Why is my lawn brown?
Why is my lawn brown?
Many of you may be looking at your lawn and wondering what you can do to help the lawn to regain its healthy green appearance?
We will cover this within the blog but would like to talk through the reasons why a lawn will turn brown during periods of drought.
Lawns reach a point where they will look to conserve and preserve energy rather than continue to grow as without adequate water through volume or even frequency, a lawn is unable to support such growth.
Grass is amazing, it is resilient to many things, indeed in the Winter when soil temperatures drop, the grass plant will conserve energy within the root system and await warmer weather to begin growing again, the same occurs in extreme dry and hot weather.
During sustained periods of heat and drought the grass plant ceases production of chlorophyll (this is what makes grass green) and divert all available reserves to its roots, this is a natural defence system as the grass moves to survival mode.
Once temperatures are more favourable and water is available the grass will release the remaining reserves of chlorophyll and nutrients which were stored away in the roots and begin to grow again, to some degree the colour is restored – however repeated periods of lawn stress (drought and heat) will damage grass and its ability to recover, this ultimately results in lawn damage where weeds and moss will begin to develop and overrun a lawn.
To repair and restore a lawn, Autumn machine renovation along with seeding will be required.
So, what can you do?
· Providing there are no hosepipe restrictions in place, we recommend watering, this should ideally be done at least twice a week – mimic a heavy thunderstorm as this will encourage the grass roots to develop further into the soil and seek out water reserves.
· Apply around 25mm of water in the morning, if you are unable to do this maybe a timer could be fitted to the tap?
· Evening watering is better than not at all, however as the air temperature is generally mild / warm overnight leaving water sat on the surface of the lawn which can encourage lawn disease such as red thread.
· Mow weekly throughout the growing season (mid-March – October). Set your lawn mower to the highest setting, with a sharp blade, collect the cuttings as if left on the lawn they could encourage excessive thatch growth, restrict light and look unsightly. Mowing your lawn too short (scalping) not only places the lawn sward under stress it also exposes the crown (base) of the plant making it susceptible to disease and damage, mowing short also exposes the soil to direct sunlight and is more likely to dry out.
· Mulching mowing is a fantastic method however a huge commitment is required as the mowing needs to occur daily or at least 3 times a week as the small, fine cuttings are distributed throughout the lawn which helps to retain and redistribute the nutrients back to the ground –Mulching mowing is achieved by using a specialist mulching mower or a robotic mower
· Maintain your planned treatment schedule, we will visit and apply a suitable fertiliser to help regulate the lawns required nutrient intake (granular or liquid fertiliser). We work with the current and predicted weather conditions and your lawn specific needs – a point which sets us apart from the national franchises
· Apply a wetting agent, this will encourage efficient water penetration to the root system, retaining it there and is great for maximising watering effectiveness. Wetting agent applications are recommended throughout the summer months. Once a wetting agent has been applied, heavy watering of the lawn should occur once per week whilst the wetting agent is active (6-8 weeks)
