Chlorophyll: a big word with a big job

Chlorophyll: a big word with a big job. Chlorophyll is what is inside green plants that transforms sunlight into food or energy they can use to grow. This process is called photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is the pigment that causes grass to appear green. It is an important part of making sure you have the greenest lawn possible. Read on to learn more about this important process and how it can affect your lawn care methods.

Grass will store up energy produced by chlorophyll to use during times of stress or dormancy to stay alive. This means your lawn needs times of ideal growing conditions to produce an excess of energy. Cool season grasses, such as those grown in most lawns here in the Salt Lake Valley, will store extra energy during spring and fall. This helps the grass grow well during the hot summers and cold winters. If the grass is damaged or stressed during one of these periods of energy production, it will struggle to maintain during the less ideal conditions.

Some lawn care habits can affect the lawn’s ability to photosynthesize. For instance, mowing too short can hinder the grass’s ability to absorb gas and sunlight which prohibits chlorophyll from properly doing its job.  Photosynthesis requires that enough of the green blade is available to absorb the light for chlorophyll to do its job. Never mow lower than 2 1/2 inches, especially during the heat of summer. Ideally, keep grass around 3 to 3 1/2 inches tall.

Fertilizing during the wrong times can make the grass grow when it is trying to live off of stored energy. This could seriously injure or even kill the grass. Fertilizing during the correct times can assist chlorophyll in producing needed energy stores.

By following healthy lawn care guidelines, you automatically assist the process of photosynthesis and therefore, your grass’s growth.  Understanding how chlorophyll works during this process can help you understand why we at VIRIDIS Lawn Care of Utah give the lawn care suggestions we do – we are promoting energy production which leads to healthy, beautiful, green lawns!