Is your lawn looking worse for wear this winter?
A certain amount of maintenance is needed to keep any lawn healthy and thriving. Since replacing your grass can be extremely expensive, using a lawn care company can actually be more cost-effective in the long run.
Our lawn care company in South Wales can deliver all aspects of maintenance and cover a wide range of locations throughout the area, including Newport. In the meantime, here’s some tips on taking care of your lawn.
It’s vital to tailor your lawn care according to the weather and various other conditions.
That includes the quality of soil, shade, mowing height and frequency, type of grass, insect damage and drainage. All of these are critical to the health and appearance of any lawn. To get started, you might want to look at our winter tips.
Grass responds to mowing and proper feeding, how it’s important to never cut your grass shorter than 1 – 1.1/2 inches or more than 1/3 of its overall length at any one time. It’s also vital to remove clippings and to never scalp the grass, especially in dry weather.
When grass is not growing quickly, it’s usually best to give it a small clean up. You might want to let it grow longer in the summer during those dry spells, because it will become more tolerant to droughts.
How does shade affect the quality of your lawn?
Lawns growing in shade and in sheltered positions stay damper longer. This dampness can often encourage moss, which, as you've probably discovered, can quickly take over..
It’s important to realise that grass needs a few hours of sun each day to grow correctly. If you can, cut back branches and shrubs to let light and airflow onto the lawn.
In places like Newport in South Wales, lawns tend to be on heavy clay soils that are poorly drained and hold water encouraging dampness. Thin sandy soils drain too quickly. Clay soils need sand and sandy soils need organic matter added in order to retain moisture.
Our lawn care company can take care of your garden in Newport all year round.
However, you might find you need more help at particular times of the year. Grass enjoys and thrives in periods of warm wet weather.
It can also tolerate cold and dry, cold and wet, and hot and dry periods. As we mentioned earlier, too much rain creates dampness and encourages moss. Moss is usually the biggest problem on most lawns and must be treated every year to avoid causing serious damage.
A good moss control product turns the moss black, but you must not apply too much or you may scorch your lawn. Dead moss must be raked out and seed sown in bare patches of your lawn.
However, if a lawn is too dry, the grass is stressed through lack of moisture. Too much snow can create problems with diseases. It’s best to stay off grass in heavy frosts and very dry weather.
Watering your lawn should be an important part of maintenance.
Although we’ve been having a relatively wet winter, it won’t be long before summer arrives. So, how do you know your grass needs watering?
If after walking on it your grass stays flat and does not spring back up then it requires water. It is better to water heavily once a week than every night! Watering every night will encourage the roots to turn towards the damp surface and encourage moss.
Wetting agents are used extensively by professionals on sports fields and golf courses. While they cannot be a substitute for water they do allow the plants to make maximum use of the available water in the soil. Once a wetting agent starts to work on the soil, water can move more readily and spreads more easily.
The lawn soil can now hold more water with obvious benefits down and sideways in the soil profile. Run-off is reduced, water moves deeper more quickly to the grass. In addition, wetting agents will help stimulate better root development.
When it comes to leaf fall and other debris, it’s important to remove leaves as soon as you can. That’s because leaving them on the grass for a few days can weaken the grass. Remember that grass needs to receive sunshine or it will perish.
Our lawn care company regularly deals with seeds and moss in Newport.
If you’re not sure what type of support you need, simply book a free lawn survey with our team. This enables us to take a look at the current condition of your garden. We can then tailor a treatment plan to meet your exact needs.
If you’re seeking a lawn care company in Newport, simply contact us for more information.
