If you are in the lawn care community, you may have heard of different product types and wondered if they are all there are talked up to be. In this blog, we look at a few popular lawn care trends and assess if they are worth the hype surrounding them.
Plant Growth Regulators (PGR’s)
Plant growth regulators will suppress your lawns vertical growth and increase the lawns lateral growth. This helps the grass to become denser while reducing the number of times you need to mow. This product is used throughout the warmer months when the grass is actively growing to help reduce mowing.
PGRs are only recommended for use in the warmer months and should be avoided in winter. As PGRs are more of a commercial-style product, you will need to calibrate your sprayer for application. Check out our blog here for more information on how to calibrate your sprayer.
If you struggle to keep up with regular mows in the warmer months or want to take your lawn to another level, PGRs are a great option. We recommend using PGR Primo Maxx.
Pre-emergent Herbicides
Pre-emergent herbicides will stop stubborn weeds before they appear in your lawn. They work by creating a barrier at the soil level, stopping any new weed seedlings in their tracks. They are ideal for controlling seasonal weeds like Winter Grass, Summer Grass, Crab Grass, and Creeping Oxalis. However, one thing to note – is that pre-emergents won’t treat weeds that are present in your lawn but will prevent further seasonal weeds from growing.
Pre-emergents are perfect to use if you want to help prevent weed invasions in your lawn. We recommend using pre-emergent Oxafert.
Battery Powered Fertiliser Spreaders
Battery-powered spreaders are another great popular lawn care trend. They will assist in spreading out granular lawn care products across your lawn, ensuring you have even product coverage. The advantage of battery-powered spreaders over manual handheld spreaders is that you don’t need to turn the handle to disperse the product, which may cause hand cramps over a larger area. When using a battery spreader, you will also be able to cover your area quicker than with a manual handheld spreader.
If you have a larger area size, battery spreaders like the Ryobi One+ fertiliser Spreader and the Ozito PXC 18V Fertiliser Spreader are ideal (batteries sold separately). However, a manual handheld spreader will still do an adequate job if you only have a small area.
Liquid Fertilisers
Liquid fertilisers can provide a quick boost of nutrients to your lawn. They do this as the leaves and roots of your grass absorb the fertiliser. However, when using liquid fertilisers you will need to apply them more frequently for results over a longer period.
Liquid fertilisers are ideal for lawns that are already in shape but are looking for a quick boost. For liquid fertilising, we recommend using Exceed Liquid Fertiliser.
If your lawn is in poor shape and you are wanting to help give the lawn a sustained boost over a longer period of time, we recommend using a granular fertiliser, like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser.
Ozito Cylinder Mower
If you are following any lawn care pages, you have probably seen the hype around this mower. The steel cylinder blades can provide a clean and precise cut like the bigger, much more pricey cylinder mowers on the market. The Ozito mowers adjustable cutting height is between 14-38mm, cutting a bit higher than larger cylinder mowers. The Ozito Cylinder Mower is battery-powered. Please note you do need to buy the rechargeable battery separately. This battery is also compatible with many other Ozito home and garden tools.
For its price point, it is a great alternative from the bigger cylinder mowers. It can provide a much cleaner cut than other rotary mowers around the same price point. It is easy to use, manoeuvre, clean, and store. Although the roller attached can be a bit light, we have seen a few people adding a steel roller attachment allowing for better stripes.