 

When Should I Start Summer Lawn Maintenance?


June generally marks the start of the summer lawn maintenance season.

Hopefully, your spring jobs went well, grass growth should be good and by this point, your lawn should have fully recovered from winter.

That said, if your lawn was in bad shape coming out of the winter and you didn’t fix the issues in spring, it won’t improve during the summer.

You might as well wait to fix any issues in the autumn when growing conditions are at their best. It’ll be too hot and dry now for your lawn to recover.

 

Lawn Care Jobs For Summer


As I said, caring for your lawn in the summer isn’t very intensive.

Here’s what you need to do to keep your lawn in tip-top condition.

Keep Mowing the Lawn

summer lawn care uk

Despite the fact that grass growth usually slows down in the summer, you should keep cutting it regularly.

That said, you can mow less frequently, every 10 days as opposed to every 5-7 like you would in the spring.

Also, keep the mower set a little higher during the summer and never cut off more than a third of the grass leaf. Cutting grass too short in the summer increases the risk shocking the grass which can cause it to go dormant, even kill it.

If you have a mulching mower or your lawn mower has a mulching attachment, mulch the grass and leave the clippings on the lawn. Doing this will keep all the moisture and nutrients in those clippings there for the lawn to consume again.


 

Kill Any Weeds with a Spot Spray Weed Killer

killing weeds in the summer

If you treated the whole lawn with a selective weed killer concentrate in the spring, your lawn should be relatively weed-free.

That said, there are plenty of weed seeds floating around in the summer.

Check your lawn weekly for any new weeds and give them a blast with a spot spray selective weedkiller.

If you don’t like using chemicals, you could extract them using a weed extractor. However, weeds like dandelions will grow back if you don’t remove the whole root.



 

Apply a Summer Lawn Feed

summer lawn feed

If using a granular lawn feed, apply it 3 months (or as near as you can) after applying a spring lawn feed.

For example, if you applied your spring feed in the second week of April, wait until the second week of July.

You can also apply a liquid feed to give your lawn a boost if and when it needs it.

One caveat when it comes to feeding your lawn in the summer…

If the weather is baking hot and it has been for a long time (like it was in the summer of 2018) don’t feed your lawn at all. The high Nitrogen content in summer lawn feed can scorch the grass in drought conditions, doing more harm than good.

If you water your lawn weekly, apply the fertiliser and then water it in.



 

Water The Lawn, Weekly, If Needed

water the lawn in summer

In order for your lawn to stay as healthy and as lush as possible, it needs about an inch of water a week.

If it hasn’t rained for a couple of weeks, turn the sprinklers on (if the grass is still green) and water once a week, in the early morning to an inch depth. Put a straight-sided tray out on your lawn and once there’s an inch of water, turn the sprinklers off.

It’s important to water the grass before it turns brown.

If your lawn has already turned brown and gone dormant, leave it and it’ll spring back to life again when the rains come in autumn.

Also, if you have dogs, especially female dogs that use your lawn as a toilet, it’s a good idea to spray the areas they have pee’d on. This will prevent those areas from turning into unsightly brown patches.


 

In Conclusion


I’ve said it several times now, but summer lawn care should be pretty easy if you have done the jobs that needed doing in the spring.

Now’s the time to really enjoy your lawn and just do the little bits to keep it looking nice and healthy.

However, summer is not the time to take the jobs that should have been done in spring. Wait until autumn.

About Tim Stephens

I'm a professional gardener with degrees in Horticulture & Landscape Gardening. I want to help you create the garden of your dreams. I want your garden to look like it’s maintained by a professional. As if I was there doing it all for you!

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