How can I keep my grass green eventhough the sun kills it everytime we suffer from extreme heat?

Question

I have tried Kentucky Blue grass, which seems to work and then the sun kills it. I water my grass daily, and it still doesn't seem to work. Please help!

Answer 1

You don't say where you live, but if you live in the south, the answer is that you've got the wrong kind of grass. Kentucky Blue Grass is very popular & does well in states north of the Mason-Dixon line, but in general will not thrive in the heat of a southern summer.

Normally root growth is greatest in fall and spring and slows dramatically in summer. Root growth of Kentucky bluegrass peaks at soil temperatures of 60°F and declines sharply as temperatures rise above 70°F. Root growth practically ceases at temperatures above 80°F.

High nitrogen fertilization and close, frequent mowing greatly decrease root growth in Kentucky bluegrass. So if you're doing any of these things, you're hurting, not helping your grass.

Additionally, watering every day is unnecessary, and can be harmful to grass. In general turf grass only needs 1" of water/week. Put out as couple of cat food or tuna cans, turn on your sprinkler & when the cans are full of water, you've watered enough.

There are many, many kinds of problems that can develop in one's lawn. If you live where Kentucky Blue Grass should thrive, dig up a patch of turf about 3" X 3" , put it in a ziplock bag & take it into your county Extension Office. They will be able to determine your exact problem.

If you've put in the wrong kind of lawn, you may have to start all over again.

Answer 2

I live in the desert ~ there's a couple of tricks I've learned over the years to keep the grass green even when the temps are high.

The first thing is to set your mower blade to between 5-6 inches in height. The longer grass somewhat "shades" the roots and slows down ground evaporation. The longer grass also puts down deeper roots, which helps in extracting moisture.

The other thing I do is to mulch the clippings and drop them. This also helps keep moisture in the ground.

There's no arguing that the grass is going to look a little shaggier~ you can mow it every 5 days if you'd prefer, I actually let it go 3 weeks before mowing myself since long green grass is preferable to short and dead :)

With the longer grass, I'm discovering I only have to water once every 3 or 4 days ~ even when the temps are in the 100s

Answer 3

It is not dead. It is dormant. Water and cooler weather will make it look good again.

If you have the water (no bans on watering) try to put several inches of water on it a few times a week. It will come back quicker.