Lucky for us, Richmonders love having a thick, lush, green lawn. Many things must happen (too many to describe in this post) to accomplish this feat – but we have narrowed it down to what we believe are the three most important steps to having a beautiful lawn throughout the year in Richmond, Virginia.
- Proper mowing (highest setting and sharp mower blades) One of the most common issues we find when visiting properties is improper mowing — in particular mowing the lawn at too low of a setting (sometimes referred to as scalping). The predominant turf species in Richmond is Tall Fescue – which should not be mowed lower than 3” in this area. The truth is with Tall Fescue – you can’t go wrong by mowing at the highest setting your mower will allow. And don’t forget to sharpen your blades on a regular basis!
- Lawn applications (fertilization, fungicides, herbicides, etc) You won’t find a tall fescue lawn growing natively in the wild, and there is good reason for that – the conditions aren’t favorable. In order to get the thick, green lawn that you are looking for you must give it some help with a solid ‘chemical’ plan. In particular, the spraying of preventative fungicides is mandatory in order to keep a lawn healthy throughout Richmond’s hot summer months. We strongly recommend Virginia Green’s Estate Lawn Care Program. In addition to applying the required fungicides to prevent diseases, this plan offers fertilization along with weed and insect control.
- Proper watering (irrigation) Water is the key to life! Tall Fescue is a cool season grass, which explains why most lawns look great in the spring and fall – but suffer during the summer months. Tall Fescue is not a fan of the heat in Richmond, especially when it is accompanied by a lack of rainfall. Tall Fescue lawns like approx. 1” of water during the growing season. A properly setup irrigation system is the only way to fill the gaps when rainfall amounts are insufficient. Richmond Irrigation offers an Enhanced Maintenance Agreement that includes in season visits to verify your lawn and landscape are receiving the proper amounts of water.
In summary, the above is what Richmond Irrigation believes to be the three most important steps to having a beautiful lawn throughout the year in this area. Consistently performing each of these steps is equally important – doing one without the other two may provide some improvement – but performing all three is your best chance at an A+ lawn.