Striving for a lush green lawn requires some maintenance and genuine care for your landscape. As professional landscapers in Eugene, Oregon, we know a few tips on how to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful year-round.
Watering
Western Oregon’s moderate climate allows for year-round grass growth. If you choose to irrigate your lawn in the summer your lawn will grow vigorously throughout the hot months.
The average lawn in the Willamette Valley requires 3-5 inches of rain per month during the summer to stay lush and green. Watering your lawn an inch a week during June, July, and August will maintain your green lawn year-round. Little to no watering is required from October to May.
A healthy lawn doesn’t necessarily mean luscious green grass year-round, however. If you choose not to water your lawn it will experience a brief period of partial dormancy in the summer.
Keeping your lawn lush and green year-round requires more maintenance than if you allow it to go semi-dormant in the summer. It’s important to choose a lawn maintenance plan based on how you want your landscape to look and how much time you have to spend on maintaining your landscape.
Frequent Mowing
Mowing your lawn frequently at a grass’s recommended height results in a healthy and lush lawn that requires less maintenance than if you mow it infrequently.
Weekly mowing from March through October and perhaps the occasional mow during the winter will produce the best quality lawn.
The recommended grass height depends on the plant variety. For example, perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass’ optimum height is 1½ to 2 inches tall. Bentgrasses, annual bluegrass, and roughstalk bluegrass have optimum heights of ½ to 1½ inches tall.
Fertilizing
Fertilizing your lawn is important if you want it healthy and weed-free. Applying fertilizer at the right time is also important in allowing your lawn to thrive.
It is recommended that a lawn is fertilized at least twice a year to maintain relative health — once around mid-April to mid-May and again in September. For the highest quality lawn, it is recommended that you fertilize in April, mid-May to mid-June, and mid-August to mid-September.
The main nutrients in fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen promotes growth and color, phosphorus encourages root growth and early establishment, and Potassium enhances the grass’s ability to use nitrogen. The type of fertilizer you should use — such as slow-release, water-soluble, synthetic, or organic formulas — depends on your desired results, grass variety, and soil tests.
Dethatching
Thatch is the layer of built-up plant material such as stems, shoots, and roots that lies on top of the soil in between the roots and the grass blades.
Thatch is a natural part of grass growth but excess thatch can hinder your lawn’s health by causing dry spots, root rot, and disease.
Common causes of excess thatch include over-fertilizing with too much nitrogen, over-watering, mowing too high, and heavy clay soil. If thatch gets more than ½ inch deep you should think about dethatching your lawn.
Optimum time for dethatching is during the spring when growth is at its peak and your lawn will be able to recover quicker.
Dethatching can be done by using a vertical mower (also known as a power rake, aeroblade, or dethatcher), or manually by using a steel rake.
Hire a Landscape Professional
Sometimes your schedule simply doesn’t allow you the time to care for your landscape the way it deserves. This is when you should call in a landscape professional.
At Glenn Landscape Services, we provide weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly landscape maintenance plans that include complete lawn care services such as mowing, edging, weed removal and prevention, seeding, and fertilizing.
Contact us to schedule your landscape maintenance plan!