Winter Season Lawn Care Tips

When winter comes around, looking after your lawn can be quite stressful! So we’ve decided to list some simple tips for winter lawn care to help deal with cool weather, shorter days and less sunlight.

Mowing:

During the winter, your lawn grows slower just like all the other plants in the garden, so you may you’ll only need to mow once a month, if that. Although, when mowing it is important to switch your mower to catching rather than mulching because decomposition of the grass clippings takes longer in the cooler weather, and could potentially cause fungal issues. It is also necessary to lower the height of your mower. Excessively long grass can smother itself, develop disease, and is at high risk from freezing and thawing conditions. However, be careful that you do not mow the grass so short that you scalp it, as this will expose the crown of the plant to extreme conditions.

Fertilising:

Generally, fertilising your lawn in Winter is not recommended. However, now with an increased understanding of how turf grows and soil functions, along with improvements in fertilisers, feeding during winter is a worthwhile task. Lawn needs extra energy reserves to rebuild the damage caused by cold weather and to maintain its strength.Try using our Sir Walter Fertiliser or Lawn Paint, which will help provide essential nutrients to your grass to stimulate deep root growth.

Watering:

It is common to forget about watering during the winter time, however, an extended period of time without rain can leave your lawn parched and suffering. If it is dry reduce your normal watering duration by half. On the other hand, it is important to make sure that the lawn does not stay damp for too long as that can lead to fungal problems. Therefore, before you water it check that the soil is dry, as you may find that no watering is required.

Sir Walter Buffalo:

• Watering – There will be no need to water your Sir Walter during Winter, assuming there is some rain around.
• Mowing – Don’t mow your Sir Walter too short, it’s more than likely no mowing will be needed during Winter.
• Fertilising – There is no need to fertilise your Sir Walter in Winter.

Couch:

• Watering – There will be no need to water your Couch grass in Winter, assuming there is some rain around.
• Mowing – Your Couch will be dormant during Winter so there will be little need to mow.
• Fertilising – Your Couch will be dormant during winter so there will be little need to fertilise.

Kikuyu:

• Watering – There will be no need to water your Kikuyu during Winter, assuming there is some rain around.
• Mowing – Don’t mow your Kikuyu too short, it’s more than likely no mowing will be needed during Winter.
• Fertilising – There is no need to fertilise your Kikuyu in Winter.

Take action against weeds:

Winter may be the time that those pesky weeds may appear. To control weeds and reduce the likelihood of them returning every winter, you must spray them especially with larger lawns. If you have a small-to-medium sized lawn, weeding by hand is usually the best option.

Raking:

In order to keep your lawn healthy, it is crucial to maximise the amount of sunlight your lawn receives. Raking the lawn can help sunlight reach your lawn as it keeps the leaves and twigs off it. Another problem to look out for is plants that may be casting shade over parts of your lawn. To reduce the shade, prune back plants in a way that keeps them healthy and tidy, but also maximises the sunlight that reaches your lawn.