Fall is Prime Time for Lawn Improvements
When is the best time to renovate your lawn? Contrary to what you may think, this is a project you can start at any point during the growing season. Springtime is a good time to start so you can enjoy a healthy lawn during the summer, but what if you can't start in the Spring?
...Is August too late in the year to think about renovating my lawn?
Late-Summer into early-Fall is actually THE BEST time to plant grass. Let us explain...
Fall Is For Planting
Plants grow best and strongest when they are planted in line with their natural growth cycles. Grass, along with many others, grows best when it has plenty of sun during the day and nice cool nights that produce healthy amounts of dew. In New England, this lines up nicely with the end of Summer and into the early Fall. The best part of this growing schedule is that most broadleaf weeds are usually much less aggressive and easier to deal with during this time of the year.
Strong Roots Means A Better Lawn
This DOES NOT mean that you cannot plant a new lawn the rest of the year. In fact, it's likely that you have been under the impression that Springtime is the only reasonable time for planting grass. While this is true when you are anticipating of a summer full of BBQs and backyard games, it is not an accurate view of your lawn's actual growth pattern.
From planting to mowing, a well-attended lawn can take upwards of 5-6 weeks. If you time if just right, your lawn can be fully matured by the end of Fall and it's roots will have become strong enough to get through the winter without much of an issue. This is said to be the best approach because this also cuts down on the amount of foot-traffic that a spring-planted lawn would have had over the course of the summer which may have had its root-growth effected by summer drought, chemical exposure, or other warm-weather types of damage.
Planting in time for the winter gives your lawn all of winter and most of spring to shore-up its roots and get ready for what the summer can throw at it.
SHORT VERSION
Grass likes sunny days and cool nights. It also likes to be watered twice a day with an equivalent of about fifteen minutes of gentle rain.
Happy Gardening!
Content courtesy of the The Greencare Team