What a Creep!
Creeping Oxalis has small light green and purple heart shaped leaves, very similar in appearance to clover.
Continue reading “How to fight back against Creeping Oxalis”
Author: Kim Tranter
How to Remove Bindii from Your Lawn
Treating Bindii (Soliva sessilis)
Winter Lawn Care
‘But it’s not really growing?’ I hear you say. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as Winter lawn care. Whilst your lawn probably isn’t actively growing and pulling out the mower is a rare occurrence this time of year, there are still things you can do to ensure your lawn holds up well and is ready to start growing quickly again come Spring.
Is brown grass dead? No, your lawn isn’t dead, it’s sleeping!
Is my lawn dead?
- Is your lawn looking brown and discoloured?
- Has your lawn stopped growing?
- Are you worried your lawn won’t bounce back at spring time?
Your lawn has been slow in growth, you have been mowing a lot less frequently in the last couple months, and the grass has lost a little bit of colour.
Has it died?…
Continue reading “Is brown grass dead? No, your lawn isn’t dead, it’s sleeping!”
Mushrooms and Other Fungi
What are Mushrooms?
All mushrooms are fungi, but not all fungi are mushrooms. Mushrooms are the fruit of a fungus and appear above ground when the conditions are at their optimum. This is usually when conditions are warm and humid, or cool and damp. Mushrooms will have a cap and a spore bearing surface (gills) that it will use to disperse spores and spread.
Crimes against your lawn!
Looking after your lawn, for the most part, is simple. But I know many of us have been guilty from time to time of neglect and poor lawn care practices. We need to stop neglecting our lawns and provide the grass with the love and nurture that it deserves!
How to combat winter lawn weeds
Winter weeds can be a real nuisance and undo all the hard work you put into getting your lawn looking superb during the warmer months.
The best time to treat winter weeds in your lawn is during winter. By doing so, you have a better chance of getting them before germination. This will stop them from dropping their seeds back into the soil and coming back again next season.
Skip to: Winter Grass, Bindii, Clover, Creeping Oxalis.
Here are some of the most common weeds that appear during winter and what you can do to remove them from your lawn.
Winter Grass
Winter Grass (Poa Annua) is a low growing turf grass. It has soft, drooping green leaves grown in tufts with triangular shaped seed heads. If you allow Winter Grass to drop its seeds, next winter it will be back, twice as badly as it was the previous year.
Winter Grass can be removed very easily by hand as it doesn’t have particularly deep roots and it doesn’t have any runners, growing in simple clumps.
Using a combination of a pre-emergent like Oxafert and a selective Winter Grass control like Winter Grass Killer at the correct time of year should ensure Winter Grass is eradicated from your lawn. Amgrow Winter Grass Killer is safe to use on buffalo lawns (including Sir Walter DNA Certified), blue and common couches. However, Amgrow Winter Grass Killer should be avoided on Kikuyu and fescue lawns. If you do happen to have a Kikuyu lawn an alternative post emergent herbicide is Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer.
You can find more information on managing and treating Winter Grass here.
Bindii
Bindii is possibly the most annoying weed due to the pain it causes to our bare feet! It is a low growing weed with a flower at its centre. At maturity, the flower produces a prickly seed pod. This seed pod is a particular menace during the warmer months when we are trying to enjoy our lawns. Bindii can be managed by hand or by applying a selective broadleaf herbicide like Bin-Die or Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control. This will help to eradicate these weeds in all lawn types including kikuyu and couch. It is safe to use on most varieties of buffalo except the ST varieties. A repeat application may be required.
The best time to target Bindii is in Winter before it produces the seed pod and spreads throughout your lawn.
Check out our blog on Bindii here for more information.
Clover
Clover is another common winter weed. It is one of those legume plants, like beans and lucerne or alfalfa, that draws nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. As the roots die back, the nitrogen is replenished into the soil but where there is sufficient nitrogen in your soil to keep your lawn healthy, the clover struggles to survive. In most cases when you see clover growing in your lawn it means that there isn’t enough nitrogen. So, a fertilise will help increase the nitrogen and slow the clover down.
Clover can also be managed by applying a selective broadleaf herbicide like Bin-Die or Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control.
For more information on removing clover click here.
Creeping Oxalis
Creeping Oxalis has small light green heart shaped leaves, very similar in appearance to clover. (Oxalis, have heart shaped leaves while clover has oval shaped leaves.) The flowers are small, about 3-4mm in diameter and bright yellow in colour containing five petals. Creeping Oxalis, as its name suggests, quickly runs along the surface of the soil and produces roots from the leaf as it goes. When seed pods mature, they dry out and explode, causing the seed to spread.
Once again, a selective herbicide such as Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control will help to eradicate these weeds in all lawn types including kikuyu and couch and are safe to use on most varieties of buffalo except the ST varieties.
You can find more information on Creeping Oxalis here.
Lawn Solutions Australia carry a wide range of weed and pest control products for buffalo and other lawn varieties. Remember to always follow manufacturer’s instructions on the pack.
Check out the Lawn Solutions Australia lawn care page for more helpful tips and advice here.
7 Amazing Grass Hacks
We hear about all sorts of interesting grass tips out there, here are 7 grass hacks that we think you might find useful when looking after your lawn.
Liquid or Granular Fertiliser?
We see this question quite regularly and it is a bit of a minefield out there as to which products you should use, but it doesn’t have to be. Both fertiliser options, either liquid or granular, can play an important part of your lawn care routine. But it is important to understand the benefits of each, so that you can use the right one at the right time.
5 Reasons You Can’t Fake a Lawn
Real grass or fake grass? Obviously, we prefer the real deal here at Lawn Solutions Australia. But there are significant reasons why real or natural grass is a far better option than going artificial.