Hot summers offer some unique challenges for homeowners that want to maintain a healthy lawn. To meet the challenges of hot and dry summer weather, it is important to regularly water your lawn, use slow release fertilizer and not leave large objects sitting on your lawn to bake in the sun.

Summer lawns are for bare feet, summersaults and BBQs. They're for bringing people together, for bonding with neighbors or hanging out with friends. A healthy lawn will make spending time in your yard more enjoyable for you and your family.

Fertilizing, watering and mowing are your top three tasks for any sort of lawn care through the summer.

Is your lawn composed of mostly cool or warm weather grasses? Cool grasses will grow better in the spring and fall months, and warm season grasses will grow best in the late spring, summer and early fall months. If you are in the Vancouver area, it is likely that your lawn is full of warm weather grass. Either way, this is something you must know in order to treat your lawn correctly throughout the summer months.

Something to make sure you remember where your summer lawn care is concerned is the length of your grass. When mowing make sure that you never take off more than one third of the length. You want to keep the clippings on your lawn, allowing for redistribution of the nutrients into the soil. Mulching your clippings (which can be done with the right lawn mower) will spread those nutrients across your entire lawn. However, only leave mulch and clippings on your lawn in dry weather as it can damage your lawn if the weather is excessively wet.

Summer lawn care requires a slow release fertilizer, and steady watering schedules. It is best to choose a premium fertilization product that is polymer coated. The polymer coating ensures the fertilizer is slowly released at the speed that the grass can effectively absorb it.

A healthy lawn is there for you and your family to enjoy. If you are placing items on your lawn like lawn chairs or toys, you should not leave them in the same place for more than a day or you may damage your lawn. If you kids want a portable soaking pool or a slip 'n slide be aware that if left on your lawn for full day in the hot sun they will cook your lawn.

Grass, like any other plant, does best when their nutritional needs are met, much like people do. To address this, use a complete fertilizer with polymer coatings to slowly release the nutrients into the soil. In the Spring months use a high Nitrogen fertilizer to encourage healthy lawn growth. In the fall months, you should switch to a high Potassium fertilizer which helps the plant store food for the winter.

Your easy answer to lawn care throughout the summer is to mow, fertilize and water on a regular basis. By following the recommendations in this article you can ensure that you have healthy lawn to enjoy all summer long.