Rain may be coming in some areas and these top tips will ensure your brown lawn returns greener and healthier
“Almost every British garden lawn will have been damaged by the drought” is the warning from one of Britain’s top lawn care experts, and he gives advice on what to do now to aid recovery.
Surveying an almost white lawn in Cambridgeshire, near his home, Richard Salmon, the founder of ProLawnCare UK, is confident that careful maintenance now and even after the rain returns, will pay dividends later in the year.
A typical scene of a drought damaged lawn
“Although your lawn is the colour of a loaf, there will still be perennial weeds such as dandelion, catsear, mallow and more besides whose long tap roots reach down to moisture to keep them alive. When it does rain they will have a head start over the grass and expand rapidly. They need removing now,” he says.
Despite the drought this mallow is thriving and will have a head start over the grass when it rains
“In addition lawns should be scarified (mechanical raking) to remove dead grass and thatch and then aerated by spiking with a special tool or a garden fork. Then oversow with the appropriate lawn seed and an organic autumn fertiliser, not too high in Nitrogen though, then once lawns are moist, the dead areas of grass killed off by the drought will be revitalised.
“Aerating the lawn allows rain, seed, top dressing and fertiliser to reach down to the grass root system and helps prevent flash flooding after a major rain storm.”
But Richard’s Gold Medal winning treatment, the one used at bowling clubs and golf courses, is to brush in, with a stiff broom, a turf dressing of a finely screened sand:soil mixture. This will (i) cover the seed to aid germination, (ii) fill the holes made by aeration to keep the holes open for longer and (iii) help to fill any unevenness or undulations in the lawn.
Richard has spent his entire career in lawn care and has a poignant message for all lawn owners.
“Lawns will naturally green up after the rains but they are all in trouble from the drought and will not fully recover without help. This treatment plan will give them the boost they need and avoid dead patches and a build-up of moss and weeds later in the season.”
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