AZ Landscaping; Preparing Your Landscape for Summer Temperatures
Arizona is known for its dry desert climate and triple digit Summers, meaning that our Summer landscaping practices might look a little different than that of your average state! It is important, therefore, to ensure you are properly preparing your Arizona landscape to beat the heat in the coming months!
Keeping Your Summer Turf Looking Great
Here in Arizona, the turf that we use in our landscape is Bermuda grass. Bermuda is heat hardy and thrives with lots of sunlight and warmer temperatures. Typically, Bermuda transition begins in late Spring to ensure that the turf is fully grown in before the Summer months hit. This transition involves the Summer turf getting a much needed head start over the previous Winter turf (Rye grass). In most cases this can be done by scalping down to about half of the turfs height and laying some new Bermuda seed where it has not filled in. Some Rye grass will stay around all year in certain areas- not to fear as you can take Summer preparation measures regardless to ensure that your lawn looks great and to give the Bermuda the best chance at taking hold!
Another way to prepare your turf for the heat is by aerating it. Aeration is a great way to open up and introduce air to the soil. This process can be done in various ways and is an important step to follow if you are looking to aid your Bermudagrass in transition. It is highly recommended that if you are going to aerate, you follow this by spreading a soil conditioner, such as gypsum, afterwards (follow instructions found on bag).
After grass has transitioned and our Arizona temperatures start to climb, it is a good idea to implement a deep watering program. This will be beneficial since the hot temperatures and dry winds can dry out the surface level soil. Additionally, be sure to perform this watering in the morning or evening to reduce evaporation effects that often occur mid-day when the sun is at its highest. Finally, make sure you are properly maintaining your turf after transition by de-thatching. The best time to dethatch is in May/June when it is growing at its fastest rate, this ensures that the grass is not suffocating from over thatch and provides an opportunity to see what is going on with the grass at the surface level.
Plant Maintenance Adjustments for Summer Survival
Plant maintenance will need to be adjusted to aid the plants with surviving the higher temperatures that the Summer months bring. A good place to start when adjusting your typical maintenance routine is to remember not to over prune your plants prior to or during the hot Summer months. Branches and leaves protect your plants and keep them cool, acting as a barrier between the sun and the base of the plant. Over pruning while temperatures are high will leave the most important parts of the plant exposed and could result in plant fatality!
It is also a good idea to use a layer of organic mulch around plants to reduce evaporation! By doing this you can save hundreds of gallons of water each year according to the Arizona Landscape Contractors Association!
Implement Summer Hardy Annuals into Your Landscape
Add Summer-hardy Annuals to your landscape during the hottest months to keep it looking great! Annual flowers are a great addition to any landscape as they are beautiful and add color, fill bare spots in a landscape, and can be changed each season to match the look that you are going for at that time! Replacing your flowers with Summer Annuals means you are adding plants that can survive intense sunlight and extreme temperatures to your landscape- perfect for Summer!
Interested in obtaining a landscape maintenance bid for your commercial property or community landscape? Reach out to our Business Development team today or request your bid on our website!
Stephen Stewart | Business Development | sstewart@evergreenaz.com
Mackenzie Bates | Business Development | Mackenzie@evergreenaz.com
