Lawn Care Tips
VIP Lawn & Landscape wants your lawn, trees, and shrubs
to be healthy, lush, and beautiful. There are many things we can do
to care for your landscape but there are also a few very important
things you can do to ensure the best possible result.
The University of Illinois Extension – College of
Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences suggests the
following six items to promote maximum lawn health:
- Proper Mowing Height – You may want to cut
shorter to minimize the frequency of mowing but this is not a
good idea. Turf that is too short may develop inadequate roots
which can make it sparse and more susceptible to turf diseases.
During the heat of summer, it is even more important to leave
the grass a little longer. During spring and fall you can cut
the grass down to 2 inches but during summer it should be a
minimum of 2 ½” to 3” tall. We recommend a height of 3 ½".
- The One-Third Rule – Never remove more than
one-third of the grass plant in a single cutting. If you cut
more that that, you risk removing all the leaves from the grass
stem, leaving only the stem which makes it difficult for the
grass plant to thrive.
- Sharpen That Blade! – Dull blades tear the
grass blade, leaving it ragged. This will mean a less
attractive lawn because the tip of each blade will brown, giving
the turf a brown appearance. More importantly, it causes the
blade to lose more moisture and also makes it more susceptible
to disease.
- Water – The rule of thumb is 1” per week.
Some prefer to deep water once or twice a week. People with
irrigation systems generally water every other day for 15
minutes. Both lawns will look good and both should have
adequate root development. More importantly, the optimum time
to water the lawn is early morning between 6am and 8am. This
will allow the top growth to dry reasonably quickly and reduce
the risk of disease. Watering during the heat of the day can
also be good because it reduces the temperature of the lawn, but
this is less efficient and some communities regulate what times
watering can be done. Note: Well watered turf in July and
August is more attractive to grubs.
- Fertilization – We hope you will allow us
to do this for you but here is some interesting information if
you chose to do it yourself. The best time to fertilize (in
descending order) in Northern Illinois (cool season grasses like
blue grass, rye grass, and fescue) is early September, followed
by early May. Third applications should be late fall and a
fourth application, if desired, can be made in mid-June. The
use of slow release fertilizers allows application any time,
even in the middle of summer.
- Thatch/Core Aeration – Using a mulching
mower at regular intervals will generally not cause excess
build-up of thatch (more than ½”). During spring and fall when
grass grows rapidly, it might be preferable to bag some
clippings if the lawn grew too long between mowings. If you are
concerned about excess thatch, we recommend core aeration rather
than power raking. Core aeration reduces compaction and is best
done in the fall prior to seeding. Spring is also acceptable
but may encourage weed germination. Power racking will remove
thatch but it also removes many good grass plants too and
doesn’t help with compaction. Important: Companies offering
low priced core aeration generally use less effective equipment
and try to do the job quickly to get onto the next one. The
goal of core aeration should be to get as many plugs in your
yard as possible. The worse your lawn looks after it has been
aerated, the better the job!
Finally, we would recommend you take a few
minutes each month to survey your property for insects, disease, or
other issues. Please call us to come out and look at anything you
find. We are happy to provide this service free of charge.
The above information can be found in the
Illinois Pesticide Application Training Manual 39-1 “Turfgrass”,
pages 5 and 6. The added commentary is courtesy of the turf
professionals at VIP Lawn & Landscape Inc. |
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