Lawn Care Mistakes You're Probably Making
Want to keep your lawn green all summer long? Avoid these common mistakes.
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Everyone loves summer, but this year the season has been hotter than usual in New Jersey. This can be useful for a few days at the beach, but garden plants can experience heat stress, which has a severe negative impact on growth and survival. Heat stress affects the ability of plants to produce seeds, flowers and seeds. Excessive heat can cause the plant to wilt, dehydrate and sometimes burn.
The good news is that there are ways to reduce heat stress in your garden. For example, making sure your plants are properly watered, especially in the morning, and using mulch to cool the soil are two steps you can take to reduce heat loss in your garden. Additionally, choosing plants suitable for heat stress can help avoid discomfort when temperatures are too high.
Native warm-season grasses are excellent ornamentals, have ecological benefits, and are heat tolerant. These grasses attract pollinators, provide food and shelter for wildlife, moderate storm runoff, and stabilize soil to reduce erosion. Many of these native grasses are deer resistant! Adding some native plants to your garden can provide valuable benefits and great looks to your space!
Most heat-loving herbs grow best in well-drained soil in full sun. They are also suitable for living in warmer temperatures, 80-95 degrees. They do best when planted in the spring and don't need much fertilizer. Your best bet is to rely on a soil test, which will provide an analysis that will show any fertilizer deficiencies. When planting, make sure they are not planted too deep. Spacing between warm-season plants is also very important, as some can be quite large when fully mature. Applying mulch around your lawn will help reduce weeds and retain moisture.
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Millet Millet (Panicum vergatum) is a warm-season perennial that grows 2 to 5 feet tall and wide. It is known to survive in a range of soils from sandy to loamy and does well in full sun, although it can tolerate sunny conditions. It is deer resistant, salt and drought tolerant. The grass has blue-green leaves, red flowers from May to October, yellow seed heads in late summer. Switchgrass is particularly effective at controlling erosion and requires little fertilizer to grow. This herb is resistant to most pests and diseases when grown in the right conditions, especially if your garden attracts beneficial insects and has good drainage.
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a native perennial that grows in full sun and partial shade. It can grow quite tall, depending on the variety you grow, reaching heights of 6-8 feet and is especially good for rot control due to its large root system. Before planting and during growth, make sure your Big Bluestem plant has no competitors so it can reach its full potential. The leaves of this herb can be pale green to burgundy in color with rough seeds. The large blue stem is deer resistant and produces small green and red flowers from August to October that attract butterflies and other pollinators and provide excellent habitat for many birds and mammals. This plant is also not susceptible to any major diseases or pests, making a great low-maintenance, eco-friendly decoration.
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Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a warm-season native herb that grows best in full sun. It has a height of 2-3 meters and a width of 1.5-2 meters. It is mainly used as an ornamental grass because its name comes from the blue-green leaves with blue, thin, flat leaves at the base. In August, it blooms with bronze-purple flowers, high above the leaves. The seed heads develop into silvery white clusters that remain on the plant over winter. Little bluestem is a food source and habitat for songbirds and small mammals. Deer rarely graze on this grass, so there is usually minimal damage to wildlife. Once established, this grass has a very deep root system, making it useful for erosion control. Providing adequate ventilation will help reduce any disease problems.
Native plants can provide ecological and aesthetic benefits to any garden space. If you choose the right species for the right spot, these herbs can thrive and benefit your garden for years, even when temperatures are too warm for other plants. To get native grasses for your yard, contact your local gardens and see what they might have!
William Erickson is the agriculture and natural resources agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Monmouth County. Erin Quinn is an intern at Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Monmouth County .
