During winter, most lawns across Australia will enter a level of dormancy, slowing down the growth of your lawn. In this blog, we look at what lawn care activities you should avoid over the winter months.
Scalp/Dethatching Your Lawn
Scalping and dethatching involve giving your lawn a low mow to remove the excess build-up of thatch. Scalping can also be done to reduce the height of your lawn, especially if it has grown too long in between mows, or during a lawn renovation.
Scalping/dethatching is beneficial when done in spring and summer. Removing this thatch layer will help aid more nutrients and air reach your soil profile so it can more effectively feed your lawn. It will also help allow for proper drainage, helping prevent the risk of fungal issues.
When this is done, your lawn will often need a few weeks to grow back to repair itself. If this is done when heading into or in the cooler months, the lawn will not be growing at a fast enough rate for it to repair itself. Therefore best to avoid doing this to your lawn over winter and wait till spring and summer.
Top Dressing
Top dressing is also best avoided in winter. This can be done to either help improve the nutrients in your lawns soil base or to help fix holes and uneven lawn. Top dressing will help increase nutrient retention, improve drainage, and increase disease and pest resistance. This will also help reduce the accumulation of dead grass clippings and stems, known as ‘thatch’.
When top dressing to improve levels, it is often best to use sand. When top dressing to improve the soil profile it is best to use a sandy loam that contains a blend of sand and organic material.
Although top dressing does have many benefits, it should only be done throughout the warmer months. If top dressing is done in the cooler months the lawn will often not be growing at a fast enough rate to repair itself, smothering the lawn and limiting all/most sunlight for extended periods of time. Therefore it is best to avoid top dressing your lawn in winter.
Watering
For the most part, fully established lawns shouldn’t need much additional irrigation. However, throughout the warmer months in spring, summer, and autumn, additional irrigation may be needed if:
- The leaf is wilting or losing colour.
- If a footprint is left behind on the lawn when you walk across it. If your lawn is well hydrated it should be able to bounce back.
- During hot weather, if it is looking dry, taking on a brown colour, there’s a good chance it needs water.
If your lawn needs water, it is best to irrigate it early in the morning. This will help reduce water loss due to evaporation and limit fungal disease. In winter, rainfall should provide sufficient irrigation to your lawn. During winter most lawns will receive less light throughout the day. When additional watering’s are done, the lawn can often sit damp without the opportunity to dry out. In some cases, this can lead to the grass developing fungal diseases.
Granular fertilising
Granular fertilisers are a great way to help give your lawn a sustained boost, delivering nutrients that your lawn needs to thrive. These fertilisers are best used throughout the warmer months when your lawn is actively growing. When the lawn is actively growing, it can absorb these nutrients as they are released.
If your lawn looks like it needs a boost during winter, it is best to use liquid fertiliser products like Exceed and soil conditioner like Lawn Kelper.
While all these lawn care activities are and provide many benefits for the lawn, they should be avoided during the cooler winter months. For more information on what lawn care activities you can do during the cooler months, check out our winter lawn care blog here.
