Why does my lawn look average in winter?

Wow - it certainly has been a wet and cold week! Have you ever wondered why your lawn looses its colour or goes patchy at this time of year? It's all to do with the growing cycle of the lawn.

Most lawns in Australia are warm season grasses. These grasses include couches, kikuyu and buffalo varieties and are grouped by the way that they grow. In other words, they grow in the warm weather and go dormant during cooler weather. Dormancy shouldn’t mean that they go brown but rather that they stop growing. It also means that they are more susceptible to issues including general wear and tear during the winter season.

People often come into our store and ask why their lawns are looking so patchy in the winter time and while there can be issues associated with poor drainage, increased winter shade, disease and insects, a big proportion of the time lawns look average in winter simply because they are out of season.

It’s often the case with a home lawn that they are subjected to the same amounts of traffic year round. When a lawn is in season (October to May), it will easily and quickly recover from traffic related wear however when it is dormant, it will not recover and regrow till spring arrives. This means that it can begin to look fairly shabby by the time the end of winter rolls around. A big contributor to this is pet wear and tear which can in turn have a lawn looking fairly average till spring.

If you find that your lawn is deteriorating during the winter time, and you think it is because of excessive traffic, the only way you can alleviate the problem is by reducing the amount the lawn is used. Remember that in most circumstances, your lawn will recover in the spring, once the weather warms up. If it is excessively deteriorating and you think it’s more than just wear and tear, then bring a core sample down to our store at 356 Brighton Rd  HOVE for further investigation.