All lawn types have thatch, no matter whether cool season or warm season turf variants. So what is lawn thatch, is it a problem, do we need to control it, and how should we control it if needs be.
What Is Lawn Thatch
Lawn thatch can be categorised as the above ground components of a lawn, as opposed to any underground components such as roots and rhizomes. More specifically however, when we talk about thatch in lawns in respect to lawn care we are most often meaning the brown part of the lawn which sits underneath the green top leaf of the lawn.
So we may say that our lawns are getting quite thatchy this season, and what we would mean by that would be that the entire top living area of the lawn is noticeably thickening up in a manner which may be undesirable.
We can also say that the thatch layer was exposed after lawn mowing, and by this we would mean that the underlying brown part of the lawn has been exposed after mowing. Yet this brown part of the lawn only became exposed because we either mowed the lawn too short, or because or the entire above soil component of the lawn had thickened up too much and so the brown part of the lawn then was exposed after mowing at our regular cutting heights.
It sounds a little confusing, so we should always look to the CONTEXT of what is being described.
While lawn thatch would most often be described as the living components of a lawn above the soil, the term can also include any dead and decaying natural matter as well, which might be old dead stolons in the lawn, old leaves falling amongst the thatch and breaking down, and any lawn clippings which may also be sitting within the knit of the upper turf layer which are also decomposing.
Thatch Is Normal
Lawn thatch is a very normal component of the lawn, without it we wouldn’t have a lawn at all. It is only when the thatch layer begins to get out of control, too thick and too high and too spongy, that it begins to present a problem for us.
This can be evident in Buffalo lawns, most especially those grown in full sun conditions, which will keep thatching up year after year, and can eventually become quite high and thick, with this problem exacerbated when such a lawn is not being mowed frequently enough, as the regular lawn mowing will keep such thatch buildup under control to a large extent.
All the warm season lawns will feel very spongy underfoot as well, once they become too heavily thatched. This might feel nice underfoot, but it is deceiving, excessive thatch is a real problem for lawns which will need to be dealt with one way or another at some time.
The best ways to keep lawn thatch under control without the lawn becoming spongy or too thick and high, is with regular lawn mowing which is appropriately matched to the season of the year.
It is also a good idea for many lawn owners to cut their lawns back into the thatch in the Spring each year too. This involves cutting the lawn at a lower height for a few lawn mowings to get rid of some of the excess thatch layer, and then the warm season lawn can bring itself back to health soon thereafter as the weather begins to warm and the growing season begins again. After which time we return to our normal preferred lawn mowing heights once more for the rest of the year.
Removing Excessive Lawn Thatch
As just outlined, we can cut back the thatch in the Spring to help remove excessive thatch on a yearly basis, or every few years, or just whenever necessary. This should be enough to get into the thatch to cut it back and remove a fair portion of it, yet done gently and safely. Slowly lowering lawn mowing heights over subsequent mowings.
For lawns such as Couch and Zoysia we can vertimow our lawns, to really cut away almost all the upper layer of the turf, to then let it restore itself anew through the growing season. This is an appropriate method of de-thatching such lawn types as both have rhizomes (underground runners) to help repair the lawn back to full health again.
Buffalo lawns however should not be vertimowed as they only comprise of Stolons (above ground runners), and so cannot so easily repair themselves from this vigorous turf renovation. Some contractors may vertimow a Buffalo lawn, though this does require great skill to do properly. A Buffalo lawn would be best suited to lawn coring to help remove thatch build up, in combination with cutting back the thatch layer with a rotary lawn mower in the Spring, as already outlined.
For most of us, we may be able to control our lawn thatch quite successfully each year with just the cutting back method in the Spring.
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