What does a Flood Watch mean for your Landscape? As we prepare for Tropical Storm Cindy we wanted to talk about the effects large amounts of rainfall has and what it can do to your lawn and landscape. Most grasses will tolerate being overwhelmed with large amounts of water for longer periods of time without serious damage. The biggest problem with too much rainfall is from the movement of soil and debris over the grass.
What about shrubs and trees? Although we are not expecting high winds to knock over trees, the rain alone can do damage to trees if the ground gets overly saturated. Most shrubs and trees will have a healthy root system already in place that will protect them from too much rainfall. However, if heavy amounts of water should sit for multiple days, freshly planted shrubs and trees could be damaged.
Cleaning up after the rainfall is actually the worst part. After you remove debris such a fallen limbs and soil build up, you will want to avoid walking on your lawn until it dries out. If your lawn is severely damaged by the amount of rainfall you should consider core aerating your yard to help in drying it out faster. Saturated soil followed by drying out can sometime lead to soil compaction which is fixed by aeration. Be sure to also turn off your sprinkler system and allow your landscape and grass to throughly dry out before running it again.
Unfortunately, our lawns cannot hide from the force of mother nature but having a plan in place for lawn care during heavy downpours will help to ensure that after the storm passes your lawn, trees and shrubs will survive.