A common condition yards suffer from during the summer is heat stress. The hot, dry weather conditions make it challenging for grass to grow and thrive.
It needs your help to survive. Are you unsure if your lawn is suffering from heat stress? These are the symptoms to look for.
When lawns experience heat stress, they’ll begin to discolor. You may notice only the tips at first, but the entire blades will slowly become a different color. Water the lawn early in the morning before sunrise to see if that helps. If you don’t notice improvement, you could have another problem on your hands. These issues could be due to diseases or insect damage.
Footprints don’t disappear
Dry grass becomes less resilient and elastic. It also takes longer to recover from stress. This symptom is subtle, but it provides insight into how stressed your lawn is.
You’ll begin to notice footprints don’t quickly disappear after someone walks across the grass. The yard could use some water if footprints stick around longer than normal.
More weeds than usual
Grass struggles in heat, while weeds tend to thrive. If you spot more weeds popping up than usual, keep an eye on the yard. Weed populations provide insight into the outdoor temperature.
Ensure you’re watering enough to give your grass one inch of water per week. Avoid overwatering your lawn because this can lead to other problems.
Curling grass blades
This symptom is more challenging to spot, but that doesn’t mean you won’t notice it.
Each grass blade is an individual plant trying to survive the heat. During the difficult summer conditions, the blades will begin wilting or curling.
You may have to get down and look closely at your lawn. Heat-stressed grass will show itself with curled grass blades.
Soil compaction
If you’re unable to push a screwdriver into your soil, the ground lacks adequate water levels. If the screwdriver enters the ground easily, that’s a good sign.
Start watering your lawn early in the morning to increase moisture levels. Otherwise, you’ll deal with a heat-stressed yard.
If you notice any of the above heat-stressed lawn symptoms, you should start working to decrease the lawn’s stress levels. You can also do your best to prevent summer lawn stress before anything bad happens.
This way, you’ll have a green and healthy yard all summer.
