Too many of us will often just forget all about our lawns over Winter, thinking that the lawn is asleep, dormant, and doesn’t need any care or attention at all, but we would be wrong in thinking such things, as Winter lawn care is very important for the ongoing health of our lawns not just in Winter, but all year round. So let’s show a little love to our lawns in Winter, they don’t need much attention, and they will repay us many times over for the little love we give them during the coldest months.
A well cared for lawn in Winter will reduce our weeds not just in Winter but all year round and for the life of the lawn too. We can ensure a healthier and greener lawn in Winter and a lawn which will green up at rapid speed as soon as Spring arrives. We’ll also be keeping our lawns and gardens and homes in tip-top shape, clean and tidy and in good order too.
So let’s all give our lawns some love over Winter, not much is required, and we will reap the rewards for our efforts all year round.
Lawn Fertilising Over Winter
Correct lawn fertilising before and during Winter does wonders for the health of our lawn generally. By applying a fertiliser which contains Iron about a month before Winter sets in, we will have a greener and healthier lawn throughout Winter.
Likewise by applying a lawn fertiliser which contains Iron in the middle of Winter, we can add a little more health to our lawns for the rest of Winter, however our real results from this mid-Winter lawn fertilising will be seen most evidently in Spring, when we will see our lawn jump back to life with speed and health before our eyes. Nothing else can green up a lawn in Spring faster and more effectively than applying a good quality lawn fertiliser in mid Winter or even later in Winter.
See our article, fertilising lawns in Winter.
Winter Weed Control
Winter is a popular time for lawn weeds to populate themselves in our turf, and it’s also a fine time of year for us to go to battle with them too.
Hand pulling weeds when they appear in our lawns is the easiest, cheapest and safest method to control lawn weeds. I personally never use weed sprays on my lawn, I instead hand pull every time weeds appear, so they never have a way to spread. I can never stop weeds from entering my lawn, but I can easily stop them from staying in or spreading in it.
Others who may like to use weed sprays can use them in Winter too. Best practice would be of course to wait until there are a few days since last rain and at least a few days or more before next expected rains, to ensure the best application and to reduce the chance of the herbicide being washed away from off the lawn weeds.
Wintergrass also needs to be treated in Winter. This herbicide acts on the roots of this particular weed and so is usually watered into the lawn soil after application. Wintergrass must be treated in early Winter when the weeds are at their most vulnerable. Wintergrass can also be treated pre-emergent prior to these weeds even appearing a month before Winter arrives. In this case we deduce that if we had Wintergrass last year - that we will have it again this year, and worse, so we prepare for it and spray for it when the herbicide is most effective, about a month before it emerges or just after it emerges in our lawns.
The more mature the Wintergrass weeds become, the more ineffective the herbicide becomes. The chances of killing Wintergrass from mid-Winter to Spring is greatly diminished. This is one weed that needs to be caught and treated young, and as soon as we see it.
Lawn Mowing Continuation
Provided that our lawns don’t completely go into dormancy and fall asleep over Winter, we should keep up our lawn mowing over Winter months for a number of reasons.
Firstly is that most lawns in Australia are still growing and still do need mowing to remain in good order with proper ongoing maintenance. While growth rates do slow right down, so too then will we reduce the frequency of our lawn mowing too. So if we cut every two weeks in Summer, we might cut every four weeks in Winter.
If our lawn experiences frost damage and browning off at times over Winter, then a light lawn mowing to remove the tips of the leaf of the lawn should help to green up the lawn again, making it a little more aesthetically pleasing.
Lawn mowing over Winter also helps to control thatch buildup. Many people can wrongly assume that their lawn may not seem like it’s growing too much over Winter, so to save themselves a little time and effort, or a few bucks, they stop mowing their lawn in Winter. The problem arises that many lawns around Australia do not go fully dormant in Winter but instead only go semi-dormant and slow their growth rates. So while the lawn is may not appear to be growing fast or high, be assured that the underlying thatch layer is active, and strengthening itself over this time.
Problems then appear when Spring arrives and lawn mowing resumes and the lawn is heavily thatched up, leading to other problems which need to be overcome in order to reduce that thatch layer safely without possibly damaging the lawn.
Also, after Autumn and through the often high winds of Winter we all know that a lot of leaves blow around, and a lot of other organic material and other small bit of rubbish is blown through our streets and our yards and onto our lawns. A quick lawn mowing will bring the entire outside of our home into a good and clean order once more, and will remove all that excess matter from our lawns. It’s always nice to pull into our driveways to see our lawns and gardens and home in good order and clean, even in Winter.
Regular lawn mowing in Winter also cuts back many weeds that appear at this time of year, removing all those weed seeds while mowing, so that future weed infestations in our lawns are greatly controlled and reduced. Without regular lawn mowing over Winter we can only expect that our lawns will become much more weedy at all other times of year. Regular lawn mowing is good weed control maintenance which shows results in our lawns throughout all times of year for the entire life of our lawns.
Lawn Watering
Watering lawns in Winter? Are we mad? Perhaps, perhaps not. Some parts of Australia can go for long periods in Winter without significant rainfall to keep our lawns in their best health. I’ve seen some lawns doing quite poorly over Winter and the culprit was lack of water.
Don’t get this wrong, I am not suggesting regular ongoing watering schedules for lawns over Winter. Contrarily, we should all be aiming to turn off reticulation and stop lawn watering over Winter as a matter of practice.
However, we should monitor what’s happening with our lawns throughout the year, including in Winter. And in doing this we should also consider just when the last time it was that it rained. With that consideration we should then take a look at our lawn’s health. If we suspect a problem with the entire lawn due to lack of water, then we could grab a garden spade and dig an opening into the lawn and down into the soil to have a quick check of the soil. 30 seconds to check on the lawn soil should tell us whether our lawn may need a drink of water, even in mid Winter.
Certainly not something most of us need be concerned about, though some of us may be.
Lawn Maintenance
If the weather’s not too cold outside and if we’re in the mood, Winter can be a great time to get out and check around the lawn to look for any problems that may need attention. Though Winter is not the time to undertake lawn repairs as the grass is growing too slowly, we can pay attention and take notes ready for Spring.
Our pop-up sprinklers can be checked, maintained or replaced, ready for when Spring arrives.
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