This Month in a Nutshell

Aside from a few general lawn upkeep tasks, as mentioned already, June is a time to enjoy your lawn and relax due to all the work you’ve done so far this year.

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 that June is upon us, we are finally seeing positive changes to the weather, i.e. less rain and more sunshine, so you can enjoy using your lawn! But remember, the lawn care requirements for your lawn don’t stop here just because the weather has improved.

Better weather means you have more opportunities to improve your lawn’s health (mainly drought tolerance) with proper lawn care practices, including aerating your lawn, fertilising, weed control, and over seeding.

So, let’s delve into what June’s weather has in store for what looks to be a fantastic month of gardening, relaxing, BBQs, and enjoying the great outdoors!

June long-range forecast courtesy of the Met Office:

Sunday 26 May - Tuesday 4 June

On Sunday, the weather is likely to be a mix of showers and warm sunshine. Later, a band of rain may move in from the west, but this will become weak as it pushes east across the UK. By Bank Holiday Monday, there may still be some showers around, but otherwise, it will be dry and fine and feel warm in the sunshine.

Into the following week, once any showers have cleared, more settled conditions are more likely for most, with the best of the weather likely in the southwest. Rain may threaten northwestern areas at times, and there is a chance that southern or eastern areas may see the odd heavy or thundery outbreak of showers. Temperatures are likely to remain a little above average, with some regional variation.

Wednesday 5 Jun - Wednesday 19 June

The signal for any meaningful high (or low) pressure regime to become established remains elusive, which suggests that the weather could remain fairly changeable through June, with variations on what this will look like across the country. Signals for both temperature and rainfall indicate a ‘more likely above average’ overall. This suggests that further rain or showers are likely, possibly heavy or thundery at times. As is normal for the time of year, there is likely to be some spells of warm sunshine between these showers.

What's New?

In our Lawn Care Problems section, we have updated dozens of 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 some articles you might find helpful throughout June:

New for this Lawn Diary

• Summer Lawn Care
• Best Lawn Food for Summer
• Repairing Burnt Summer Lawns

From the previous Lawn Diary

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

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 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 your mower 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 lawn enthusiasts. Timing will depend largely on what and when you applied previously and 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 of year when dry patches or fairy rings appear on 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 a wetting agent are 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 the job relatively easy. At the very least, you should be looking to use a fork on the most trafficked areas around clotheslines, path-to-lawn entry points, kid’s goal mouth and postman’s shortcut. Add grass seed and fertiliser to any worn areas after aeration, and 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 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 lawn is used most in the late spring and summer months. If children and teenagers enjoy playing outdoors, then damage can soon occur. Getting on top of it as early as possible 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 it if conditions 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 careful 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 in 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 be careful with 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 that reduces thatch and smoothens the lawn’s surface. If you are not a lawn ‘nut’, then I suggest you don’t need to bother!

If you are, you should have your first dressing done and may consider a second around now. It’s 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 around 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