Our Favorite Summer Lawn Care Tips and Tricks

MOWING

If you've got a fescue lawn (like many of us in the Kansas City area), raise your mower blade to 4 inches. Mowing higher and slightly less often protects your grass roots from summer scorch and increases longevity.

WATERING

Your lawn needs about 1" of water per week during the growing season, from rain or irrigation, delivered in half-inch increments or more. Deeper, less frequent watering builds a stronger, more drought-tolerant lawn. Track your water with a rain gauge — hotter, sunnier, or windier days may call for a third watering that week.

DISEASE CONTROL

Lawn diseases peak this time of year. If needed, treat with a systemic fungicide. Not sure which product to choose? Visit any of our 3 locations to find the right option.

WEED CONTROL:

Mowing at a higher blade setting helps prevent weeds, and regularly spraying them with broad leaf weed killer helps keep them under control

GRUB CONTROL:

Now through the end of July is the best time to apply our Solutions Grub Control + Eco-Friendly Lawn Food, which keeps your lawn thick and green while managing pests like June bugs and Japanese beetles.

FAMILY TREE NURSERY LAWN CARE PROGRAM

Step 1: Crabgrass Pre-Emergent +Eco-Friendly Lawn Food

Apply once between March and mid-April! Our Solutions Crabgrass Pre-Emergent + Eco Friendly Lawn Food is specifically designed to control crabgrass and 30+ other undesirable weeds before they emerge. Its slow-release formula is also high in iron and balanced with nitrogen to encourage lush, green growth without excessive mowing.

Step 2: Grub Control + Eco-Friendly Lawn Food

Apply now between May and July. Nourish your lawn and mow less! Our Solutions Grub Control is armed with slow-release nitrogen that lessens lawn growth, helping to focus its energy on staying thick, green, and happy through the heat of the summer. It's also specially formulated to kill and prevent brown patch-causing grubs that feed on your roots.

Step 3: Fall Rejuvenator + Seed Starter

Apply once between September and early October. As the weather cools down, grass enters dormancy to recover from the summer heat and store energy for winter. Solutions Fall Rejuvenator is made with the nutrients your lawn needs to restore and prepare for the cold. Its seed starter promotes seed germination, as the rains of early fall make the ideal grass seed-spreading environment.

Step 4: Solutions Winterizer

Apply between mid to late October, and again 4 weeks later. Throughout October and November, your lawn continues to store energy for the winter while strengthening its root, stem, and rhizome network. Because of this, fertilizing it during this time is crucial. Our Solutions Winterizer gives your lawn the right nutrients it needs to build these up to come back dense and green with stronger leaf blades and thicker roots in the spring.

BRING ON THE BEAUTY WITH

SUMMER ANNUALS

MYTH: It's too late to plant annuals. It's too hot, and the season's almost over.

FACT: It's never too late! Annuals bloom from spring through the first frost (usually late October in Kansas City), and many hit their stride once the heat sets in. We restock favorites like vinca, angelonia, celosia, salvia, and compact SunPatiens® every week, and just welcomed tropical milkweed and Echibeckia – both heat-lovers that are blooming best right now. Stop by today!