Winter is here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should forget about your lawn.
While warm weather grasses like Kikuyu can go slightly dormant over winter, tall fescue and other cooler season grasses will keep growing – especially in Auckland where we generally have mild winters and don’t see many frosts.
As winter settles in, below is a few things you should think about to maintain a healthy lawn in preparation for an amazing looking lawn Spring and Summer.
Mowing
Mowing is still an important component of lawn care in winter. It’s important to keep mowing every 10 days or so and at a higher setting. This means there is more grass blade exposed to the sun which helps it photosynthesise.
Removing Weeds
During winter, weeds take advantage of the lawn’s weakened state to fill gaps in your lawn or where you have thin grass coverage. Winter weeds germinate at lower soil temperatures, and broad-leafed weeds can be easily controlled with a selective herbicide.
Typical examples of broad-leafed weeds you find in your lawn are; clover, dandelions, catsear, plantain, capeweed, clover and thistles.
Fertilising and Soil Health
Feed your lawn and soil: It’s a good idea to apply a gentle lawn fertiliser 2-3 times (e.g. pre, during & at the end of winter) to allow your lawn and soil to take in all the nutrients it needs to strengthen itself for colder weather and to keep it green.
Moss Control: If your lawn is not thick and healthy over Winter, the Moss can quickly take over your lawn. Late Winter to early Spring is an ideal time to keep the Moss in check.
Over-sowing
You can still sow grass in Winter in Auckland as we have pretty mild winters compared to the rest of the country. However germination will be slower and you should allow 10-20 days during this cooler period. You can thicken up tired and worn lawns by over-sowing with a premium grass seed.