Q&A: You asked, we answered!

We asked our customers for their most burning questions on all things lawn care.

Our Technical Manager Steven Taylor has all the answers below:

1. What do you do when you have dogs and there is a particular (large) patch of grass pretty much gone?  – Filipa.

“Having dogs, I can empathise with this situation. The problem we see is that dogs tend to like to go in the same place and therefore we see this situation. If you are not able to keep the dogs off the lawn then putting any pebbles, bark or sand on the area may encourage the dogs to go elsewhere resulting in more patches.

What I try to do with my dogs is to take them for a walk before they relieve themselves on the lawn thus reducing the strength of the urine. It is usually when they have been in overnight when the urine is strongest so this is when most damage to the lawn can be caused (although each situation is different). If you can get a pH check in the patchy areas, then it is likely to be acidic. You can reduce this acidity with lime which you can get from the Garden Centre, this will encourage the soil to seed new grass. Along with trying to keep the dogs off this patch you should see a good recovery. What I have also found is the application of fertiliser will help with the recovery of the lawn.”

2. I’ve used GreenThumb for a good few years now, however I still have Red Thread on my rear lawn and a few bare patches due to an unsavoury dog. Do GreenThumb reseed or is this at an extra cost?  – Nick. 

“GreenThumb can and will reseed but as to any charges, there are a few factors. Firstly, whether the branch will offer this FOC if you are a long-standing customer, and secondly, how big the patches are. Ideally if you can control the stress which the plant is affected by then this will help to recover the lawn. Ask at your local branch and see what they can offer as advice and service.”

3. Can you still cut lawns now or just let them rest up? Seem to get a difference in opinion in the South Coast – Paul.

“The key to cutting lawns is regularity, if the lawn is long then cut it even now. When you get several frosts, then cutting the lawn is dramatically reduced due to the soil temperatures, not something we are likely to see too much of on the south coast. The key to looking after the lawn is to ensure the mower blade is sharp and the lawn is as dry as you can get it this time of the year.”

4. My grass has been scarified and doesn’t look so good. How do I look after it over winter?  – Mark.

“With the weather not turning a little colder, it will take some time to recover but it will help the lawn with treatments applied next year. We do have a product called ‘Stress Buster’ which is designed to help with this process. If your lawn has not been cut since the scarification and needs cutting, then we would recommend cutting it before this treatment is applied.”

5. When is the best time to over seed? – Simon.

“The best time for seeding a lawn is when ground temperature is high enough and moisture is available to help with germination. This can be as early as March or as late as October depending on conditions stated above. I have seen lawns over-seeded respond well in both these months as well as earlier and later, it just depends what the weather is doing at the time of year and whereabouts you are in the UK.”

6. My lawn is long as it has been too wet to mow. If it dries out can I still mow?  – Christine.

“My lawn is getting like this now and as soon as we get a dry-ish spell I will be cutting my lawn to keep it tidy for the winter period.”

7. I have your treatments but still have a few bare patches of grass. What should I do?  – Stuleeblee.

“We would recommend you ask for a service call and ask the person who did the call to take a core sample and check to see what is going on in those areas. Once it’s established why this is, then a programme could be devised to help rectify the issue.”

8. I regularly have your treatments but have white wiry patches, what could these be? – highfield_view.

“It is difficult to comment on something you cannot see. It sounds like the grass is stretching which will happen if mowing is an issue. Could you supply us with a photo and the type of mower used to cut the lawn please?”

9. With new technology in robotic lawnmowers, how is that going to impact on owner’s lawns? – David.

“With technology moving ever forward, there is greater emphasis on automation. There is great pleasure in cutting lawns, however for some they would rather someone did it for them. This solution gives everyone freedom to choose what they would like, we have a robotic mower here at Head Office and have been impressed with the quality of the lawn due to regular cutting and the height being right.

There are some downsides however:

No stripe: Up to today, I do not know of a company that has been able to provide a robotic mower which will give us a stripe which we achieve with a Rotary with a roller or a cylinder.
Leaves: At the moment when we have leaves, the mower we use collects these and cuts the lawn at the same time.
Rainfall: Robotic mowers are designed to avoid cutting in the rain, which is good but there are times when if it is raining after being dry for some time, then the lawn could still be cut.”

10. What seed do you recommend using? – Mark.

“We have our own bespoke grass seed mix called Diamond Green which we use on the Lawn Makeover, we only use Rye grass and Fescue in the mix.”