COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Turf experts at the University of Maryland say the extreme heat wave the DMV is currently experiencing is likely to accelerate early drought stress in lawns and landscapes. This weekend may be the time to take action, depending on the condition of your grass, according to Geoff Rinehart, senior lecturer in Turf Management at UMD.
Rinehart offers three key basics for lawn survival in extreme heat:
- Keep the grass long, 3.5 to 4 inches
- Limit watering to 1” per week but don’t do it all at once; twice a week or more is best
- Don’t fertilize or treat with chemicals, as they can chemically burn the stressed out grass
"Ninety percent of the grass plant is water," Rinehart said, emphasizing the importance of preserving the leafy part of lawns by not cutting them too short with a mower at any time in the season. “The taller you mow it, the more it will keep weeds out, but also the roots will go down deep as well. Now that we're into the summertime, and we haven't had rain for awhile, and we have hot temperatures we need all those roots that we can muster for the plant."
When it comes to watering, Rinehart said it should not be done all at once.
Instead, he recommends watering 2 to 3 times per week and using no more than one inch of water per week. Rinehart said an easy way to measure water is by putting out an empty tuna can.
"If you're able to water about a third of an inch, three times a week, or half an inch, twice a week, that's gonna be better because that's pushing the water down where the roots are," Rinehart said. "So those roots can use that water."
Rinehart urges homeowners not to panic if its already too late for some spots on the lawn. Tall Fescue, which is 90% of lawns in our region, has a dormant survival mode, and almost always comes back. But it may not happen until September if it goes brown early in the season, he said.
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