First, we’ll cover the basic lawn care tasks you should perform no matter the season to keep your Delaware lawn looking its best. Our tips cover everything from planting new grass to keeping it healthy in the long run.
- Choose the Right Type of Grass
The first step in growing a healthy lawn here is choosing the best type of grass for Delaware. If your yard has many shaded areas, look for a seed mix with fine or tall fescue.
Ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass are the best choices for sunny yards with playful pets and children running around. They thrive in direct sunlight and have good traffic tolerance.
Kentucky bluegrass is also the top choice for northern Delaware lawns in Wilmington, Newark, or New Castle. On the other hand, summer homes along the coast can improve their curb appeal with Zoysia, a warm-season grass.
- Let the Grass Guide the Mowing Schedule
A fixed mowing schedule, like cutting the grass every Friday, is easy to keep. But since grass sometimes grows at different speeds, you need to adapt your mowing schedule throughout the growing season.
Your grass can grow slower or faster depending on the following:
Rainfall
Temperature
Sunlight exposure
If you neglect to notice the changes, you can cut the grass too short or leave it to grow too tall.
Short grass has less leaf surface for photosynthesis (or a smaller kitchen to prepare food using soil nutrients and sunlight). Low energy makes it more vulnerable to stress, diseases, and pests.
When the grass grows too tall, most of the blade surface is in shade, and photosynthesis is again limited. Also, tall grass keeps moisture at the soil level, which promotes fungal diseases in cool temperatures.
Growing speed also varies with the type of grass. If your neighbor has a tall fescue lawn and you grow hard fescue, you will have a different mowing schedule. Hard fescue grows slower than tall fescue.
To maintain the turf at the best level, observe its growth or measure its height with a ruler when it’s time to mow. Here are the recommended mowing heights for the most common grasses that grow in Delaware:
Type of Grass Mowing Height
Turf fescue 2 to 3 inches
Fine fescue 2.5 to 4 inches
Kentucky bluegrass 2.5 to 3.5 inches
Perennial ryegrass 1.5 to 2.5 inches
Zoysia 1 to 2 inches
- Follow the One-Third Rule
Every time you mow, only cut the top one-third of the grass’s height. For example, if your lawn is 3 inches tall, cut the top 1 inch. You’ll get it to a suitable size of 2 inches. Taking more than one-third of the blade makes it harder for the grass to adapt to less surface for photosynthesis and to repair the cut. - Alternate the Mowing Pattern
Mowing Patterns
Infographic by Juan Rodriguez
Foot traffic and the weight of your mower compress the ground and damage the grass over time. To avoid visible trails in your lawn, alternate the mowing pattern. If you walked the lawn mower parallel to the house last week, mow perpendicular to it this time. - Leave the Grass Clippings on the Lawn
Let the small grass clippings on the lawn. They are an excellent source of slow-release nitrogen.
Only leave small grass clippings, like those chopped up by a mulching lawn mower, sitting on the lawn. Tiny pieces of grass decompose easier and don’t add to the thatch layer. You can add cut grass to your compost bin or use it as mulch for flower beds and vegetable plots.
Warning! Don’t leave grass clippings on the lawn when you’ve got flowering or seeding weeds in your grass.
Shop mulching lawn mowers:
Amazon
Walmart
- Water Deeply and Only When Needed
Right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, Delaware enjoys constant rainfall across the year. From March to October, lawns get, on average, 3 to 4 inches of rainwater per month. This can be enough to sustain your lawn in early spring and late fall when the grass is less active and the weather is cool. You may not need to water your lawn during these times of the year.
However, Delaware summers are hot enough to dry the soil when it doesn’t rain for a few days. This is when you should irrigate the lawn more often. A good rule of thumb, no matter the season, is to water the grass only when it shows signs of stress, including:
About 30% to 50% of the blades wilt.
The grass gets a grey, bluish tint.
It recovers slower when you step on it.
Irrigate slowly to moisten the soil 4 to 6 inches deep. This typically takes about 1 to 1.5 inches of water applied over 2 to 4 hours.
- Use a Moisture Sensor
Install a moisture sensor on your sprinkler system. Delaware receives plenty of rain to increase the risk of overwatering your lawn. Cool spring and fall nights expose the grass to fungal diseases when overwatered.
A moisture sensor blocks the irrigation system when it’s raining and can delay the next watering session. You can rely on an automatic sprinkler system without worrying about too much moisture in the soil.
- Fertilize Cool-Season Grasses in the Fall (And Maybe Again in Spring)
Granular spreader
Photo Credit: Amanda Mills, USCDCP / Pixnio / License
Apply 65 to 75% of the annual fertilizer during the fall and use the rest in the spring. Cool-season grasses that cover most lawns in Delaware go semi-dormant in the summer and require fewer nutrients during that time. In late summer and early fall, they’re actively growing and storing reserves for winter and the following year.
In the spring, grass sprouts use the energy reserves that were gathered in the previous fall and winter. Most healthy lawns don’t require fertilizer during spring, but you can apply a small amount of slow-release formula to stimulate green-up.
- Overseed Two Times a Year
Although its coastal location softens the weather, Delaware’s climate has hot and dry summers and frigid winters that stress turfgrasses.
Check for thinned areas and bald patches in early March and late August. Overseed the lawn in the spring and fall to keep the grass dense and weeds under control.
- Make a Lawn Care Schedule
Create a simple, easy-to-follow lawn maintenance program to remember the essential tasks you must handle each season. Use the schedule below as an example, but be sure to adjust as needed for your grass type and your specific area’s weather.
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