10 Easy Lawn Care Tips to Keep your Yard Beautiful All Year

Keep your mower blades sharp. Dull mowers tear the leaf blades. This makes the lawn look bad and leaves it susceptible to insect or disease invasion.

Irrigate around sunrise or in the early morning hours. The leaf blades must dry out fully during the day to reduce disease.

Do not bag grassclippings, however, enable them to naturally decompose on your yard. This can contribute to up to 25% of the nitrogen your lawn needs for the year.

If you water too much, the soil becomes saturated, but if you water too little, the water doesn’t reach the roots at all. The solution is to give your lawn about a third of an inch of water every other day during dry spells. Keep an eye on weather reports for upcoming showers to avoid watering during those days.

To determine how frequently you should mow your lawn use the '1/3 Rule. For example, if a lawn is being mown at 2 inches, it should not be allowed to grow higher than 3 inches before it is mowed again.

Mow when the grass is dry. Your mower will work better and there is less likelihood that disease will be spread from plant to plant.

Plant groundcovers below trees and other heavily shaded areas or on steep slopes where the grass is difficult to take care of.

Set your mower slightly higher under trees. In those areas, the grass has to compete with the tree roots for available nutrients and moisture.

A well-maintained lawn does not contain spots where grass won't grow. If an uncovered area develops, do not leave it open to weeds; reseed the area as soon as possible or turn it into a flower bed instead.

Do not cut your lawn too short, the grass will germinate weakly and won't be able to produce strong roots. Weak grass gets easily overwhelmed by weeds and can’t stand up to heat