Saturday, 04 February 2012

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Your Questions Answered

As Europe's largest producer of cultivated turf and Britain's leading supplier of high quality soil, we are often asked for advice on all aspects of laying, seeding and maintaining a beautiful lawn. The most frequently asked questions are detailed below. You can subscribe to this information through our RSS feed. Click here to learn more about this service, or contact us to ask any questions we haven't covered.

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16. During the winter my lawn has become sparse and died back, resulting in bare patches. What should I do?

During autumn, turf will start to go into its winter condition. This means that generally a lawn will begin to look paler in colour. As temperatures drop further going into winter, lawns will not appear as dense or healthy. In the colder months, which also have reduced daylight, grass growth virtually stops. As a result no nutrients are being absorbed by the grass plants and photosynthesis activity levels are extremely low. During this time when your lawn is vulnerable, it may suffer from a range of conditions, including Fusarium Patch Disease, high worm activity, chafer grub development, or Red Thread. All of these conditions, and others not listed, occur naturally and they will lead to patchiness within a lawn, the extent of which is dependent on the extent of the conditions. As the grass plants are virtually dormant during winter, recovery will not be seen until well into the next spring growing season.

Rolawn Medallion® turf is sown with the finest cultivars available. This gives high disease resistance and strong recovery from winter conditions. Medallion® will begin to recover when the grass starts to grow again in the spring. We would advise leaving your lawn until the growing season is well underway to see the level of natural recovery.

If recovery of your Medallion® lawn is partial you may wish to overseed any bare areas which are still visible. Click here to purchase Rolawn Medallion® Premium lawn seed online. Overseeding a quality lawn is a basic element of any lawn maintenance programme. Alternatively, for areas that have suffered more severely patching with replacement Medallion® turf may be appropriate.

If your lawn tends to die off during the winter there may be an underlying problem which is causing the lawn to suffer, for example, water logging, poor soil structure, compacted soils, heavy surrounding foliage, lack of a quality autumn feed or lack of winter dressing. All of these cause a lawn to be under stress; lawns under stress become more susceptible to disease and will decline further in winter than a healthy well maintained lawn. Consequently, a good year round maintenance regime is all important.

Common lawn care questions

  1. When is the best time of year to lay turf?
  2. How long after delivery can I leave my turf rolled up before laying?
  3. How much soil do I need to lay my turf onto?
  4. Is Rolawn turf suitable for shady areas?
  5. How do I grow a lawn from seed and when is the best time to do this?
  6. How do I overseed my lawn?
  7. How do I calculate the amount of turf required for a circular lawn?
  8. How do I remove my old lawn before laying new turf or seeding?
  9. What depth of play grade bark do you recommend?
  10. How soon after laying turf can I walk on my lawn?
  11. How soon after laying turf should I mow my lawn?
  12. How soon after laying turf can I apply Rolawn GroRight Autumn Lawn Food?
  13. Will my turf contain Annual Meadow Grass?
  14. How should I remove toadstools from my turf?
  15. Is Rolawn topsoil free of Japanese Knotweed?
  16. During the winter my lawn has become sparse and died back, resulting in bare patches. What should I do?
  17. My lawn needs feeding and overseeding. Which should I do first?
  18. My lawn is covered in worm casts. Is there anything I can do?
  19. My dog is urinating on my lawn and it is discolouring the grass, what can I do to stop this and how can I repair the damage?
  20. My lawn has developed patches of white cotton-wool or cobweb-like mould?
  21. How do I improve the soil in my garden?
  22. I will be laying turf next to a path or mowing strip and need to bring the soil up to the correct level. What is the thickness of a roll of Rolawn turf?
  23. My new lawn is very spongy. Should I use a roller on it?
  24. Can Rolawn biological pest control products be used on a vegetable patch?