Your July checklist
Prioritize watering
Deep watering twice a week beats shallow daily watering. If water restrictions or budget force choices, prioritize the most visible and most stressed areas.
Don't scalp a stressed lawn
Mow high and mow sharp. Cutting a heat-stressed lawn short can thin it out for the rest of the season.
Ease up on fertilizer in extreme heat
Pushing growth during a heat wave adds stress. If it's brutally hot and dry, skip or delay the feeding.
Stay ahead of weeds
Summer weeds like spurge and crabgrass love thin, stressed turf. Spot-treat rather than blanket-spraying in heat.
Watch shaded areas for fungus
Humid stretches plus shade invite fungal disease. Water in the morning so blades dry quickly.
Pro tip
A Bermuda lawn that goes semi-dormant in a drought will usually recover in fall — don't panic, just keep it alive.