No one likes a brown, weed-covered lawn. Unfortunately, Arizona’s hot climate poses a whole raft of challenges for homeowners who wish to keep their properties looking great all year long. If you’re not careful, you could fall into some common lawn care traps that exacerbate the risks for your precious grass. Learn how to avoid these mistakes and keep weeds from taking over your yard.
1. Applying Fertilizer Out of Season
Applying fertilizer at the wrong time of year can dramatically affect the health of your yard’s grasses and create an opening for hardy weeds to take over. In Arizona, it’s best to fertilize grasses during the rainier months of late summer and fall. It’s counterproductive to do so during the hot, bone-dry spring and summer months. Over-applying fertilizer during these times can “burn” and kill grasses, creating an opportunity for drought-loving weeds to encroach.
2. Mowing Too Short
Mowing your grass too short at any time of year is one of the best ways to kill or compromise the overall health of your yard. Mowing short tends to sap energy from the root systems of individual grasses and leaves them prone to drought, pests and competition from weeds. Be sure to keep your grass at least 2 inches high at all times.
3. Overwatering
Overwatering is just as bad as under-watering. Too much water can lull grasses into a false sense of security and preclude them from developing robust root systems. In addition, some Arizona municipalities have strict rules that limit watering to certain frequencies or times of day. If you don’t follow these guidelines, you could face fines or other penalties.
4. Using Dull Mower Blades
Dull mower blades increase the likelihood that you’ll rip clumps of grass right out of the ground. In their place, opportunistic weeds may arise. Depending on the time of year in which this mistake occurs, the grass may not grow back at all without re-seeding.
5. Using the Wrong Type of Grass
Certain types of grasses simply aren’t well-suited for our climate. It’s important to use a drought-resistant, warm season grass that can handle high heat and lack of water in equal measure. Unless you live at altitude, avoid cool season grasses and varieties that require regular watering.
Find Professional Lawn Care in Phoenix and Tucson
While these aren’t the only lawn care mistakes that you can make, it’s certainly important to do your best to avoid them. After all, eradicating weeds can be expensive, time-consuming and not very fun. For more information about what we can do to improve the health and beauty of your lawn, give us a call or request a quote for a no-obligation inspection at your convenience.
