UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 39, Page 9
August 4, 1994
Cooperative Extension offers tips for a healthy lawn

     Pamper your lawn but don't stress it," advises Jo Mercer,
Cooperative Extension ornamental horticulture agent. "While lawns do
need attention, many homeowners give them too much care in the heat of
the summer."
     Keeping a lawn healthy during the hot summer months doesn't
really require too much time, just a little know-how, Mercer said.
     Summer fertilizing can be damaging to a lawn. It promotes tender
growth that is susceptible to disease, insects and drought stress.
Summer-fertilized lawns that are watered are more prone to disease,
which homeowners have little chance of successfully treating.
     Many people feel that grass must be green to be healthy, and so
they water. In fact, most lawns don't require watering to stay alive
during the summer.
     Left alone, grass will go dormant and turn brown, but will green
up later naturally.
     "There's hope," Mercer said. "Once the temperatures begin to drop
and the rains return, the lawn will recover. It's a natural process."
     If watering is necessary, early morning is the best time. Water
slowly, allowing the moisture to soak about two inches into the
ground. Don't water more than twice a week.
     Watering in the evening is not a good idea.
     This can promote a weak stand of grass with shallow roots, which
are extremely susceptible to drought injury and mildew.
     The only summer care that is really necessary for most lawns is
mowing. Avoid cutting grass too short. Fescue does well at 3 inches
and bluegrass at 2 and 1/2 inches.
     Keep the mower blades sharp. If a gray haze appears over the lawn
after cutting, the blades may need to be sharpened.
     The haze is created by several layers of dead cells at the cut
surface of the leaf blade, a condition that may promote disease.