08/26/2026
Late Summer Lawn & Landscape Care
Article By: Jeffrey Hester, County Extension Agent
What should I be doing in my yard right now? What if I don’t have a yard, but I have some landscaping, what about it? Let me give you a simple answer---friend, nothing.
If you’ve found yourself sitting in your living room, looking out at your yard and thinking, “I really should be doing something out there,” I have some good news: you don’t have to.
In fact, as we are in the last part of August and peeling off the early September sticker, one of the best things you can do for your landscape may be to open your favorite beverage, find your favorite chair, turn on the ceiling fan, and enjoy your yard from the comfort of your air conditioning.
Because let’s be honest—these triple-digit temperatures are exhausting. And they are doing the same thing to our lawns and landscapes. Plants are stressed. Soil is drying out. Turf is struggling. And that means this probably isn’t the time to decide your yard needs a major makeover.
But what if I REALLY want to do something?
If you simply cannot sit still and you have to scratch that gardening itch, here are a few things you can do (I have secretly disguised some as ‘what not to dos)
1. DO NOT FERTILIZE.
I repeat---DO NOT FERTILIZE! Your lawn does not need a pep talk in the form of a bag of fertilizer right now. During periods of extreme heat and drought stress, pushing new growth can actually put additional stress on the turf. Save the fertilizer for a more appropriate time which is when your lawn is actively growing.
2. DO NOT PRUNE.
Put the loppers down, Bridget. (And if your name is Bridget, I apologize. No offense intended.) Seriously, unless there is a legitimate safety issue or you are removing dead, damaged, or diseased material, now is not the time to start pruning your landscape plants.
Our trees and plants are already in survival mode here in South Texas. They are dealing with extreme heat, drought stress, and conditions that are demanding a lot from them. The last thing they need is for us to come along and open up another wound. So resist the urge to “clean things up” just because a branch is sticking out where you don't think it should. Save the major pruning for a more appropriate time when plants are under less environmental stress.
3. Mow with Caution! (try not to mow at all, if possible)
If your lawn needs to be mowed, try not to take off more than one-third of the grass blade at a time. If the grass is already stressed from heat and drought, mowing less frequently can be beneficial. Whatever you do, avoid giving your lawn a drastic haircut. Longer grass blades provide more cover for the soil, helping protect the roots and reduce moisture loss.
4. Pull weeds by hand.
If you absolutely need to accomplish something outside, grab a pair of gloves and pull a few weeds. This is especially useful for those annual weeds popping up in landscape beds. You can remove them without disturbing the surrounding plants or adding unnecessary stress to your landscape. As an added bonus, you get to tell everyone you spent the afternoon “working in the garden.”
5. Add mulch.
Rarely can you go wrong with mulching (and literally as I am typing that statement, I can name 3 issues that I find with people mulching—but we will save that for another day). If your landscape beds could use some attention, late summer can be a good time to add mulch. Notice I said ‘add’, not replace. Mulch is a barrier added to the surface that is meant to break down over time. So by adding 3-4 inches of mulch can really improve soil health.
Here is a shameless plug for our August podcast episode where we discuss soil health. Now, if you are reading this article hot of the press, don’t look for the podcast yet, it is in it’s final production stage. If you have no clue what our podcast is, shame on....me. Go find us on Spotify by searching for AgMatters, Webb County Agriculture and Natural Resources podcast.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. A good layer of mulch can help conserve soil moisture, moderate soil temperatures, and reduce competition from weeds. Just remember not to pile mulch directly against the trunks or stems of plants. Give your plants a little breathing room.
6. And finally… give yourself permission to do nothing.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your lawns and landscape is simply to leave it alone. If you absolutely need something to do to keep your hands busy and your mind thinking about gardening, then grab a notebook and do some planning for fall!
Our plants are already dealing with enough heat and drought stress. This isn't the time to force them to grow faster, mow them shorter, or make major changes simply because we feel like we need to do something. So, if you're wondering what you should be doing in your yard right now, here's my official Extension recommendation:
Grab a cold drink. Sit down. Enjoy the shade. And wait for cooler weather.
Your lawn and landscape might actually thank you for it.
