Skip to main content

July usually means brown lawns, not this year!


Antioch lawn growing well with current conditions

Every year in the midwest lawns begin an annual ritual of browning up and thinning out by the 4th of July.  This is generally caused by high soil temperautres from long sunny days and warm air temperautres and a reduction in weekly rainfall amounts.  However, 2014 has brought a very different 4th of July to the many lawns in our Lake County area.  Surface soil temperatures normally reach into the 90 degree range resulting in early signs of dormancy.  However, we have received adequate rainfall weekly so far this year along with average temperatures and cloudy days resulting in ideal soil temperatures for turf growth and vigor.  We are averaging surface soil temperatures around 80 degrees which is ideal for bluegrass to thrive.

 Lake Forest lawn thriving in ideal 2014 conditions.

July is normally the beginning of the "dead zone" as we refer to it, where unless you are adequately irrigating the lawn, it will not look green and lush.  During this time it is wise to stay off of the lawn and even reduce mowing to prevent any further unwanted or unneeded stress to the lawn.  However, this year is quite the opposite.  Fertilized lawns are growing with each rainfall and will continue to stay lush and green into the month of July.


Antioch sports field staying green this summer with minimial irrigation

  We still recommend watering during any weeks that we dont get rainfall and try to mow in the morning or evening so that you are not on the lawn during the potentially hottest part of the day.  Also, remember to keep your mowing height at 3" or higher to even further maintain the green color if the rain decides to stop.  Please call the office, find us online or follow our blog for future lawn care insights for the Northern Illinois area including Lake Forest, Waukegan, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Fox Lake and Antioch.

Please share or follow us on Facebook for more helpful lawn care updates.

Contact us today at:  847-395-0940 or at: group593@lawndoctor.com

www.lawndoctorantioch-waukegan.com  



Or Find us on Facebook













Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Importance of Early Spring Pre-Emergent Weed Control

The Key to a Weed-Free Lawn: Early Spring Pre-Emergent Weed Control As the first signs of spring begin to appear, homeowners across the country start dreaming of lush, green lawns. However, achieving that picture-perfect yard requires more than just hope and sunshine. At Lawn Doctor, we know that the secret to a beautiful lawn lies in proactive care, and one of the most crucial steps is early spring pre-emergent weed control. Let's explore why this treatment is so important and how it sets the stage for a successful lawn care season. What is Pre-Emergent Weed Control? Pre-emergent weed control is a preventative measure that targets weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate and grow. Unlike post-emergent treatments that kill existing weeds, pre-emergent herbicides create a barrier in the soil that stops weed seeds from developing into mature plants. The Importance of Timing When it comes to pre-emergent weed control, timing is everything. Early spring application is crucial ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Heat tracking in lawns

We have recently noticed a few instances of a somewhat rare phenomenon in the lawn care industry that we would like to point out in an effort to better communicate to both our customers and those interested in lawn care.  Along with the previously posted summer stress issues for the lawn in this blog, we wanted to bring up a more recent issue which is very rare but is currently a potential for lawns across the Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Gurnee, Lake Forest and Waukegan area.  This recent phenomenon is referred to by some in the industry as heat tracking. Heat tracking occurs when pressure is applied to the lawn from foot traffic, lawn mowers, fertilizer spreaders or anything else that can compress the leaf tissue down to the ground below.  When  this pressure is applied at the exact time frame (usually early afternoon at the peak heat of the day) that the turf is at its wilting point or entering dormancy stage it breaks the leaf tissue at the base o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spring of 2016 has sprung, kind of...

Lawn Early April 2016 The spring of 2016 has brought just as many surprises and challenges as any in the past few years since we began writing this blog.  The spring began with a lot of early sunshine in March and no snow cover, which resulted in little to no snow mold on the lawn this spring.  The early sunny days allowed for the grass to begin greening up as the sun began slowly rising higher in the sky.  Although the temperatures did not rise early the sunlight allowed for the first phase of the lawn to begin waking in spring.  The lawn goes through two stages in spring, greening up- which allows for sunlight absorption to begin producing food for the plant through photosynthesis.  The second stage of spring lawn is growth which comes after photosynthesis begins and soil temperatures rise with warming temperatures.  Various weather conditions each spring is what causes varying spring green up and growth.   Lawn Early April 2015 ...
Post a Comment
Read more