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How to Equip Your Yard for Texas Heat (9 tips)
For many places around the country, summer is the season to enjoy spending time outside. However, those of you who live in Dallas, Texas, understand that summer is more likely to be about what you might be able to tolerate doing outside in spite of the sweltering heat. With average summer temperatures ranging between the high 90’s and low 100’s, your grass and plants feel the same way…they will just want to manage. Here are 9 tips on how to equip your lawn and landscape for Texas heat, along with outdoor projects that can be done during the summer months.
Table of Contents
Adjust Irrigation Timer
Higher summer temperatures mean that water evaporates faster, leaving your grass and plants thirstier than usual, and can also cause drying and cracking in your soil. If you have an irrigation system that is set to a specific watering schedule, make sure to adjust that schedule to water your plants, grass, and home foundation a bit more often during the summer.
Increase Mowing Height
Many expect that warmer temperatures mean that your grass should be kept nice and low. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When temperatures reach the high 90s and low 100s, if your lawn is mowed too low, the sun will heat and dry your soil, stealing necessary moisture and nutrients from your grass. Increasing the height of your lawn mower blades, even just a little bit, will help to reduce soil temperatures and preserve irrigation water. Mowing your grass higher will also help to thicken the turf and shade out unwanted weeds.
Add Mulch
Adding mulch around your plants is the equivalent of giving the roots a shady cover. Specifically, mulch will help to manage soil temperatures and retain moisture in your plant beds. Make sure that your plant and tree areas have a 2-inch layer of mulch to insulate them from extreme heat and to help keep irrigation water from evaporating.
Inspect Irrigation System
The Texas summer season will place a larger demand on your sprinkler system with more frequent watering. Make sure to have your sprinkler system inspected for proper operation and make any needed repairs. If you don’t know any reputable irrigation companies, check with your city water department. Many city water departments offer a free irrigation inspection and may even help troubleshoot your irrigation system free of charge.
Dethatch Grass
Thatch is a layer of organic debris, such as fallen leaves, seeds, or grass trimmings, that has settled on soil and grass. Over time, this layer hardens and makes it more difficult for your grass to get air, water, sunlight, and nutrients. Remove thatch from your grass with a rake or dethatcher to expose soil and give way for needed nutrients to reach grass roots.
Apply Summer Fertilizer
Summer is stressful on your lawn and landscape plants. Surviving these conditions will deplete your plants of vital nutrients. Make sure to apply a summer fertilizer to give your lawn and landscape what they need to keep going and replace the loss of these vital nutrients.
Plant Summer Flowers
Even though most people want to spend their summertime in front of the air conditioner, there are some plants that actually thrive in the hot Texas sun. Try planting some of the following summer annual flowers to give you something bright and happy to look at while you hide indoors: Lantana, Vinca, Zinnia.
Install Hardscaping Projects
Summer may not be the ideal time to install new landscaping like plants or grass, but it is a perfect time to plan for and work on hardscaping projects. Hardscaping is any type of landscaping work that does not involve plants. Some minor hardscaping summer projects could be installing loose rock in an area that doesn’t grow any grass or adding metal or stone edging to an existing garden bed. Other, more serious hardscaping project upgrades could be extending your existing patio or building a pergola to provide some much-needed shade.
Water Foundation
Some new homes have drip line irrigation installed along the foundation of the home. This should definitely be run during the hot summer months. If you don’t have an automatic foundation watering system, make sure to water your foundation during the summer when soils tend to dry out. Our clay soils shrink and pull away from house foundations with changing temperatures, causing expensive home foundation repairs if not properly managed.