While we may dream of low maintenance lush green lawns with cut in stripes, the reality of having such a lawn without the right care may be unobtainable unless you opt for an artificial lawn. Proper lawn care will vastly improve your chances of greener grass that’s thick and lush ready for the summer.
Here are 3 reasons why your lawn looks terrible:
1) You are over cutting your lawn.
Give it a chance to grow. If you are cutting it too regularly it will cause the grass to yellow and die. Most grass used for residential gardens doesn’t need to be cut any more than every 1-2 weeks and no more than 1/3 of the overall height. So if you’re aiming for 3” grass height then mow your lawn when it reaches 4.5”.
Taller grass also has the added benefit of shading out weeds, saving you from destroying the grass with weed killer (see point 2). The more you cut the grass puts it under stress and makes it less resistant to weeds and pests.
2) You are killing your grass by using too much weed killer!
Don’t forget that ultimately weed killer is a chemical. Dig out the larger weeds with a trowel and the smaller ones by hand. Instead, look to organic lawn care fertilizers which will promote growth and strengthen the roots. Look for lawn care fertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Be careful to not choose one with too much nitrogen as this can lead to excessive growth which looks good short term, but will leave you with discoloured grass long term.
3) You’re Impatient
When it comes to lawn care and growing greener grass you have to play the long game. There’s no use putting down fertilizer two weeks before the summer season starts and expect fast results. Plan early. Start preparing your lawn in autumn which has ideal growing conditions for your lawn: cool nights, warm days and plenty of rainfall for your lawn. Your grass needs this time to recover from any damage from long sunny days that will dry it out so this is an ideal time to begin your lawn care regime.
