When most people think of lawn care, they envision standing out in the morning sun, hose in hand, giving their lush green grass a dose of hydration ahead of the blazing summer heat. However, maintaining a healthy and stable lawn involves a year-round commitment to seasonal lawn care.
Every season demands something different from a gardener or landscaper, which is why so many people hire professional teams to take care of their lawns. If you’re tackling this job alone, there are a few fundamentals to pay attention to that will ensure your lawn stays healthy and beautiful all year.
Read on as we break down seasonal lawn care for the uninitiated, from ways to keep your grass hydrated in summer to how to prevent root rot in winter.
Spring: September to November
First on the list for seasonal lawn care is spring. Spring is the season of growth, so it’s the ideal time to give your lawn a strong head start. As the soil begins to warm up and daylight hours increase, your grass will start coming out of its dormant state. This is your chance to encourage healthy new growth.
Your Spring Lawn Care List:
- Dethatch: Over winter, dead grass (or ‘thatch’) will have piled up on top of your lawn. This can smother new shoots that try to crop up in spring, so use a rake to sweep that off your lawn.
- Aerate: The cold season can compact your soil, stopping grass roots from growing properly. Whip on some aeration boots and get air, oxygen, and water moving through the soil.
- Fertilise: Spring is one of the best times to fertilise your soil using natural methods.
Spring is also a great time to reseed any bare patches that have appeared over the winter. If you seeded your existing lawn, pick up the grass seed blend that matches it.
Otherwise, pick one out that suits your region. For instance, ryegrass and fescue are favourites in cooler areas like Canterbury, while kikuyu thrives in the warmer North Island.
Summer: December to February
With summer comes longer, hotter days that your lawn will love, but it can also be a battle to keep your soil hydrated. Your goal during this season is to minimise stress and keep the water flowing, even if there’s a water restriction in place. The key? Efficiency.
Your Summer Lawn Care List:
- Water deeply: Rather than watering every day, choose an early morning a couple of times a week to soak the soil thoroughly and encourage strong root growth.
- Mow high: The lower your grass is mowed, the more vulnerable it is to the heat. Raise that mower a notch and give your grass more time between mows to keep it strong and healthy.
- Watch for pests: The heat can invite all sorts of unwanted bugs, fungi, and grubs that can harm your lawn long-term, so keep an eye out for them.
One of our favourite seasonal lawn care tips is to make your water go further by using a soil-wetting agent if you live in a dry region (e.g., Hawke’s Bay). It helps the water soak even deeper into the soil rather than evaporating off the surface.
Autumn: March to May
If autumn is anything, it’s the season of transition. Your lawn might still look lush, even as the leaf colours change, but cooler temperatures will soon prevail. Higher rainfall and the cold will both signal to your lawn that it’s time to prepare for winter dormancy, so you’ll want to do everything you can to strengthen it for the months ahead.
Your Autumn Lawn Care List:
- Keep the leaves off: The more fallen leaves pile up, the more you risk suffocating your lawn or inviting fungus. Make sure to get out there with a rake or leaf blower every day.
- Reduce mowing: Lawn mowing keeps your garden looking sleek, but it’s also stressful for the grass. Reduce your mowing frequency by half and observe when growth ceases altogether.
- Overseed: If any bare patches have cropped up, overseed them to get some new growth going before the cold hits.
In wetter regions like Wellington, ensure you have good drainage. Excess water can create boggy patches and cause diseases like red thread or brown patch.
Winter: June to August
When winter comes around, your lawn needs one thing: rest. In this particular season, seasonal lawn care looks like leaving your grass to its own devices (as it’s gone into hibernation), with a few notable exceptions. Maintenance is still important to prevent issues when spring returns.
Your Winter Lawn Care List:
- Stay off the grass: The more you walk on dormant grass, the more you risk killing it or compacting the soil enough to prevent new growth in spring.
- Monitor drainage: If you notice significant puddles of water, try aerating those areas to allow the water to move freely.
- Leave the lawn alone: Don’t fertilise, over-mow, or otherwise do anything stressful to the grass. In winter, letting the lawn go unattended is your best bet.
With these seasonal lawn care tips in your back pocket, you’ll have no trouble maintaining a gorgeous green lawn year-round, no matter what the weather tries to throw at you. It can seem intimidating at first, but focus on learning the fundamentals, and your lawn will reward you with stunning growth and sturdy roots.
Access tailored lawn care with the elite team at Paramount Gardening.
Whether you have specific goals for your residential lawn or you’re a commercial premises that wants to look beautiful year-round, we offer customised services to help you achieve a beautiful space.
Our end-to-end services cover everything from mowing the grass to caring for the health of your entire lawn, so get in touch for your free quote today.
