Just like you would prepare a winter wardrobe or get your firewood or heating organised for winter, your lawn too needs to be prepared to manage the cold days of winter.
If your lawn has some weeds or isn’t quite as thick as it was before summer, then now is the time to act and get your lawn up to scratch so it is better equipped to handle the cold conditions. A strong, healthy lawn leading into winter is the key to having a healthy lawn come out the other side.
Once soil temperatures drop below 14 degrees Celsius your grass will start to slow down and go semi-dormant. This is a protection method warm-season turfgrasses use to protect themselves from the harsh conditions of winter. Because most grasses in Australia are warm-season varieties, they never really go fully dormant and will continue to grow but at a much slower rate. It’s for this reason, that they still have the capacity to take up some nutrients which will be beneficial for keeping them strong through winter.
What you can do now:
Fertilise
Fertilising your lawn now with a slow release granular fertiliser like Lawn Solutions Fertiliser will provide a controlled released of nutrient to your lawn for up to 12 weeks. Because most grasses in Australia are warm-season varieties, they never really go fully dormant and will continue to grow but at a much slower rate. It’s for this reason, that the grass still has the capacity to take up some nutrients which will be beneficial for keeping it strong through winter.
A liquid fertiliser like Exceed is also a great option to use throughout the cooler months.
Pre-Emergent Herbicide Application
Lawn Solutions OxaFert and Oxa-Pro are pre-emergent herbicides for the control of many annual grasses and broad-leaf weeds in warm season turf. The idea of using a pre-emergent herbicide is to target weed seeds before they take hold by forming a barrier at soil level that affects the germination of any new seedlings. Spreading Oxafert or Oxapro out now will give your lawn protection for up to 3 months from winter weeds.
ColourGuard
ColourGuard is a natural organic grass colourant that strengthens and protects grass under extreme conditions and instantly restores the colour by providing natural green pigment back into the grass leaf. ColourGuard applied now will improve your lawns colour and help to protect the leaf from the cold and frost.
In most areas of Australia, it is still a good time to lay turf. For more information on the different turf varieties available and the characteristics that would be best suited for your lawn area click here.
