Choosing and Maintaining Your Perfect Lawn

At ALM, we understand the pride you take in having a beautiful home and believe that your lawn plays an important role in your home’s appearance. When you invest time, money, and effort into growing a lush green lawn, you want to make sure you’re giving it the best care possible. That’s why we’ve put together tips and tricks for choosing the right type of grass and for keeping it healthy year-round. 

Tips For Choosing and Maintaining Your Lawn:

Choose Between Warm Season Grass & Cool-Season Grass

Hampton Roads is in an area called the “transition zone”, meaning that both warm and cool-season kinds of grass can grow here, but that means there’s no perfect choice for this climate. A few factors to take into consideration when choosing which type of grass to pick include:

• The environment that you live in. 
• The amount of sun or share your yard receives.
• How much lawn maintenance you’re willing to put in.
• The amount of foot traffic your lawn gets. 
• How often you are willing to mow and fertilize. 

Cool-Season Grass 

The most popular choice in the area is Tall Fescue grass, a dark green cool-season grass. It looks best during the spring, fall, and winter and requires mowing the most during spring and fall. It grows well from seed and requires slit seeding to repair damage in the fall. Learn more about the best types of cool season grass seed for VA lawns.

Warm-Season Grass

If you’d prefer a warm-season grass that looks best in the late spring and summer. These types of grass do, however, require some work in the form of edging and pulling. They can also be costly to establish because they don’t grow well from seed and must be sodded, plugged, or sprigged.

Types of warm-season grasses include: 

• Bermuda grass
• St. Augustine grass
• Zoysia grass

How to Maintain a Healthy Lawn With Proper Mowing

No matter the type of grass you choose, lawn maintenance is crucial to having a lush, healthy lawn. Follow these lawn mowing tips so you can maintain a healthy, green, and luscious lawn all year long:  

• Cut to the right height - Only remove about 1/3 of the leaf blade each time. This will ensure that the blades have enough energy left to continue growing.
• Return the clippings - Leaving them on the lawn will help fertilize the grass and reduce the amount of fertilizer you need to use.
• Use a sharper mower blade - A dull blade will tear the grass, causing it to be more susceptible to disease and pests.
• Slit seeding - Overseeding is a great way to thicken up your lawn and improve its overall health.
• Test your soil -  Healthy grass starts with healthy soil. Test your soil to see what nutrients it’s lacking and amend it accordingly.
• Fertilize regularly -  Fertilizing your lawn is important to maintain its health and vigor. 

Water Your Way to The Perfect Lawn

On hot summer days, your grass is in danger of drying out quickly. Finding the proper balance between watering enough and watering too much can be tricky, but we hope to make it a little easier with these helpful suggestions to help you grow the perfect lawn.

Tips for watering your lawn:

• During dry spells, water 2-3 times a week for about 20-30 minutes per zone.
• Water early in the day to allow time for the grass to dry out during the day.
• Avoid watering every day unless your lawn is newly seeded.
• Don't overwater your lawn. This can prevent oxygen from reaching the roots.
• Newly seeded lawns should be watered for 15 minutes, twice a day for the first 2-3 weeks.

ALM Offers Expert Lawn Service

Still unsure of what type of grass would best suit your needs? Need help keeping your lawn in top-notch shape? At ALM, our highly trained and experienced team of Chesapeake lawn care professionals understands the complexities of growing and maintaining a lawn that will make your neighbors jealous. Ready to have the luxurious green lawn you’ve always wanted, contact our team today.