How to Keep Your Lawn Fresh and Green During a Drought

maintain your lawn during a droughtYou take a lot of pride in your lawn, and you can’t help but feel your chest swell with elation when you see passers-by drive by or walk just a little bit slower so they can fully take in and appreciate all the greenery right in your front yard.

Keeping that greenery fresh and green, however, is another story, particularly when one of those all-too frequent drought hits Australia. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to keep your law looking as plush as ever even when there’s no rain and all sun. Here are some ideas on how to maintain your lawn during a drought.

Avoid watering your lawn while the sun is still out

It’s actually elementary science: water evaporates rather quickly when there’s a lot of sun. That means if you water your lawn while the sun is still out and the temperature is high, your plants won’t be able to absorb as much water as it can. So wait for the sun to set before watering your lawn. Or, you can do the whole thing early in the morning, well before the sun rises.

Don’t water as frequently

A lot of people think that it’s always better watering your lawn frequently especially during a drought, but you’re over-watering the greenery when you do that. While your plants will appreciate being watered deeply, you have to cut back on the number of times you do it. With infrequent but deep watering, you are helping the grass establish much deeper roots, and deep roots can help your lawn be drought tolerant.

Don’t mow the lawn as often

Let the grass in your lawn grow taller by cutting back on the mowing. The reason? Tall grass means more shade for the roots, and more shade means less evaporation of moisture. If you do have to mow the lawn, raise the lawn mower blade so only the top third of each blade of grass gets cut.

Put some mulch on your greenery

Mulching helps a lawn retain moisture, and that can only be good for them. In addition, mulch also improves soil quality as well as prevents the growth of weeds. Your trees and shrubs should have mulch around them, whether it’s the more common wooden mulch or the rubber kind which is designed to repel certain kinds of pests. As for the grass on your lawn, there’s no better kind of mulch than the blades you cut during mowing. Instead of raking those clippings off, just leave them there, where they can also serve as a natural fertilizer.

Plant drought-tolerant plants

If you want your greenery to be able to withstand prolonged and frequent dry spells, you should be adding drought tolerant plants. Come to think of it, if you’re still in the process of creating your lawn, you should be planting drought tolerant plants from the very start. For grass, the more tolerant types include Buffalo, Couch, Kikuyu and Empire Zoysia. For regular plants, we recommend Acacia glaucoptera, a bottlebrush called Callistemon salignus and Eremophila Calorhabdos, all of which are plants native to Australia.

Maintaining your lawn and the rest of your landscaping can be a lot of work, especially when drought strikes. In case you need help with this, call Tradebusters, and we’ll be more than glad to introduce you to some of the regularly used gardeners and landscapers, all whom belong to our exclusive network of qualified tradesmen.

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