Wisconsin’s famously hot and humid summers can be tough on landscaping, lawns and garden beds. If you just spent your spring cleaning up your yard, don’t worry. There are a few things you can do to keep it looking great all summer long.
Summer Landscaping Tips
Here are a few tips that can help your landscaping stay healthy and vibrant during the hottest stretches of summer in Wisconsin. And be sure to reach out to Couple More Guys if you need any help with your summer landscaping and yardwork tasks.
Use Native Plants
Plants native to Wisconsin are used to our brutally cold winters and hot, humid summers. They have a much better chance of thriving in our extreme weather conditions than non-native plants. So an easy way to ensure your landscaping looks good all summer and will survive our winters with minimal upkeep and intervention is to use native plants in your landscaping.
Water Deeply & Early
Hot summer days means your plants will need more water. But rather than watering more frequently, water thoroughly and deeply. This will encourage the roots to grow deeper into the soil where they are better protected from the heat and dry spells. Early morning watering as well as soaker hoses can reduce evaporation and ensure moisture gets to the roots with less waste.
Add Mulch
Mulching around flowers, shrubs and trees provides year-round protection. During hot Wisconsin summers, it helps to keep the soil cool, slows evaporation and suppresses weeds. Refresh your mulch as needed to keep a two- to three-inch layer to keep your landscaping looking great all summer.
Deadhead & Trim
A little light shaping of your plants and shrubs can keep them looking neat and tidy as well as improve airflow and encourage new blooms. Just be sure not to overdo it. Heavy pruning in the heat of summer can stress plants out. Focus on tidying and trimming damaged growth rather than aggressively cutting back too much.
Weed Regularly
Summer is prime time for weeds. Not only are they growing where you don’t want them in your garden beds and landscaping, but they are taking away water and nutrients from your plants. It’s important to weed often to keep them from gaining a strong foothold. They’ll be much easier to pull this way too.
Put Off Splitting & Transplanting
Transplanting, splitting and pruning shouldn’t happen during extreme heat. It’s just too stressful for your plants. While it might be tempting to split, move or trim back any plants that have experienced as sudden summer growth spurt, it’s best to wait until the heat subsides.
Leave Your Outdoor Tasks to a Couple More Guys™
If you are in the Lake Country Wisconsin area, an easier, faster and safer way to keep your landscaping looking great all summer is to leave the work to a Couple More Guys. Our two-person insured crews are experienced when it comes to landscaping, yard work and manual labor in the great outdoors. Couple More Guys™ regularly serve many communities in Lake Country and Waukesha County, traveling in about a 25-mile radius of our Delafield office. We can do your heavy lifting along with basic landscaping and yardwork related tasks to refresh your space and lighten your summer workload.Schedule a crew today.