The following guide will help you to maintain your lawn to be lush and healthy, during the different seasons of the year.

Spring

The months of Spring are an important time of year to get your lawn growing. The best place to start is to ensure that the soil your lawn is growing in is ready, by completing a turf specific soil test that quantifies the levels of all major nutrients, essential minor nutrients, and organic matter in the soil.

Lawn grasses obtain thirteen of sixteen essential nutrients from the soil via the root system. Therefore, the nutrient status of the soil is critical in ensuring that the appropriate level of nutrient is available to ensure the lawn has optimal growing conditions. A lawn growing in a well-balanced soil will outperform undesirable weed species and will be more capable of tolerating the stresses experienced during the lawn season. More information on soil balance and soil amendments can be found in our Guide to Soil Amendment and Nutrition Management.

As spring begins the soil warms up your lawn will begin to grow more vigorously, and by applying fertiliser you can accelerate the process by providing the nutrition your lawn needs to get growing.

Controlled Release Nitrogen (CRN) Fertilisers allow lawns to recover from the winter stresses, releasing nutrients into the lawn over an extended period of up to twelve weeks, allowing you to save time and money.

CRN fertilisers, such as

• Maintain
• Maintain Mini
• Turfmaxx

are LawnPride product choices with varying NPK ratios and particle sizes.

These professional products offer greater fertiliser efficiency over differing lawn growing regimes and conditions. CRN fertilisers will control the release of Nitrogen for up to twelve weeks maintaining growth habit and reducing mowing frequency, clippings, and pest & disease problems.

More information on fertilising your lawn can be found in our Guide to Soil Amendment and Nutrition Management.

With Spring a peak period for weed germination, preventing weed growth is all about having a protective barrier that prevents weeds from germinating. If you apply pre-emergent herbicide when the weed seeds have already germinated, you have missed your chance to stop them growing. These emerged weeds will need to be controlled using a post emergent herbicide.

Pre-emergent herbicides such as Barricade and Spartan, give six months control from weeds germinating in your lawn. Once the pre-emergent barrier is in your soil, you can focus on controlling any weeds that have emerged in your lawn with a post emergent herbicide that controls the weeds you have.

If your lawn requires some time to recover, or you are considering renovating your lawn, hold off on the pre-emergent and consider using a post emergent whilst your health improves.

Post-emergent herbicide controls existing weeds. When you have weeds in your lawn, control them with a post-emergent herbicide. More information on weed control for your lawn can be found in our Guide to Weed Control in Your Lawn

Late Spring is the right time to renovate your lawn. Your lawn renovation process can be as simple as amending the soil environment back into the favour of desirable species, along with aeration and weed control, or as complicated as completely removing the existing vegetation and then re-establishing the lawn area.

For everything you need to know about renovation, go to our Guide to Lawn Renovation.

Also, if you’ve had previous lawn pest attacks the best way to combat these pests is by applying Acelepryn GR which offers protection for up to six months. Acelepryn GR controls a wide range of insect pests including African Black Beetle, Argentinian Scarab, Billbugs, and several species of caterpillars including Cutworm, Sod Webworm and Lawn Armyworm.

Summer

With your spring program completed, your lawn will be looking well on the way to being healthy and lush.

As the summer months can be very dry months in Australia, it is the most challenging time of year. Whilst the amount of water applied depends on your turf type, a general rule of thumb is to water your lawn early morning at least three times a week, to allow the surface water to absorb into the soil and any other water to evaporate.

You should never water grass at night, as the water will sit on top of your lawn, and this can lead to disease problems.

With water being a precious and expensive commodity, it is best to use a wetting agents such as Hydramaxx or Hydramaxx G to get the best from the water you apply. These soil wetting agents assists to overcome water repellent soil and also improves infiltration as well as moisture retention, holding the water where it can be used by your lawn.

Pests and diseases in your lawn are common in summer, as the humid temperatures prevail. You can learn more about managing pests and diseases in your lawn by referring to our Guide to Pest and Disease Management

Summer is also time to get your next application of Controlled Release Nitrogen (CRN) Fertiliser and to consider the use of Liquid fertilisers to correct deficiencies, stimulate root growth, and the general health and presentation of your lawn.

Autumn

Coming into the cooler months, you should prepare turf for upcoming winter. Prevent the winter weeds from germinating by applying your second application of pre-emergent, within six months of your application earlier in the year, is important.

Reapplying HydraMaxx to get the best from the water you are applying and Acelepryn GR to keep your pest control in check is also best practice.

Be on the watch for disease and use our Guide to Pest and Disease Management to help you should you encounter problems.

It is also time to reapply your Controlled Release Nitrogen (CRN) Fertilisers, with Turfmaxx having balanced N:K ratios which is perfect for keeping your lawn healthy into winter.

Winter

The winter months are a quiet season for most lawns in Australia; even so, there are still a few seasonal jobs to do. In particular, late august is the perfect time to feed your lawn with some Turfmaxx which is perfect for keeping your lawn healthy through winter.

Also raise your mowing height is recommended to prevent damage, keep winter leaves and debris off your lawn to maintain airflow and access to light, and make sure you are not putting too much water on the lawn whilst it is dormant.

Aeration of your lawn should be carried out on a regular basis and the winter period is a good time to complete this task. Aeration reduces surface compaction as well as improving water, air and fertiliser moving into the soil profile.

Lawn Care Programs

As you can see, getting the best out of your lawn requires a few important steps that once followed, give you great results. To ensure you get the best from your lawn, LawnPride have developed a range of Lawn Care Programs for the popular turf varieties commonly used for Aussie lawns.

You can also contact our support team at info@lawnpride.com.au where we can answer your questions and help you to have the best lawn in the street!