Frost, Freezing and Snow on the Lawn
Frosty Grass
Frost by itself doesn’t cause any real damage. It’s only when you walk on it the damage occurs. Walking on a frosty lawn causes the frozen grass leaves to fracture. When this happens the frost ruptures the leaf cells seriously damaging the leaves. The effect is that ugly disfiguring foot prints form in the lawn and stay for quite some time.
Though the grass doesn’t suffer long term damage keeping off the lawn in frosty weather is beneficial particularly if the lawn is a feature of the garden. You may need to have a diplomatic word in the postman’s ear!
Freezing
Freezing conditions with or without frost and snow can cause the surface of the lawn to ‘heave up’ in response to water in the ground freezing and swelling. This can be particularly bad if you’ve hollow tined very late (too late) in the year.
Under normal conditions there is nothing you can do to prevent it but be prepared to give the lawn a light rolling in dry conditions in the spring to flatten the raised areas. Ensure worm casts are thoroughly dispersed before rolling.
Snow on the Lawn
Snow itself is generally not a problem but a fungal disease called snow mould (a variant of fusarium) can occur once the snow thaws. This will often happen in unusually dense areas of snow normally where a snow man has spent some time or if you’ve cleared the path or driveway and chucked the snow on the lawn! You’ll know not to do that next time because snow mould can kill the grass!!
If you’ve got kids and snow you’ll get snow men. Not necessarily the best thing for the lawn but hey, it’s loads of fun!
Pre-Winter Treatments to Protect the Grass
More Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & Problems
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![Leaves on the Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsLeaf fall can kill grass, cause lawn diseases, increase moss and worm casts. Clear the leaves frequently before they harm your lawn
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![Using Winter & Iron Lawn Fertilisers]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsWinter lawns can look pretty awful but don’t need to be. With a little knowledge and planning you can have a fantastic lawn all year round.
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![Winter Grass & Lawn Poblems]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsPrevention is better than cure but if your winter lawn care falls short then here are the ways to improve a poorly winter lawn
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![Winter Lawn Damage]()
During winter several things can go wrong with your lawn from grass thinning a little, complete loss of grass in some areas to an invasion of moss and strange coloured patches in the lawn.
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![Early Spring Lawn Care Treatments]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsSpring is a busy time for lawns and gardens as plants and grass start growing. We’ll cover everything that is needed starting with early spring.
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![Spring Lawn Repair]()
After a dismal winter your lawn can be in a terrible state. Help is at hand here!
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![May 2019 Lawn Diary]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsBy end of April and into May the lawn should be growing well so you can complete your lawn care and grass maintenance plans for the spring ready for the summer.
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![Flooded Lawns]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsHow to repair your lawn if it gets flooded or just becomes water logged from excessive rainfall
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![How to Stop my Lawn Drying Out]()
If your lawn dries and the grass turns brown in summer then improving lawn care and using a wetting agent can reduce the severity or stop it completely.
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![Improving Drought Tolerance in Lawns]()
With the right preparation you can affect how long your lawn stays green during dry conditions. See how to retain the green in your grass in summer for longer.
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![My Lawn is Dry]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsGrass in a healthy lawn is very resilient and can survive short periods of drought but after that things can deteriorate rapidly so learn how to drought proof your lawn.
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![Is my Grass Dead or Dormant?]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsWhichever it is the chances are the grass turns a straw brown colour. Other than that, there is visually little difference in the lawn so try some simple tests.
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![How to Revive a Hard Dry Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsThe process can be as simple as just adding water but the benefits of the following watering program have proven to speed and improve the recovery whilst saving time and water
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![Repairing Burnt Summer Lawns]()
How to revive and repair burnt summer lawns and grass after a long period with little or no rain
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![Summer Lawn Care]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsIn summer consideration needs to be given to heat and drought so keeping the lawn correctly fertilised, cut and aerated will help the lawn stay greener longer.
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![When to use a Wetting Agent on the Lawn]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsWetting agents improve rain and water uptake in the lawn. It helps water to penetrate and spread, improving availability to the grass and reducing total water usage.
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![Autumn Lawn Care]()
Seasonal Lawn Care Tips & ProblemsAs autumn approaches the weather starts cooling and getting wetter; the ideal time for feeding and weeding plus any maintenance and repairs before winter.
