Manage coarse grasses in your lawn

How did I get coarse/foreign grass in my lawn?

When trying to achieve a healthy, weed-free lawn, many come across coarse or foreign grasses that haven’t been sown as seed. These foreign grasses can be the enemy to a pristine lawn.

How did they get there then? Well, coarse grasses have a nasty habit of finding their way into your lawn either from local verges of nearby fields. As coarser grasses are most robust, they seed very early, then when the seeds are blown around, they find an open space in your lawn and get cosy. Annoyingly, they germinate and establish quicker than the grass types we want in our lawn to make it lush and green.

What can I do to control the coarse grass?

There’s no simple answer due to the nature of how it comes into your lawn, but we can offer suggestions on how to keep it under control. You need to ensure a consistent treatment programme in addition to regular watering and mowing, this will help to thicken up the sward.

Before you mow your lawn, there is a technique involving slashing the coarse grass with an edging tool or a knife that cuts into the root system. Cut into the affected area in a crisscross before you mow, once you’ve cut the grass, remove the debris and rake until you see enough soil to re-seed. With the seed establishing at a good rate, this method should put the coarse grass under pressure to push it out of your lovely lawn.

Another method to control coarse grass would be using a total herbicide. Here is what to do, using a middle-sized plant pot, turn it over and cut the bottom out. Spraying the herbicide into the bottom of the pot will kill off all the grass in this area. Leave the pot in place until it’s dry, you can then remove it and repeat on all the affected areas. Once the grasses have died off, rake out the dead area and re-seed. This is best to do from November for the spraying and then raking out and re-seeding in spring when temperatures are milder. Both methods require patience to achieve the desired results.

As you can see, there is no simple solution to managing coarse grass in the lawn, these are just some ideas and tips when fully utilised will help to manage it. Ideally, the Lawn Makeover is the best solution to help achieve the lawn which is so desired.

Take a look at our Lawn Makeover here.

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