1-2-3 Lawn Care Programme

Lawn Grasses

The composition of lawns varies widely. Many of the grasses used in lawn seed mixtures are specially bred for characteristics such as fine leaves, hard wearing, persistence, and disease and pest resistance.

Lawns are ‘natural’ habitats for grasses. Less desirable grasses in lawns include paspalum, summer grasses, narrow leaved carpet grass and in heavily worn areas track rush. Grasses like kikuyu; couch/twitch and buffalo grass are weeds in fine turf but are sometimes chosen as the lawn grass in warmer parts or where the lawn needs to be hardwearing and tolerant of drought.

1-2-3 Lawn Care Programme

1. Weed Control

Most weeds in grass lawns are broadleaf weeds (not grasses). Herbicides (weed killers) for lawns selectively kill broadleaf weeds without harm to the lawn grass. Such herbicides work best on growing lawns which have adequate nutrient.

• Get rid of the weeds - LawnPro Turfclean Ultra has been formulated for the control of the widest range of broadleaf weeds in New Zealand lawns. The combination of 4 active ingredients is balanced to ensure the most common weeds in New Zealand lawns are controlled with not risk of burning the fine lawn grasses grown as lawns in New Zealand.
• For lawns prone to Onehunga prickle weed apply LawnPro Turfclean Ultra or LawnPro Prickle and  Hydrocotyle before the weed flowers and produces its prickly seeds (Sept-Nov).
• In spring and autumn apply LawnPro Mossclear to kill moss and its spores. Then scarify to remove dead moss and apply LawnPro 7-Day-Green to raise pH and make the area unsuitable to moss growth.
• Coarse grass weeds in lawns can be spot treated by painting the central crowns with Weed Weapon Invade Gel.

2. Boost the Lawn Grass and Sweeten the Soil

The majority of broadleaf weeds in lawns thrive in acidic soils. Healthy thick swards of lawn grass are resistant to disease and out-compete weeds, reducing the need for applications of herbicide. Applying fertiliser and raising soil pH will encourage lawn grass and discourage weeds.

• Give your lawn grass a boost - Use LawnPro 7-Day-Green to ensure a healthy sward and to raise the pH of the lawn soil. LawnPro 7-Day-Green is a combination of balanced fertiliser and lime.

3. Thicken the Lawn and Fill in Bare Patches

Once the weeds are dead thy can be raked out and the lawn thickened the grass encouraged to fill in the bare patches left by the weeds.

• Loosen the soil surface with a fork and rake it to leave a fine loose layer of soil on the surface.
• Water the lawn thoroughly so the soil 15 cm deep is damp.
• Sow LawnPro Lawn Thickener over the lawn. Lightly rake to incorporate the seed into the surface.
• Where birds are a problem, net the area or tie plastic supermarket bags to canes in the lawn.
• If the weather remains dry for two or three days water gently with a sprinkler.
• Grass should sprout seven to 10 days after sowing

Ongoing Care

Watering

Lush green healthy lawns need water for growth. However, the water is taken up by roots and not leaves; wet leaves promote disease and shallow water evaporates off before roots can absorb it. When required water should be applied so that it seeps deep to where deep rooting grasses can reach it and it will not evaporate off. Many weeds have large root systems and are better able to survive in dry conditions so they can out-compete the lawn grass, so don’t let your lawn suffer drought stress.

• When required, water lawns thoroughly in the morning. Because water on the grass or the soil surface evaporates off quickly thoroughly watering once or twice a week is preferable to light watering frequently.
• Don’t let your lawn soil become dry deep down. During very hot dry conditions some dry soils do not absorb water well and the water runs off rather than percolating down through the soil to the deep roots.
• The addition of gypsum to lawn soils helps break up compacted clay soils and improves loam and water movement deep into the soil.

Mowing and Thatch Removal

Mowing gives an even attractive tidy lawn. However, it is important not to mow lawns too short as this encourages weeds by letting them out-compete the grass. Do not mow grasses below these ideal heights:

• Fine browntop/fescue lawns mow at 20 mm.
• Ryegrass lawns mow at 30-35 mm.
• Never mow off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass.
• Raise the mower height another notch for the final cut of the year in autumn/winter.
• Collect clippings when mowing. Mulching lawns (leaving the clippings) is not recommended; the dead grass becomes a place for disease spores and weed seeds to survive and although the mulch will suppress some weeds it will also suppress grasses.
• Ensure your lawn mower blades are sharp and clean. Blunt lawnmower blades damage the grass leaves leaving ragged edges that will brown off and are more susceptible to disease.
• Balance the build-up and breakdown of lawn thatch with LawnPro D-Thatch.