This Month in a Nutshell

Apart from a few easy jobs just enjoy the garden and some very welcome warm sunny weather.

Summary 'to do' list for now through June:

• Fertilising
• Pest and disease control
• Weed Control
• Repair damage caused by wear and tear

The Weather

Now we're coming into some drier warmer weather the lesson is... take every opportunity in good conditions to improve the health (and therefore drought tolerance) of your lawn with good lawn care practices including aeration, fertilisation, weed control and seeding!

So onwards and upwards to what looks like a wonderful month of gardening, mowing, BBQ's and the great outdoors...

June long range forecast courtesy of the Met Office:

30th May to 8th June
High pressure continuing to be the dominant feature at the start of the period. Most areas should remain predominantly dry with a fair amount of sunshine. Light winds are likely in most of the UK, but some southern and eastern areas will see breezier conditions. Remaining warm for most of the country, but feeling cooler along coasts, where onshore winds occur. A very small chance of showers and possibly thunderstorm development in the south as we move into early June. By the start of the following week mostly dry and settled weather patterns are expected to remain, especially further north. More unsettled conditions are likely to take over southern areas by the end of the period, but with temperatures staying above average for much of the country.

9th to 23rd June
Although dry, settled conditions are likely to persist in central and northern parts of the UK, there is an increasing probability of unsettled weather in the south of the country, which may extend northward as June continues. Prolonged spells of rain or thundery showers are possible. Generally, winds are expected to remain fairly light, though sea breezes will develop at times in coastal areas. Temperatures are likely to be above average for the time of year for much of Britain, though eastern coastal areas may remain closer to normal, with a greater chance of onshore winds here.

Did your Lawn Suffer in the Drought last Summer?

By the looks of our email inbox there are a lot of poorly lawns that weren't able to be repaired after the summer of 2022. We have help for you in our Lawn Trends section but wanted to draw your attention to the practice of using a wetting agent as a preventative in our article How to Stop my Lawn Drying Out.

What's New?

In our new section Lawn Care Problems we have added dozens of new articles to help you care for your lawn. They answer many of the most common and not so common problems and questions you ask us on a day to day basis. Here are the latest articles added during the last few months:

New for this Lawn Diary

• Can I mix Grass Seeds Together
• Over Seeding to Change Grass Type

From the previous Lawn Diary

• Restoring an Old Lawn
• Which Lawn Moss Killer to use and When

Lawn Trends - A MUST Visit

Please visit the most import and current seasonal articles here

Mowing the Lawn

Regular mowing is the key to a great lawn. With June temperatures and a little moisture, growth should be at its best so regular mowing will produce a beautiful dense turf. Regular means at least once a week.

If conditions are or become dry then growth will be slow but do mow at least every 10 to 14 days to control coarse grasses and seed heads.

Finally adjust your mowing height to suit the growing conditions.

Mowers

For the mowing season you need to do two things: keep it clean and keep it sharp. If the grass is lush or damp it can easily build up inside the mower so always give the mower a good brush, scrape or hose down after every use. Secondly, if you do a lot of mowing, then be prepared to sharpen or swap blades mid-year to maintain a clean cut.

Fertilising the Lawn

If this is your first application of the year use a 2-3 month slow release Spring & Summer fertiliser. It has good grass safety and will take you through until the autumn.

Similarly, if you made an early spring application of spring & summer fertiliser you should be considering your second application about now. Alternatively using liquid fertiliser every 4 to 6 weeks allows more control for the lawn enthusiast. Timing will depend largely on what and when you applied previously, recent growth and rainfall. If soil moisture is available and growth has slowed with some loss of colour then consider an application to maintain looks, colour and health.

If you gave your lawn a feed with Lawnsmith® Extra-LONG fertiliser in spring you're sorted and your next feed should be in autumn if desired.

Spreading Fertiliser Videos Spraying Videos View Fertiliser Range

Weed Control

Weeds should be well on the way now so this is a great month for applying weed killer to the whole lawn either by knapsack sprayer or watering can if you have not already done so. If you're using a watering can try the weed & feed sprinkle bar for faster more accurate application.

If you've been diligent with your weed control and have few weeds then keep at it with a combination of spot treating individual weeds with a Ready to Use Weed Killer or manually removing any obvious large weeds.

See Weed Identification for more detail and control methods.

WARNING: Do not apply weed killer to dry or parched lawns other than as a spot treatment.

Watch the Video See Weed Killer See Sprayers

Moss Control

Wait now until autumn.

Watch the Video Moss Killer Products

Watering the Lawn

If you water this month do it in the mornings to reduce the likelihood of red thread. This is also the time when dry patches or fairy rings start appearing in the lawn. They can easily spoil an otherwise great looking lawn so a little effort in this direction pays dividends. Some watering, a little very shallow spiking and applications of wetting agent is all that will be required from now until perhaps August. See Pests and Diseases below.

Aeration & De-compaction

As discussed in Lawn Aeration Advice, aeration is highly beneficial if done properly. If conditions allow, using lawn aerators such as a rolling aerator or aerator sandals makes it the job relatively easy. At the very least you should be looking to use a fork on the most trafficked areas around clothes lines, path-to-lawn entry points, kid's goal mouth and postman's shortcut. Add grass seed and fertiliser to any worn areas after aeration then water thoroughly.

Please note that it is now too late to be slitting or using a hollow tine aerator. These increase drying so if conditions are or become dry you are just compounding the problem.

Watch the Video See Aerators

Raking & Scarifying

Wait until autumn.

Watch the Video See the Scarifier

Repairs & Renovations

The late spring and summer months are the time the lawn is used most. If children and teenagers are enjoying playing outdoors then damage can soon occur. Getting on top of it early is a wise move. Rotate areas of use if possible and then water, spike and fertilise heavily used areas. Do the same for worn areas but with the addition of about 10 to 20 grass seeds per square inch.

Renovation requires water to help the grass repair and recover so only undertake renovation and seeding if you can water if conditions are or become dry. Any turfing laid will require regular watering to establish.

Pests & Diseases

The disease to watch out for from May onwards is red thread; occurring as humidity levels rise causing severe disfiguring of the grass leaves. There are ways to reduce its impact with the careful use of watering and fertiliser so read the red thread advice.

In addition, if your lawn suffers from 'dry patch' or 'fairy rings' then as the lawn dries these will become more evident. Watering, very light spiking, fertiliser and a wetting agent will go a long way to relieving the problem.

Chafer Beetles may also be seen around the garden. A very common insect throughout the UK and Europe hatching in May to June - hence the name June Bug! If you see large numbers, have a read of our Chafer Grub advice as this may indicate a forthcoming lawn problem.

Finally, this is the month ants become very active so if hills start forming in or around the lawn you'll need some ant bait stations or ant-stop granules. The granules are brilliant for stopping the ants in their tracks but do be careful with the concentration - more is not necessarily better! The bait stations are best used as a preventative measure after using the sachets.

View Yucca Wetta View Pest & Disease Products

Rolling the lawn

Unlikely to be required until next spring unless you've over sowed.

Top Dressing

Top dressing is an advanced lawn care procedure to reduce thatch and smooth the lawn surface. If you are not a lawn 'nut' then I suggest you don't need to bother!

If you are, then you should have your first dressing done and may be considering a second around now. Not a problem if there is plenty of moisture and growth is good. Application rates and frequency will vary depending on your goals and type of lawn so please read our top dressing advice.

The New Lawn

With potentially dryer months just round the corner put this off until autumn unless you can water the area daily.

View Grass Seed Blends

Thanks for visiting the Lawn Diary

Have a great month